What mobility costs and where the market is heading.
Weigh purchase price, energy and residual value against each other, and follow registrations, battery prices and charging infrastructure in up-to-date charts.
Electric or combustion: which costs more?
Purchase price, energy, maintenance, tax and residual value over the whole time you own the car. Enter your own figures and the result updates instantly.
Example values based on the German market, please adjust them to your situation. Not included: insurance, financing, subsidies, tyres and depreciation beyond the residual value. The result is no substitute for individual advice.
The electric vehicle market in charts
Official statistics and recognised market analyses, every chart with its source and date. Hover over the bars for details.
New battery electric car registrations in Germany
carsNew BEV registrations per calendar year, with the share of all new cars in brackets.
Source: Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (Federal Motor Transport Authority), annual reports 2019 to 2025
What the figures show
After Germany’s purchase grant for electric cars (the Umweltbonus) ended in December 2023, new registrations slumped in 2024. 2025 then brought a new record of 545,142 battery electric cars: more than one in five new cars was electric.
Battery electric cars on the road in Germany
carsAs of 1 January of each year, with the share of the total car fleet in brackets.
Source: Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt, vehicle fleet (as of 1 January)
Slow change
Just over two million electric cars make up 4.1 per cent of all cars in Germany. Because cars stay on the road for many years on average, the fleet changes far more slowly than the new car market.
Electric cars sold worldwide
millionBattery electric cars and plug-in hybrids, rounded. 2026 is an IEA forecast.
Source: IEA, Global EV Outlook 2025 and 2026
Share of new cars, 2025
Share of electric cars in all new cars in 2025, rounded. Source: IEA, Global EV Outlook 2026.
Price of a lithium-ion battery pack
US$ per kWhVolume-weighted average across all segments, value from the survey of the year in question. 2026 is a forecast. In 2010 the figure was over $1,100/kWh.
Source: BloombergNEF, Lithium-Ion Battery Price Survey
By cell chemistry, 2025
US$ per kWh, pack prices. Source: BloombergNEF 2025. More in the article Why batteries are getting cheaper.
Public charging points in Germany
charging pointsIn operation according to the charging station register. Rapid charging points: more than 22 kW.
Source: Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency), charging station register
The network is growing, rapid chargers even faster
Around a quarter of public charging points are rapid chargers with more than 22 kW. Together, the public charging points provide 9.04 GW of installed charging capacity (as of 1 July 2026).
Understanding the economics
The drivers behind the figures, explained in depth.
Software-defined vehicle: when the car becomes a computer
Central computers instead of many control units, updates over the mobile network, features after purchase. What is changing and how security is regulated.
Why batteries are getting cheaper and what that means for car prices
A battery pack today costs a fraction of what it cost in 2010. The reasons behind this, and why cars are still not getting cheaper at the same pace.
Buying a used electric car: checklist for battery, charging and technology
With a used electric car, the battery determines value and everyday usability. What to look for in battery health, warranty, charging power and the test drive.