acf domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/ecg/ecgassociationdev/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6121Clean Energy Wire — 2026-01-07
Automotive Industry
The take-up of electric cars gathered speed last year in Germany. Registrations of purely electric cars rose 43 percent versus 2024, when sales took a dip following an abrupt end to purchasing subsidies, according to the motor vehicle authority KBA. Compared to 2023, last year's sales of around 545,000 electric cars were up a mere four percent.
"While the figures point at first sight to an electric boom, in fact strong growth in 2025 merely compensates for the collapse in sales in 2024," transport analyst Constantin Gall for the EY consultancy told newswire dpa. The government plans to introduce a new subsidy for electric cars this year.
Overall, new car registrations rose 1.4 percent to 2.9 million, according to KBA. The share of battery-electric vehicles rose to 19.1 percent of all new registrations last year. Average CO2 emissions of new cars fell by almost 12 percent, to an average of 105.8 grammes per kilometre.
Car industry associations and researchers told newswire Reuters in an article carried by energy and climate newsletter Tagesspiegel Background they expect this share to increase to 25 percent in 2026.
Sales of electric vehicles in Germany lag well behind earlier government plans to bring the number of EVs on the road to 15 million by 2030. The high average price of new electric vehicles is a major obstacle to their mass adoption because it often limits purchases to drivers with a higher income.