Monthly car registrations in Germany 2019-2024, by fuel type

Alternative fuel vehicles have been gaining popularity, as new passenger car registrations in Germany show. While petrol and diesel passenger car registrations still outnumbered hybrid and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) thirteen to one in May 2019, in August 2022, new registrations of hybrid and BEVs outnumbered those of petrol and diesel cars for the first time. The abrupt end of subsidies for electric vehicles in December 2023 led to a sharp increase in battery-electric vehicle sales in the end of 2023, but this growth was not maintained and BEV sales fell back to some 29,700 in May 2024, compared to nearly 54,700 in December 2023.

Volkswagen remains Germans’ favorite car make

Volkswagen has been leading passenger car sales in Germany for years, but the company has also established itself as the leading car make for electric vehicles in Germany. In 2023, there were around 181,500 electric VWs on German roads, while Renault’s numbers, VW’s closest competitor in the German market, were around 73,000 vehicles lower.

Are conventional cars on their way out?

Despite the growing numbers of electric cars on German roads, their numbers in the overall fleet are still marginal. In 2023, battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids comprised 3.8 percent of the German vehicle fleet. Germany also lags behind other European countries, such as Norway, Sweden, or the Netherlands, in electric vehicle uptake.