Politicians are rediscovering internal combustion engine official vehicles

The transition to sustainable transportation, as is well known, starts with others: The proportion of electric vehicles among the official cars of Germany’s top politicians has declined, while plug-in hybrids have increased. This is shown by the new official car report from Deutsche Umwelthilfe.

Predicating water while drinking wine is of course a somewhat outdated phrase. In the political fleet of 2026, it can be put more modernly: Predicating water while filling up on gasoline. Because precisely where the transition to sustainable transportation could be implemented relatively easily, the share of fully electric official cars has decreased.

For its 20th inspection of official vehicles, the German Environmental Aid Foundation (DUH) examined 249 vehicles owned by members of federal and state governments. 160 of these received a red card because their actual CO2 emissions, as calculated by DUH, exceeded the EU fleet average threshold. This accounts for about 64 percent of all official vehicles inspected. In 2025, the figure was still 63 percent, with 151 out of 238 vehicles receiving such a rating. There was also a slight decline in the proportion of electric vehicles. Although the number of electric cars rose from 87 to 90, their share dropped from just under 37 percent to around 36 percent due to the larger overall fleet size.

Plug-in hybrids now make up the largest group at 42 percent. The DUH calculates an average of 179 grams of CO2 per kilometer for them. Conventional internal combustion engines result in 193 grams, while electric cars account for 62 grams when considering Germany’s electricity mix. However, these are not measurements for actual official vehicles: the DUH assumes an 11 percent electric driving portion for plug-in hybrids, and it takes into account emissions from the electricity mix for electric cars.

Some politicians are switching back to plug-in hybrids

Some new vehicle purchases stand out particularly. According to the DUH, state ministers Serap Güler, Gunther Krichbaum, and Florian Hahn from the Foreign Office switched from electric cars to plug-in hybrids. The same applies to Hamburg’s Environment Senator Katharina Fegebank and Finance Senator Andreas Dressel, as well as Saxony’s Environment State Minister Georg-Ludwig von Breitenbuch.

One might call it technological freedom. However, it can also be observed that the transition to sustainable transportation is taking an interesting turn when those who shape its policy personally order internal combustion engines again. The DUH attributes the highest emissions within the federal government to Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig and Education and Family Minister Karin Prien, both with 196 grams of CO2 per kilometer. Among the state leaders, Hendrik Wüst, Manuela Schwesig, and Kai Wegner each have 262 grams of emissions. At the other end, Development Minister Reem Alabali-Radovan drives the most fuel-efficient government vehicle with 64 grams of emissions. Bremen’s Environment Senator Henrike Müller abstains from using a government vehicle altogether and uses a service bike. Among the federal ministries, the Environment Ministry (BMUKN), the Interior Ministry (BMI), the Development Ministry (BMZ), and the

The Ministry of Labor (BMAS) performed fairly well according to the DUH’s analysis. Recent developments by Schwarz Group have shown that electric vehicles are also under pressure in other corporate vehicle fleets. The parent company of Lidl and Kaufland temporarily removed electric vehicles from its fleet list in Germany, citing low residual values among other reasons. However, for government vehicles, the often-cited role of setting an example comes into play as well. The DUH calls on the federal government and state governments to consistently switch to efficient electric vehicles when purchasing new ones. The survey covered the period from January to June 2026, with no data on subsequent leadership changes. Additionally, some specially protected vehicles are not included in the overall assessment.