electronics
Done demand for electric cars-battery market breaks a
Since the end of the purchase bonus, the approvals of electric cars have dropped sharply. This hits the battery market in Germany. The concerns about dependence on China are great – also in the military.
With the sunken demand for electrical cars, the battery market broke in Germany. After years of strong growth, the market volume fell by 16 percent to 20.5 billion euros in 2024, the Association of the Electrical and Digital Industry (ZVEI) said in Frankfurt. The decline almost completely goes to the lithium batteries account that is used in electric cars. “The cause is the last weak development of electromobility in Germany, also due to the E-Auto bonus expired at the end of 2023.”
In the case of battery imports, Germany is heavily dependent on Asia, warned the Zvei. He defines the market volume as production plus imports minus exports. Asia has replaced Europe as a region of origin of batteries – 52 percent of imports to Germany came from there. In lithium batteries, China remains the world’s largest supplier with an import volume of 8.9 billion euros.
“Batteries are part of the critical infrastructure”
Many areas in Germany are dependent on safe and powerful batteries, including the strategic infrastructure and military technology, emphasized the ZVEI. In the military, the demand for batteries as an autonomous energy source in the field is growing. “Batteries are part of the critical infrastructure,” said Christian Rosenkranz, chairman of the ZVEI specialist association batteries. Without batteries, the switch from fossil fuels remains an illusion.
So that Germany does not false as a battery location, cheaper energy, faster permits, less bureaucracy and reliable support, especially in battery research. Companies would “finally need a more competitive environment to Asian providers”.
Battery production in Germany is an important building block for change to e-mobility and is a strategic goal of politics. The traffic light government wanted to lure battery producers to Germany with high subsidies – such as the Swedish company Northvolt. But he registered bankruptcy in his home country. According to previous information, the consequences for a Northvolt factory near Heide in Schleswig-Holstein are under construction.
China dominates with lithium batteries
In 2024, export of batteries from Germany fell three percent to a value of almost eight billion euros, according to the ZVEI. Production fell by five percent and the production of lithium batteries by seven percent. They are primarily used in e-mobility, the storage of solar power and in smartphones. Exports of 5.2 billion euros faced much higher imports of 18.3 billion euros.
The ZVEI relies on new purchasing incentives for electric cars under the new federal government. The market for home and large stores also grow, so that the association in 2025 again expects a growing battery market.
dpa
Source: Stern
