Every fifth new car in the world is an electric car

New record for electric car registrations: more all-electric new cars were registered worldwide in the last quarter than ever before. Within the EU, one country leads by a large margin piese auto online.

Every fifth new car in the world is an electric car

Almost two years after the end of the environmental bonus for new electric cars, sales of electric cars in Germany are increasing sharply. In the third quarter of 2025, 133,476 new electric cars were on the road - more than ever before.

The share of total registrations in Germany is 18.1%, as found in a study by the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Globally, the rise of electric mobility is even more impressive: in the third quarter, one in five new cars worldwide was an electric vehicle (20.6%). As usual, the majority of new battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were registered in China: 2.3 million vehicles during this period.

No wonder, since in 2023 there were already over 327 million cars on the road in China – and the car market there is by no means satisfied.

But according to PwC, Europe (249 million cars in 2023) is already in second place with 607,000 new electric vehicle registrations in the third quarter. The US is only in third place with 419,000 BEV registrations. There, subsidies up to $7,500 have been eliminated – many Americans have probably postponed electric car purchases to take advantage of the subsidy.

Germany leads the European ranking

Electric vehicle registrations in Germany reached third place (after China and the US). Only the UK also has six-figure registrations in Europe: 124,573 new electric cars were on the roads there. France is in third place with 67,978 new registrations.

33% market share of electric cars in ten years

However, the share of electric cars in the total car fleet is still significantly low. In Germany, according to PwC, it is now around four percent, and in China, nine percent. Forecasts are that in ten years, the all-electric share of the passenger car market in Germany will be around a third (32 percent).

However, the German government’s much-stated goal of having at least 15 million electric cars on the road by 2030 is unlikely to be achieved. More recently, Deloitte, a competitor to PwC, predicted a figure of 11.2 million vehicles by that date.

The study is based on 40 major national automotive markets, which cover approximately 85% of the global passenger car market.

Car parts AutoPower
Car parts AutoPower

Almost two years after the end of the environmental bonus for new electric cars, sales of electric cars in Germany are increasing sharply

The share of total registrations in Germany is 18