Only 90 of 249 German politicians' official cars are electric, DUH audit shows

Fleet evaluation and national findings

The annual official car survey conducted by Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) found that only 90 of 249 evaluated vehicles used by German federal and state politicians are fully electric. This figure represents a slight decrease in the share of purely electric vehicles compared to the previous year. Plug-in hybrids constitute the largest segment of the fleet at 42%, producing an average calculated output of 179 grams of CO2 per kilometer. The NGO based its assessment on data gathered from officeholders between January and June 2026. For its calculations, the organization assumed that plug-in hybrids operate on battery power for roughly 11% of driving distance and combustion power for 89%. Heavily armored vehicles, including the car used by Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, were excluded from the assessment.

This is a declaration of war against forward-looking transport policy and a disastrous signal for German climate policy.

Performance across federal ministries

Among members of the federal cabinet, Development Minister Reem Alabali-Radovan recorded the lowest emissions, using a vehicle evaluated at 64 grams of CO2 per kilometer. At the opposite end of the federal ranking, Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig and Education Minister Karin Prien tied for the highest emissions at 169 grams of CO2 per kilometer each. When entire ministerial fleets including state secretaries were evaluated, the Environment Ministry ranked first, followed by the Interior Ministry, the Development Ministry, and the Labour Ministry. In the political party comparison across all assessed politicians, the Green Party achieved the cleanest overall average, while the Free Democratic Party (FDP) recorded the lowest performance.

State government emissions and leader rankings

No state government earned an overall green rating under the DUH threshold system, which requires fleet averages at or below 93.6 grams of CO2 per kilometer. Berlin ranked first among the states with an average of 99 grams per kilometer, followed by Baden-Württemberg at 109 grams and Schleswig-Holstein at 112 grams. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern recorded the highest state average at 181 grams per kilometer, followed by Saxony-Anhalt at 178 grams and Saxony at 169 grams. In Saxony, only one of twelve listed ministerial vehicles is fully electric, belonging to Justice Minister Constanze Geiert at 59 grams per kilometer.

Among state premiers, Baden-Württemberg Minister-President Cem Özdemir recorded the lowest figure at 66 grams of CO2 per kilometer in a Mercedes-Benz EQS 580 4MATIC previously used by his predecessor Winfried Kretschmann. Schleswig-Holstein Minister-President Daniel Günther followed closely with 67 grams per kilometer, while Saxony Minister-President Michael Kretschmer registered 167 grams in a diesel vehicle. At the top of the emission scale, North Rhine-Westphalia Minister-President Hendrik Wüst, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Minister-President Manuela Schwesig, and Berlin Governing Mayor Kai Wegner each recorded 262 grams of CO2 per kilometer.

Reversals on electrification and fleet transitions

The organization criticized several politicians who replaced previously used electric vehicles with plug-in hybrids, describing the trend as a reverse gear in climate protection. Those singled out for switching include Saxony Environment Minister Georg-Ludwig von Breitenbuch, Hamburg Environment Senator Katharina Fegebank, Hamburg Finance Senator Andreas Dressel, and three CDU and CSU ministers of state in the Foreign Office. In Hamburg, where five senators received green ratings for electric models and Transport Senator Anjes Tjarks opted out of a car entirely, Mayor Peter Tschentscher and six other senators received red ratings. In Baden-Württemberg, the lease for Özdemir's current electric Mercedes expires in January 2027, with the state ministry in Stuttgart confirming that his next vehicle will also be fully electric.