Article Summary
- BMW Germany diesel share fell below 30% in 2025, down from 70%+ about ten years ago.
- Diesel volume concentrated in fleets: only the 3 Series and 5 Series hit five-figure diesel registrations in 2025.
- BMW still beats the overall market on diesel: Germany-wide diesel share projected at 20.3% in 2025.
Europe—and Germany in particular—has long served as a diesel stronghold compared to most global markets. Even there, the direction has stayed clear for years: diesel passenger cars have moved past their peak in sales and, with it, their relevance in the market. That’s reflected in the latest sales numbers as well. In 2025, the diesel share of new BMW registrations in Germany fell below 30 percent for the first time, after sitting at 70 percent or more ten years ago.
Diesel Models Down in 2025
The slide accelerated late in the year. According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority, diesel models accounted for only 26.6 percent of new BMW registrations in the fourth quarter of 2025, pulling the annual average down further. The absolute numbers reinforce the trend. Across the full 2025 calendar year, only the 3 Series and 5 Series—both traditionally buoyed by company-car and fleet demand—reached five-figure diesel registrations. The best-selling BMW X1 in Germany recorded a diesel share of just 18.8 percent, resulting in 8,879 diesel registrations.
Still, diesel demand doesn’t fade evenly across the lineup. Larger model series continue to attract significantly higher diesel take-rates. In 2025, at least a third of 7 Series and X3 customers still chose diesel. The big SUVs remain the clearest outliers. BMW’s largest utility vehicles in Germany continue to post the highest diesel shares by far: for the BMW X5 and X4, diesel sits over 50 percent, while the X6 and X7 land at just over 75 percent. The X6 leads the range, with 78.2 percent of customers opting for diesel in 2025.
Still Important For Some European Markets
Even with the decline, BMW diesels continue to outperform diesel demand in the broader German market. Across all brands, diesel’s share in Germany is projected to reach only 20.3 percent in 2025. At the same time, the way official statistics categorize powertrains can distort long-term comparisons—especially around electrification.
The statistics from the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) for 2020 can mislead: diesel vehicles equipped with 48-volt electrical systems only began appearing as a separate category starting in 2021. Before that change, officials simply counted them as “hybrids” regardless of engine type, which blurred diesel’s footprint inside the data.
[Source: BimmerToday]
