Suche
Mein Konto
Automotive market 2026: slight recovery, electric cars drive growth!
New registrations in Germany will increase by 2% to 2.9 million in 2026. Electric cars are growing strongly despite economic challenges.
Automotive market 2026: slight recovery, electric cars drive growth!
The automobile market in Germany is facing a slow recovery, as announced on December 8, 2025. Loud daily news New car registrations are expected to rise by two percent to 2.9 million vehicles next year. Despite this slight increase, we are still a long way from the pre-crisis level in 2019, where the numbers were around a fifth higher.
A clear trend is the increase in electric cars, with new registrations expected to rise to almost one million vehicles, which corresponds to an increase of 17 percent compared to 2025. This positive development could be further accelerated by the rapid implementation of new funding measures by the federal government. However, there are also fears that unclear criteria and slow processing could lead buyers to wait and thus jeopardize the momentum in the electric car market VDA emphasized.
Market development in international comparison
Industry representatives agree that Germany's position in the automotive industry will remain crucial for the coming years. In 2026, domestic passenger car production will fall to 4.11 million units, while German manufacturers' exports could easily decline by one percent. At the same time, however, the production of electric cars will also increase by five percent to 1.76 million units. This means that Germany remains the second largest production location for electric cars in the world.
Challenges and opportunities
The challenges for the industry are numerous: In addition to the existing US tariffs and problems on the Chinese market, the automotive industry is faced with the costs of the climate-neutral transformation. Competition from manufacturers like Tesla, who are revolutionizing the industry, and pressure from Chinese companies like BYD, who are gaining market share in China, are also causing additional uncertainty. In this context, the development of new technologies such as artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly important in order not to lose touch and to develop innovative products such as the “software-defined vehicle”. Statista is highlighted.
The future of the automotive industry is characterized by a tension between challenges and opportunities. It remains to be seen how the industry will react to the changed conditions and what course will be set for the coming years. What is clear, however, is that both manufacturers and suppliers are required to reposition themselves and bring technical expertise into line with the needs of the market.