Germany registered approximately 2.86 million passenger cars (Pkw Neuzulassungen) in 2025 according to KBA, broadly flat versus the 2.82M of 2024 and well below the pre-pandemic 3.6M peak of 2019. The market remains structurally smaller than a decade ago, with leasing and fleet renewal activity carrying most of the volume.
Volkswagen Still #1, Mercedes Strong #2
Volkswagen took roughly 19% market share with ~530,000 units sold across the Golf, T-Roc, Tiguan, Passat, and ID series. Mercedes-Benz held #2 at ~8.5% (~235k units), BMW #3 at 7.7% (~215k), Audi at 7.6% (~210k), and Skoda at 7.0% (~195k). The big-five German brands together account for almost half of the market.
BEV Share Recovers to 18%
After the German federal EV subsidy was abruptly ended in December 2023, BEV sales fell sharply in early 2024 (BEV share dropped to 12% mid-2024). By 2025, BEV share recovered to 19.1%, surpassing the pre-cut peak (KBA Jahresbilanz 2025). Tesla, VW ID series, BMW i-models, and Mercedes EQ models drove the recovery, helped by aggressive OEM-funded discounts.
Diesel Below 15%
Diesel new car sales fell to 13.8% in 2025, the first time below 15% in the modern era. As recently as 2015, diesel was 47.6% of German new car sales. Diesel-gate, urban diesel bans, and the punitive CO2-based Kfz-Steuer have all contributed to the long decline.
Hybrid: 24.7%
Hybrid (HEV) is now the largest single fuel category in Germany at ~24.7%, ahead of pure petrol (~33%) and BEV (~18%). The Toyota Yaris and CR-V Hybrid lead, but VW, Audi, BMW and Mercedes mild-hybrid offerings inflate the HEV count significantly.
Drill into the full KBA Bundesländer breakdown on the Germany dashboard.