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Will the German new-car market achieve full-year registrations growth in 2025? So far, electric vehicles (EVs) have provided some hope, but they also pose a hurdle ahead. Autovista24 journalist Tom Hooker explores the numbers.
Deliveries of new cars in Germany rose by 2.5% in November, capping a fifth straight month of improvement. The 250,671-unit total was once again driven by electrified powertrains, data from the KBA shows. But for the first time this year, not all of them recorded growth.

‘Despite one fewer working day, new-car registrations still rose. Adjusted for the calendar effect, growth was 7.6% in November, signalling continued recovery,’ noted Robert Madas, Autovista Group’s regional head of valuations.
Breaking the overall total down by sales channel, the private sector was another positive force. Deliveries to individuals rose by 10.1%. Meanwhile, commercial registrations dropped by 1%, despite making up 65.7% share of the market.
‘Year-to-date, the market is up 0.7% to 2,611,152 units,’ highlighted Madas. ‘This confirms only a modest rebound overall.’
The result means the market should see full-year growth in 2025. Yet, for some industry figures, the current level of growth does not signal a healthy environment.
‘A mini increase does not conceal the problems. The German automotive market is still in crisis mode,’ stated ZDK president Thomas Peckruhn.
Yet, upcoming EV incentives could create the perfect storm. Buyers may be holding back on plug-in purchases until they can benefit from the new scheme, which begins in January 2026. While not affecting all registrations, Germany is now more dependent on EVs compared to 2023, when subsidies were last available.
According to ADAC, the new incentives will support private households with low and middle incomes to buy or lease an EV. Funds will be available for both BEVs and PHEVs. To receive the incentive, the car must remain in the possession of the applicant for a defined period.
The subsidies are aimed at individuals with a taxable annual household income of up to €80,000. The incentive amount will be at least €3,000, increasing by €500 per child to a maximum of €4,000. For those with a monthly net income below €3,000, there are plans for an additional €1,000 boost.
However, incentives alone are far from the only component that is vital for a healthy EV market. The VDIK stated that ‘customers are generally open to electric cars if the total costs are no higher than for combustion engines.’
‘With a fast, unbureaucratic and fair implementation of the subsidy program announced by the coalition, the expansion of infrastructure and lower electricity prices, the CO² fleet limits could just about be achieved in the coming year,’ forecasted VDIK president Imelda Labbé.
‘This is conditional on the programme coming into force retroactively on 1 January 2026,’ she explained.
‘Another key development supporting the EV transition is the recently adopted “Masterplan Ladeinfrastruktur 2030”. This sets the strategic framework for a nationwide, user-friendly charging network and measures strengthening demand,’ explained Madas.
‘Without timely implementation, the risk remains that infrastructure expansion lags behind EV adoption. This would undermine consumer confidence and slow the market ramp-up,’ he commented.
The plan looks to boost demand and investment, simplify and accelerate implementation, as well as increase price transparency. Improvement of the electricity grid integration and enhancing user-friendliness are also covered.
‘The master plan provides for a whole series of correct measures that can help to further increase the attractiveness of electric mobility. It will be crucial that these measures are now implemented quickly and consistently,’ outlined VDA president Hildegard Müller.
‘It is also welcomed that the master plan provides improved framework conditions for bi-directional charging technology, which the Bundestag further strengthened and made more attractive for consumers with the amendment of the Energy Industry Act and the Electricity Tax Act,’ she added.
Following the plan’s adoption, the ZDK, VDIK and BBM published a joint position paper. The document presents a transmission which grants electricity providers non-discriminatory access to public charging stations. It also enables customers to use their own electricity tariff in public spaces, regardless of the operator.
The three industry bodies say that the model ensures more transparency, uniform billing and freedom of choice between charging providers.
‘If you want to anchor electromobility on a broad scale, you have to consistently think about the charging infrastructure from the user’s point of view,’ emphasised Peckruhn.
‘Non-transparent, sometimes high charging tariffs and a jumble of payment cards and billing systems still deter many consumers from buying electric cars. The transmission model can untangle this knot,’ he added.
Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) enjoyed another positive performance in November. Together, the EV category recorded its highest monthly volume and market share since August 2023. This month saw a pull-forward effect, before subsidies for commercial BEV buyers ended in September 2023.
The 88,174 EV total in November equated to a 58.1% rise year on year. This marked 11 consecutive months of double-digit growth. Meanwhile, the EV share sat at 35.2%, up by 12.4 percentage points (pp) year on year.
The powertrain grouping enjoyed a 48.4% uptick in volumes from January to November, with 771,507 deliveries. Plug-ins made up 29.5% of the overall market, up from 20.1% in the first 11 months of 2024.
In terms of growth, BEVs were the best-performing powertrain in November. This marked a fifth straight month of double-digit improvements.
‘BEVs surged 58.5% to 55,741 units, capturing a 22.2% market share, the highest since the end of purchase subsidies nearly two years ago,’ outlined Madas.

This was also the highest monthly volume and growth for BEVs since August 2023, which felt an incentive pull-forward effect. Meanwhile, its share was up 7.8pp year on year.
Across the first 11 months of the year, volumes surged 41.3% to 490,368 units. This gave BEVs an 18.8% market share, up from 13.4% during the same period of 2024.
Despite these overwhelmingly positive figures, some cracks are appearing. Private registrations of BEVs have not been as strong as expected, even with the sales channel driving overall new-car market growth.
According to the ZDK, the increase can be largely attributed to ‘persistently high self-registrations by manufacturers and dealers.’
‘The supposed rise of electromobility is on shaky ground,’ explained Peckruhn. ‘In fact, a large proportion of new BEVs initially end up in factory and dealer yards. Private and commercial new registrations are not yet quite at the level of 2023.’
‘PHEVs also saw deliveries accelerate, up 57.4% to 32,433 units,’ said Madas.
This proved the powertrain’s biggest monthly volume since December 2022. But once again, this month witnessed an incentive-affected pull-forward effect. The figure also continued its perfect streak of double-digit growth in every month so far this year.
The 57.4% increase was the lowest PHEV growth since February 2025, showcasing the technology’s strength this year. Plug-in hybrids represented 12.9% of the overall market last month, up 4.5pp compared to November 2024.
From January to November, a total of 281,139 PHEVs were delivered to customers in Germany. This translated to a 62.7% improvement year on year. The powertrain accounted for 10.8% of total volumes, up from a 6.7% share during the first 11 months of 2024.
With EU CO² fleet limits now averaged from 2025 to 2027, PHEVs can provide a boost towards targets. The technology does emit more tailpipe emissions than BEVs. However, they do provide a bridge for customers who are still unsure about going fully electric.
Yet, according to the VDA, the EU Commission is planning to reduce the PHEV utility factor. This means the technology will count as emitting more CO² for fleet compliance purposes, unless it demonstrates sufficiently high electric-drive usage.
In turn, this could reduce the credit that PHEVs contribute to a manufacturer’s CO² target. If this comes into effect, brands may try to push BEVs more than PHEVs.
‘Compared to ICE models, plug-in hybrids can make a noticeable contribution to achieving the CO² fleet limits if used appropriately. They also significantly encourage customers to switch to pure-electric cars at a later date,’ outlined Labbé.
‘We therefore call on the EU Commission to refrain from the planned reduction of the utility factor from January 2026. This is the only way to create a meaningful framework for the federal government’s planned plug-in funding,’ she highlighted.
Germany’s hybrid market, including full and mild hybrids, endured an unexpected knockback in November. It recorded a 4.1% decline in registrations year on year. This was the powertrain’s worst monthly performance since July 2022 and its first drop since August 2024.
Its 70,916-unit total still accounted for a majority 28.3% share of the new-car market. However, this was down 1.9pp year on year.
In the first 11 months of 2025, hybrid volumes rose by 8.7% to 744,838. Its share sat at 28.5%, down from 26.4% during January to November 2024.

Adding hybrids to the EV total, the electrified market recorded a 22.6% increase in volumes during November. This was the powertrain grouping’s lowest improvement since June. However, its 63.5% share was the highest of the year so far. It also equated to a 10.5pp rise year on year.
In the cumulative figures, electrified registrations in Germany posted a 25.9% uptick. The three technologies captured 58.1% of overall volumes, up from 46.5%.
Deliveries of new petrol and diesel-powered cars witnessed a similar performance in November. Petrol endured a 21.1% fall to 61,067 units, while diesel posted a 19.3% drop to 29,471 registrations.
The two fuel types also saw their market share fall to the lowest point since December 2022. Diesel models made up 11.8% of total registrations, down 3.1pp year on year. Meanwhile, petrol represented 24.4% of overall volumes, a drop of 7.2pp compared to 12 months prior.
Petrol’s once comfortable lead over BEVs is slowly eroding. The share of all-electric models in November trailed the fuel type by 2.2pp. In January this year, the gap was 13.4pp.
From January to November, deliveries of petrol-powered cars fell by 22.4% to 715,724 units. This caused its market share to drop from 35.6% to 27.4%. Diesel suffered a slightly smaller drop of 18.6% to 367,934 registrations. The powertrain accounted for 14.1% of the market, down 3.3pp year on year.
Unsurprisingly, the ICE market, which combines registrations of both fuel types, endured a 20.5% sales slump last month. This was its second double-digit drop in succession. The ICE share sat at 36.1%, down by 10.5pp year on year. The powertrain made up 41.5% of the new-car market after 11 months of 2025, down from 53%.
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