Fuelled by subsidies, electric cars remain in high demand in Germany

The boom in electric car sales in Germany continued in October, with sales up an annual 80%, the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) reported on Wednesday. 

Around 94,000 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were newly registered last month, KBA said, adding that the rise is probably due to the government's electric car subsidy and high fuel prices.

Purely electric cars accounted for more than a third (37%) of new registrations in October. 

Diesel and petrol-powered cars together totalled around 62,400 new registrations - both fuel types recorded sharp declines compared with the same month last year. 

In total, around 254,500 new passenger cars were registered, which, according to the KBA, represents an increase of 1.7% compared with October 2025.

Constantin Gall from the consultancy firm EY sees the subsidy as the main driver. 

"The market is booming - but it's booming mainly because of the subsidy." Things will get interesting when the money stops flowing, he said. "I expect electric vehicle registrations to slump significantly again then."

According to EY, foreign car manufacturers have been the main beneficiaries of the upward trend in new car sales for months - while German manufacturers are losing market share month after month. 

EY reported that, once again, Chinese manufacturers saw the strongest growth with their market share rising from 5.2% to 8.4%.