Monthly car registrations in Germany 2019-2022, 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. In November 2022, hybrid vehicles were the most registered type of passenger cars, followed by petrol cars and BEVs.

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 2022, there were around 126,000 electric VWs on German roads, while Renault’s numbers, VW’s closest competitor in the German market, were around a third 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 2022, battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids comprised 2.6 percent of the German vehicle fleet. Germany also lags behind other European countries, such as Norway, Sweden, or the Netherlands, in electric vehicle uptake.