Can new-car registrations be boosted in Germany?
06 March 2025
German new-car registrations dropped in February, despite a strong electric vehicle (EV) performance. But could more private battery-electric vehicle (BEV) registrations boost growth? Tom Hooker, Autovista24 journalist, explores the figures.
A total of 203,434 new cars took to Germany’s roads in February. This was a drop of 6.4% year on year, equating to a loss of 13,954 units. It was also a decline of 2% compared to the previous month. This does not follow the trend recorded in recent years where February saw higher volumes than January.
According to the KBA, commercial registrations fell by 6.5% compared to one year ago. However, the sector still accounted for the majority of new-car volumes, with a 67.5% market share. Private deliveries dropped by 6.2% and represented 32.4% of the market.
‘Overall, the first two months were rather difficult for car manufacturers,’ said Robert Madas, Autovista Group’s regional head of valuations.
BEV momentum in Germany
Battery-electric vehicle (BEV) registrations soared by 30.8% last month, reaching 35,949 units. It marks the technology’s highest monthly total since June 2024. Excluding all-electric vehicles from the overall total, the market would have suffered a stronger decline of 11.8%.
Following January, BEVs recorded two consecutive months of improvement for the first time since July 2023 and August 2023. However, these two results are slightly pronounced.
‘At first glance, the electric-car sales figures look good. However, the previous year's figures were extremely low,’ outlined ZDK vice president Thomas Peckruhn. In particular, February 2024 saw a poor performance for the powertrain. It started to struggle after the sudden removal of incentives in December 2023.
‘In addition, many new registrations of BEVs were pushed into the new year to reduce CO2 fleet values,’ highlighted Peckruhn. This is because the EU’s CO2 fleet limit targets are becoming stricter this year. Comparing last month’s result to February 2023, BEV registrations grew 10.7%.
The technology took a 17.7% share last month, up 5.1 percentage points (pp) year on year. It was the third most popular powertrain and sat comfortably ahead of diesel. This was the highest all-electric share since December 2023, a month which was skewed by incentive changes.
All-electric vehicle deliveries grew by 41% in the year to date to 70,447 units. The technology made up 17.1% of the market, up from 11.6% in the first two months of 2024.
Private growth needed
However, the ZDK pointed out that this BEV improvement is too one-sided. Demand for the technology appears to be coming primarily from the corporate sector.
‘The renewed strong growth in BEVs in February cannot hide the fact that there is no noticeable demand for electric cars on the part of private customers. An improvement in the framework conditions by politicians is urgently needed to bring the ramp-up of e-mobility to the masses,’ the industry association explained.
‘The fact is that new private BEV registrations are still weak, and all-electric vehicle growth is primarily driven by company car trading,’ added Peckruhn.
Germany’s election impact
National elections also took place in Germany last month. The CDU/CSU came out on top. But, without an overall majority, the bloc needs to create a coalition government with at least one other party. CDU leader Fredrich Merz said he would like to have a government in place by 20 April, according to DW.
Peckruhn stressed that whatever this combination of parties, additional support for BEVs needs to be implemented.
‘The widespread loss of private demand in the BEV trade should show the future coalition partners in Berlin that political support for the faltering ramp-up of electric mobility cannot be delayed. One thing is clear: If you want to really get the ramp-up of electromobility going, it will not work without supportive measures from politicians,’ stated Peckruhn.
PHEVs push forward
Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) recorded 19,534 deliveries in February. This equated to a year-on-year increase of 34%. It was the best-performing powertrain in terms of percentage growth. It was also the biggest year-on-year percentage gain for the technology since January 2024.
PHEVs accounted for 9.6% of all registrations last month, an improvement of 2.9pp year on year. This was its biggest share since December 2022, a month impacted by incentives.
Across the first two months of 2025, PHEV registrations grew by 28.6% to 37,246 deliveries. The powertrain captured 28.6% of the market, up from 24.8%.
EV registrations hold up market
Combining BEV and PHEV figures, the EV market jumped 31.9% in February. A total of 55,483 electric models were registered in the month, a growth of 13,429 units compared to one year prior. Without plug-ins, overall new-car volumes would have slumped by 15.6%. EVs accounted for 27.3% of total deliveries, a rise of 8pp year on year.
In the year to date, plug-in deliveries grew by 36.5%, with 107,693 units. This equated to a gain of 28,771 registrations. The powertrain grouping made up 26.2% of the market, up from its 18.3% share recorded one year ago.
‘New car registrations in February 2025 show a mixed picture. The sales of BEVs and PHEVs are recovering. This continues the development from January, when sales of EVs rose sharply,’ explained Madas.
‘However, it must be taken into account that new registrations had fallen massively in the first months of 2024 after the expiry of the state subsidy,’ he noted.
Europe’s action plan
EV figures in Germany may be impacted by the European Commission’s industrial action plan for the bloc’s automotive sector.
The report proposes a focused amendment to the CO2 emission regulations. If adopted, carmakers could meet compliance targets by averaging their performance over a three-year period, from 2025 to 2027.
This would allow manufacturers to offset any shortfalls in one or two years with excess performances in the others. In principle, it eases the pressure on carmakers to increase the EV share of their overall fleet this year.
So, with targets eased, brands may alter their EV strategies. As the EU’s biggest new-car market, any changes made will be easily visible in Germany’s figures.
Hybrid registrations lead Germany
Hybrid volumes increased by 6.1% last month, reaching 58,153 registrations. February’s performance was the powertrain's highest volume total in 12 months. It meant technology maintained its perfect growth streak since September 2024. However, it did end four consecutive months of double-digit increases.
Hybrids took a 28.6% market share in February, up 3.4pp year on year. This was enough for the technology to lead the German new-car market for only the second time ever. Yet, its share was significantly lower than its 31.4% hold in December 2024, when it passed petrol for the first time.
In the year to date, hybrid deliveries rose by 9.8% with 117,405 units. It captured 28.6% of the market, just 0.4pp behind petrol. However, this result was up 3.8pp from its share recorded during the first two months of 2024.
Adding hybrid figures to the EV total, the electrified market grew 17.3% last month, thanks to 113,636 registrations. This gave it a 55.9% share, up from 44.5% in February 2024.
Between January and February, the powertrain grouping saw volumes improve by 21.1%, with 225,098 units. Electrified vehicles made up 54.8% of deliveries, an increase of 11.7pp year on year.
Petrol plummets
Registrations of new petrol vehicles plummeted 26.2% in February, with 56,911 units. It was the fuel type’s worst volume performance so far this decade, with the next worst recorded in April 2020. Furthermore, it marked petrol’s biggest year-on-year percentage drop since April 2022.
Excluding the powertrain from the overall total, the new-car market would have grown by 4.4%. It accounted for 28% of overall registrations last month, down by 7.5pp compared to February 2024. This represents petrol’s lowest share since August 2023. In addition, it means the fuel type has lost share in every month since August 2024.
Across the first two months of 2025, petrol dropped by 24.9% with 119,269 registrations. This equates to a loss of 39,561 deliveries. It still leads the market in the year to date with a 29% share. However, this is significantly behind its 36.9% hold in the same period of 2024.
Diesel slumps in Germany
Diesel declined by 23.8% last month, with 32,116 registrations. It was the biggest percentage drop for the fuel type since August 2024. The powertrain took a 15.8% market share, down 3.6pp compared to February 2024.
In the year to date, diesel slumped 21.7%, with 65,072 deliveries. It accounted for 15.8% of new-car volumes in this period, down from 19.3%.
Combining petrol and diesel figures, the ICE market fell 25.3% in February. The powertrain grouping delivered 89,027 units last month, giving it a share of 43.8%. This was down from its 54.9% hold in February 2024. It also meant that ICE vehicles trailed the electrified market by 12.1pp.
Across the first two months of 2024, ICE volumes plummeted 23.8% to 184,341 units. This gave it a 44.8% share, down from 56.1%. The electrified market was 10pp ahead of the ICE market in this period.
The ‘others’ category, including hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles, natural gas and liquified petroleum gas vehicles, E85/ethanol and other fuels, dropped by 39.9% last month. The powertrain grouping recorded 771 registrations and captured just 0.4% of overall registrations. This was down 0.2pp on February 2024.
In the year to date, the category slumped 49% with 1,635 units. It represented 0.4% of the new-car market, down from 0.7%.
