Germany built a record number of electric vehicles last year, keeping its spot as the world’s second-largest production hub after China, auto industry association VDA said on Wednesday.
Production of battery-electric vehicles rose by 15 per cent to 1.22 million vehicles, while the number of plug-in hybrids jumped by 54 per cent to around 450,000 vehicles, according to the data.
In total, 1.67 million electric passenger cars were manufactured domestically, a 23 per cent increase.
That made Germany again the second most important production location for electric cars worldwide, ahead of the US with 1.04 million, VDA said, while China produced 16.1 million.
“The German automotive industry is resolutely pushing ahead with e-mobility and climate-neutral mobility,” VDA President Hildegard Mueller said.
VDA expects a 10 per cent increase in battery-electric vehicle production in 2026.
In January, Berlin said that the government will offer families with small and medium incomes subsidies of up to $7,000 to buy new electric cars.
Mueller said policymakers must further improve the industry’s overall conditions, including charging infrastructure, power grid expansion and electricity prices, so that measures like the new incentives are not short-lived.
