Boom in electric cars: almost every third new registration in September is an electric car

More than every third newly registered car in Germany in September was an electric car. The number was 88,600 vehicles, as the Federal Motor Transport Authority wrote in a press release. This corresponded to a share of 34.5 percent of all new registrations and an increase of 95 percent compared to September 2025. One reason for the development is likely to be the federal government's new electric car bonus.

In September – as in previous months – only cars with hybrid drives were even more popular than purely electric cars. The number of new registrations here was 98,900 cars, their share of all newly registered cars was 38.5 percent. Passenger cars powered by diesel or gasoline totaled around 67,700 new registrations. Compared to the same month last year, new registrations of gasoline cars fell by 29 percent and diesel cars by around 20 percent.

“The electric bonus is working, and powerfully,” said car expert Constantin Gall from the auditing and consulting company EY. However, the boom was bought at a high price with tax money. According to Gall's assessment, the high sales rate is therefore on shaky ground. If the funding runs out, there is a risk of a collapse in the number of registrations. According to EY, Chinese manufacturers in particular benefit from the bonus. Their sales and market share rose sharply in September.

E-car bonus “far exceeded” expectations

According to government information, the bonus, which was activated in May, has so far been paid out to 100,000 applicants. Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) told the Bild newspaper that the funding program had far exceeded expectations. The bonus has already helped 100,000 households “protect themselves from high fuel prices.” This would make Germany more independent of expensive oil imports and international conflicts.

According to Schneider, the money will particularly benefit people who would not have even thought about buying an electric car before. “It is particularly important to me that the social differentiation works,” he said. Half of the applicants had an annual household income of a maximum of 45,000 euros. Three quarters earned a maximum of 60,000 euros.

The program includes the purchase and leasing of new electric cars, certain plug-in hybrids that can run on both electricity and fuel, and electric cars with so-called range extenders. These are small internal combustion engines that increase the range of electric cars. In total, the funding should cover 800,000 electric cars between 2026 and 2029. The prerequisite is that the vehicle has been registered since January 1st of this year.