Soren Amelang

Greens narrowly defeat chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives in a state election in Germany’s wealthy region of Baden-Württemberg, home to car industry giants Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Bosch.

The number of purely electric cars on Germany’s roads looks set to climb above 2 million by the end of the year, but will fall well short of 2030 target.

Ten years after the start of the Volkswagen emissions scandal, German carmakers still lack a full commitment to EVs because they are torn between short-term profits and long-term strategy, leading expert says.

VW, BMW, and Mercedes present new electric models in bid to halt their decline on global markets. But Environmental organisations accused the companies of “greenwashing”.

Germany’s car industry has demanded that emissions from new cars should not have to fall to zero by 2035, but instead only be reduced by 90 percent.

EV prices in Germany rose 7.5 pct on average in 2024 - driven by bigger jumps at the top end. But in China, EV prices fell five percent - both for entry-level and top models.