Battery electric vehicles in Germany got more affordable over the past five years — even though average prices tell a different story, according to new data released July 20.
Research from the International Council on Clean Transportation and Fraunhofer ISI shows that when comparing electric vehicles with similar characteristics, prices fell by roughly 18% between 2020 and 2025 after accounting for inflation. By contrast, prices for comparable internal combustion engine vehicles actually edged up about 2% over the same period.
So why did average electric vehicle prices appear to go up? The answer lies in what automakers chose to sell. The median list price for a battery electric vehicle jumped 42% — rising to around €53,000 — while the median price for combustion engine vehicles increased a more modest 15%. Manufacturers shifted their offerings toward larger, higher-end electric models, which pushed the overall average higher.
The electric vehicle market also expanded dramatically during this period. The number of available battery electric models more than quadrupled, reaching 159 different options. Meanwhile, the number of combustion engine models on the market shrank to 194.
Battery technology costs dropped sharply on a global scale — falling between 35% and 37% after inflation — but that reduction had only a limited effect on what consumers actually paid for vehicles.
One notable improvement came in driving range. The average electric range grew by about one-third over the five-year span, suggesting that manufacturers reinvested the savings from cheaper batteries into improving the vehicles themselves rather than simply lowering sticker prices.
