The German car market is also feeling the consequences of the Iran war: high fuel prices are apparently causing many buyers to decide against combustion engines. The manufacturers are therefore in a dilemma, explains an expert.
The high fuel prices are apparently causing many people in Germany to rethink - and the state e-car bonus is providing an extra boost: the market share of electric cars reached 34.5 percent in September, the highest value ever. 100,000 applications for the purchase bonus were approved by the beginning of October. Car market expert Constantin Gall criticized that this boom was a "real dilemma" for manufacturers - they could not estimate whether it would continue.
The Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) in Flensburg reported on Monday that almost 88,600 cars with electric motors were newly registered in September. According to the consulting firm EY, their market share increased by 15.2 percentage points compared to the same month last year to a new record of 34.5 percent. Accordingly, new registrations of electric cars among private buyers increased in particular - by 141 percent in August compared to the previous year. For companies, this increase was 33 percent.
The Federal Environment Ministry announced that 100,000 applications for the e-car bonus were approved from mid-May to the beginning of October. Environment Minister Carsten Schneider explained: "Every additional electric car makes our country more independent of expensive oil imports and international conflicts."
The state e-car funding has been available to apply for since May 19th, but applies retroactively to cars registered since January 1st. The funding is aimed primarily at people with medium and low incomes and can amount to 1,500 to 6,000 euros, depending on the car model, household size and income.
Small cars from German manufacturers on the market
Schneider explained that it was particularly important to him that the social differentiation was effective: "Households that had not even thought about it before can finally afford an electric car. The leasing option helps with this." Around half of the applicants have an annual household income of up to 45,000 euros.
“In addition, small cars from German manufacturers are finally coming onto the market,” explained the Environment Minister. Car market expert Gall expects that German car companies will benefit “more than before” from growth in the electric car market in the coming months thanks to new entry-level electric cars.
Cars with hybrid drives were even more popular than cars with purely electric drives in September: According to KBA, almost 98,900 of these were newly registered, the proportion reaching 38.5 percent.
Trend is “hard to predict”
New registrations of gasoline engines, on the other hand, fell sharply by around 29 percent compared to the previous year to around 44,600 cars; Their share was still 17.4 percent. The share of diesel cars in new registrations was only 9.0 percent - there were still around 23,000 cars, around 20 percent less than in September 2025.
Car market expert Gall explained that manufacturers were in a dilemma - they were wondering whether it was worth betting on a permanent upward trend in electric cars. In his opinion, it is “hardly possible to predict” whether customers will return to combustion engines after the e-car bonus ends.
He criticized politics: "Bonus on, bonus off, new rules: This makes reliable planning for manufacturers almost impossible. Anyone who invests billions in factories, batteries and supply chains needs planning security over years and not just over a funding period."
According to a current survey by the Munich Ifo Institute, the mood in the auto industry deteriorated sharply in September. Ifo expert Anita Wölfl sees the industry “still in crisis”.
Green party deputy Katharina Dröge demanded that the federal government must do more to “commit itself to protecting against Chinese dumping prices and defending the end of combustion engines”. She also called for targeted support for families and people with low incomes, "for example by supporting the leasing of used electric cars." Among other things, the prime ministers of Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Lower Saxony as well as IG Metall chairwoman Christiane Benner spoke out in favor of opening up funding for used electric cars.
