The high gasoline and diesel prices are making electric cars increasingly popular in Germany: a total of 88,599 fully electric cars were newly registered in this country in September, according to current data from the Federal Motor Transport Authority. This meant their share of all new registrations was 34.5 percent. The proportion of cars with hybrid drives was even higher at 38.5 percent.
The e-car bonus, which has been in place since May and is already being actively used, is likely to play a role. According to government figures, it has already been paid out to 100,000 applicants. Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) told Bild: "The funding program has far exceeded our expectations and has already helped 100,000 households protect themselves from high fuel prices."
Significantly fewer petrol and diesel cars
However, the proportion of cars with petrol engines fell: compared to the same month last year, the number of newly registered petrol cars fell by almost 30 percent, to 44,632 cars. Their share was now only 17.4 percent. A similar picture emerges with diesel cars: Here too, the number of new registrations fell by more than 20 percent to 23,058 new cars. The diesel share was only nine percent.
This is probably also due to the current fuel prices: September will be by far the most expensive month to refuel so far, as data from the ADAC shows. The price for Super E10 rose to 2.22 euros per liter on September 3rd, replacing the previous daily record from 2022. Prices for a liter of diesel peaked at 2.47 euros on September 17th.
The fuel discount, which has been in effect since October 1st, is now intended to provide relief. A tax discount of 16.7 cents per liter applies to gasoline and diesel that leave tank farms and refineries. However, there is no obligation for gas stations to reduce their prices accordingly.
German car manufacturers in crisis
When looking at the individual brands, Smart stands out in particular with a 138 percent increase in registrations in September. Of the major German brands, Mercedes (plus 6.2 percent) and Audi (plus 4.0 percent) were able to record increasing registrations. Things went significantly worse for Porsche (minus 18.8 percent), VW (minus 6.1 percent) and BMW (minus 2.4 percent). Their new registrations were even below the previous year's level.
Recently, the mood in the German automotive industry has deteriorated significantly again. The barometer for the business climate fell to minus 35.0 points in September, as the Munich ifo Institute announced. Companies assessed their business situation as worse than ever this year.
This mood of crisis can be seen in many other indicators: export expectations in the automotive industry have plummeted. In September, companies also rated their order backlog as worse again than in the previous month.
Foreign brands win
In addition, according to an analysis by the insurance company Allianz, Europe's car manufacturers are quickly losing their previous advantage of cheaper repair costs in competition with Chinese competitors. In motor vehicle insurance, the lead of domestic vehicles in being classified into lower type classes has shrunk. “In 2024, the European manufacturers were still three type classes better than the Chinese manufacturers in terms of insurance classification,” said Christian Sahr, head of the Allianz Center for Technology (AZT) in Ismaning. "And in 2026 it will only be one type class."
Chinese cars are also becoming increasingly popular: BYD recorded an increase of 85.6 percent in new registrations in September. Only Tesla was even stronger as a foreign brand with an increase of 268.7 percent.
The total number of newly registered cars was 256,774 in September. This means that the registration volume increased by nine percent compared to the same month last year. More cars were newly registered, especially for private use, and their share rose to 28.5 percent. New commercial registrations in September, however, were 1.2 percent below the same month last year.
