German environmental audit finds pure electric share fell across politician car fleets

Share of electric official cars drops

Environmental organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) evaluated 249 official vehicles used by top federal and state politicians between January and June 2026. The findings show that only 90 of the examined vehicles were fully electric, representing a decline in the share of pure electric cars compared to the previous year. Most official fleets continue to rely on plug-in hybrids or combustion engines. For plug-in hybrid calculations, the organization assumed an electric driving share of 11% to estimate CO2 emissions, selecting the vehicle with the highest emissions when politicians had access to multiple cars. DUH managing director Barbara Metz criticized the procurement choices.

The politicians of the federal and state governments are failing massively in their role model function.

Federal government fleet results

Within the federal cabinet, Development Minister Reem Alabali-Radovan registered the lowest emissions, with her official vehicle emitting 64 grams of CO2 per kilometer. At the opposite end of the federal ranking, Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig and Education and Family Minister Karin Prien recorded the highest emissions among rated cabinet members at 196 grams of CO2 per kilometer each. Across entire ministry fleets, including state secretaries, the Environment Ministry ranked first, followed by the Interior and Development ministries tied in second place, ahead of the Labour Ministry. Vehicles used by Chancellor Friedrich Merz and several other federal ministers were excluded from the evaluation due to heavy protective armour.

State government ratings and environmental cards

The assessment applied color-coded ratings to state government fleets: green cards for averages up to 93.6 grams of CO2 per kilometer, yellow cards for 93.6 to 112.3 grams, and red cards for emissions exceeding 112.3 grams. No state government secured a green card. Berlin led the state rankings with an average of 99 grams per kilometer, followed by Baden-Württemberg at 109 grams and Schleswig-Holstein at 112 grams, all receiving yellow cards. Hamburg ranked fourth with an average of 117 grams, receiving a red card, though Hamburg Senator for Urban Development Karen Pein lowered her vehicle emissions from 134 to 50 grams by transitioning to an electric car. Saxony-Anhalt ranked 15th with 178 grams, having four of its nine ministers in diesel vehicles, while Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania finished last at 181 grams. Both bottom states completely lacked battery-electric vehicles in their cabinet fleets. In Bremen, Green Party Environment Senator Henrike Müller received praise for using an official bicycle.

Emissions across state premiers

Among state premiers, Baden-Württemberg Minister-President Cem Özdemir recorded the lowest emissions at 66 grams of CO2 per kilometer. Schleswig-Holstein Minister-President Daniel Günther followed in second place with 67 grams from an all-electric vehicle. At the bottom of the premier standings, North Rhine-Westphalia Minister-President Hendrik Wüst, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Minister-President Manuela Schwesig, and Berlin Governing Mayor Kai Wegner shared the highest emissions at 262 grams of CO2 per kilometer each. In the prior year, the three premiers placed ahead of Bavaria Minister-President Markus Söder. North Rhine-Westphalia held ninth place in the overall state rankings, repeating its position from the previous year after finishing last in 2023. Higher emissions for Wüst and several other leaders stem partly from special protection requirements and armoured vehicle weights.