Key Stats

• Germany’s median battery-electric vehicle list price rose 42%, from €37,000 in 2020 to €53,000 in 2025.
• The number of available BEV models increased from 38 to 159 over the same period.
• After adjusting for inflation and changes in vehicle characteristics, comparable BEV prices fell by about 18%.
• Estimated global battery-system costs declined by approximately 21% to 24% in nominal terms.
• Germany offered 19 small BEV models in 2025, compared with 35 combustion-engine models.

Note: The report’s 2025 figures cover January through September.

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The median nominal list price of a battery-electric vehicle in Germany rose 42%, from €37,000 in 2020 to €53,000 in 2025, according to a new analysis from the International Council on Clean Transportation and Fraunhofer ISI. The figure for 2025 covers January through September rather than the full year.

That increase does not mean comparable electric cars became 42% more expensive. The researchers found that the overall market shifted toward larger, higher-priced vehicles, lifting the median price of the models available.

Larger vehicles lifted the market median

Manufacturers expanded their electric-car ranges most rapidly in the lower-medium, medium and upper-medium segments. Those three categories accounted for 116 models, or 73% of Germany’s battery-electric offerings, in 2025.

The number of available battery-electric models more than quadrupled, rising from 38 in 2020 to 159 in 2025. Electric vehicles represented about 33% of the passenger-car models available in 2025, compared with 9% in 2020.

Lower-cost categories remained less developed. Mini and small vehicles together accounted for only 14% of battery-electric models in 2025, while the small segment offered 19 battery-electric models compared with 35 combustion-engine models.

The changing mix helps explain why the market-wide median increased. More upper-medium and luxury vehicles were added, while the number of smaller and potentially cheaper options remained limited.

Comparable electric-car prices were nearly flat

The researchers also followed individual vehicle models over time and controlled for changes in weight, power, battery capacity and driving range. On that basis, nominal battery-electric vehicle prices remained nearly constant between 2020 and 2025.

After adjusting for inflation, comparable battery-electric vehicle prices fell by about 18%, according to the analysis. This presents a different picture from the 42% rise in the market-wide nominal median.

Combustion-engine vehicles followed another pattern. Their median nominal list price increased 15%, from €41,000 to €46,000, while prices for comparable models rose about 24% before inflation and 2% after inflation.

Both measures describe different parts of the market. The overall median shows what types of vehicles manufacturers were offering, while the model-level analysis estimates how prices changed for vehicles with similar characteristics.

Battery costs fell faster than vehicle prices

The report estimates that global average nominal battery-system costs declined by about 21% to 24%, from approximately €165–€185 per kilowatt-hour in 2020 to €130–€140 in 2025.

In inflation-adjusted terms, the estimated decline was between 35% and 37%. The authors say this suggests that falling battery costs were not fully reflected in lower vehicle list prices.

However, the analysis cannot determine precisely how manufacturers used those savings. Lower battery costs may have supported larger batteries, better vehicle specifications and longer ranges, which increased by roughly one-third on average, or helped manufacturers recover research and development spending.

Why it matters

The distinction between market-wide and comparable prices is important for judging electric-car affordability. German consumers had many more models to choose from in 2025, but the expansion was concentrated in larger and more expensive categories.

Comparable electric vehicles became less expensive after inflation, yet buyers seeking smaller entry-level models still faced a narrower selection. That could limit access for households that cannot afford the larger vehicles increasingly represented in the market.

The report’s authors recommend that any purchase or leasing incentives aimed at affordability use price caps to target cheaper vehicles. That recommendation represents the authors’ policy position rather than a finding about the effect of a particular incentive program.

What the analysis covers

The study used ADAC vehicle information covering more than 100,000 combinations of makes, models, powertrains and technical specifications between January 2020 and September 2025.

The prices are manufacturers’ suggested retail prices, including Germany’s 19% value-added tax. They are not actual transaction prices and do not account for dealer discounts, negotiations or purchase incentives.

The figures were also not weighted by sales, meaning a low-volume luxury model counted as much as a high-volume vehicle when calculating market statistics. Missing annual observations were filled using information from adjacent years.

The researchers could not observe manufacturers’ actual battery costs, margins or pricing decisions. Their analysis also could not capture every improvement in software, equipment, design and other features that may affect the value of a vehicle.