Finance
Germany holding out for 'real boom' on EVs despite strong 2025, EY says
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 6, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 6, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Germany's EV market grew 43% in 2025, but a true boom is yet to come. New subsidies may boost demand, favoring foreign brands.
BERLIN, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Germany's electric car market showed strong growth in 2025 but remains on unsteady footing, according to an EY analysis of registration data released on Tuesday.
The 43% year-on-year rise was largely due to a rebound in growth after a muted year in 2024, when the end of a federal subsidy for electric cars had weighed on demand, the consultancy said. The increase in 2025 compared to 2023 was just 4%.
"We haven't seen a real boom yet – the hoped-for surge in e-mobility in Germany is proving to be much more protracted and difficult than expected," said EY mobility specialist Constantin Gall.
EVs accounted for 19.1% of the German car market in 2025 versus 13.5% in 2024 and 18.4% in 2023.
The German government announced a new subsidy for EVs in November, which Gall said would spur demand.
However, he said the subsidy was available to private consumers on low incomes, covering only part of the market, while foreign brands were set to gain more than local carmakers due to their stronger offering of lower-price models.
Overall, EY projects the German car market to grow by 1% in 2026, down from 1.4% in 2025.
The EY analysis was based on figures from Germany's road traffic agency KBA, which reported 2.9 million new cars registered in 2025, 545,142 of which were battery-electric vehicles.
(Reporting by Rachel More; editing by Matthias Williams)
An electric vehicle (EV) is a car that is powered by electricity instead of gasoline or diesel. EVs use electric motors and batteries for propulsion, contributing to reduced emissions and lower environmental impact.
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