• Germany's road transport heavily relies on fossil fuels, with consumption in 2024 stable but still responsible for over a fifth of the country's energy consumption and CO₂ emissions.
• Despite the growth in electric mobility, diesel remains the dominant fuel in road transport, accounting for over 60% of consumption, while electricity consumption rose by 32% in 2024.
• Private households account for the majority of energy consumption in road transport in Germany, with the business sector making up the remaining 42%.

Road transport in Germany remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels, according to data released by the country's Federal Statistical Office on Friday.

The official figures show consumption in 2024 was largely stable compared with previous years and was 11% below the peak recorded in 2019.

However, road transport was still responsible for more than a fifth (22.2%) of Germany's energy consumption and for a similar proportion (21.4%) of CO₂ emissions that year.

This corresponded to energy consumption of around 2,134 petajoules and CO₂ emissions of 155 million tons.

The statistics authority says its figures differ slightly from those of the Federal Environment Agency because a different statistical approach was adopted.

Despite the growth in electric mobility, conventional fuels continued to dominate road transport. Diesel, including biodiesel blends, accounted for 60.8% of consumption, while petrol and bioethanol accounted for 37.2%.

Electricity and gaseous fuels each accounted for 1.0%. However, electricity consumption in road transport rose in 2024 by 32% compared with the previous year.

This reflects the increasing number of electric cars, sales of which continued to rise last year. According to the data, private households account for 58% of energy consumption, while the business sector accounted for 42%.