Powertrain preferences by age in Germany 2026: petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric

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Among German drivers aged 18 to 29, 55% would pick a petrol or diesel car next time round. Hybrids and electric cars were named by 20% each. Still, calling Generation Z an opponent of electric mobility would be premature: the youngest drivers trail the most EV-friendly age bracket by just 4.7 percentage points.

The survey was run by AutoScout24 and LeasingMarkt.de among Germans holding a driving licence. The largest share of potential EV buyers sits among respondents aged 40 to 49 — 24.7%. In the 50 to 65 group the figure is 19.7%, almost the same as among the youngest.

AutoScout24 itself comments on the result cautiously. “The fact that it is the youngest age group that leans towards combustion engines the most is surprising at first glance,” says Stefan Schneck, the company’s sales director for Germany. The same data, he adds, shows something else as well: on the decisive purchase criteria, 18 to 29-year-olds barely differ from older generations.

The result looks all the more unexpected next to a 2024 ADAC study, in which more than half of the 18 to 29-year-olds could imagine buying an electric car. The figures cannot be compared directly, though. Considering an EV at some point and choosing a specific powertrain for your next car are two different questions.

The survey does not match the current shape of the market either. In May 2026 electric cars took 25% of all new registrations in Germany, and petrol and diesel kept losing ground, while EV sales grew by 39.3%. In June the share climbed to 28.4%: 84,057 cars and a 78.2% increase on the same month last year. Electric cars became the single best-selling powertrain for the first time, ahead of petrol (20.5%) and diesel (11.4%), and 368,006 EVs were registered in Germany over the first half of the year — 48% more than a year earlier.

The new support scheme pushes in the same direction: since 19 May private buyers have been filing applications with BAFA, the grant applies retroactively to cars registered from 1 January 2026 and ranges between 1500 and 6000 euros depending on household income and the number of children. In total, the programme is worth three billion euros, enough for roughly 800,000 cars. Registration statistics, however, cover corporate customers and every age group, so they do not disprove the survey.

For now the survey proves only one thing: for their next purchase, young drivers more often name the familiar petrol and diesel cars. Why they make that choice — price, charging, the supply of used cars or something else — the published data does not directly explain.