According to calculations by Destatis, Germany’s transport sector accounted for a significant portion of national consumption in 2024, covering 22.2% of the country’s energy use and contributing 21.4% of total CO2 emissions. Total energy consumed by road traffic amounted to around 2,134 petajoules. This figure remained largely consistent with consumption levels since 2021, although it continued to sit considerably lower (-11.0%) than the peak achieved in the pre-pandemic year of 2019 (2,399 petajoules). For context, energy consumption in the transport sector had previously risen by 6.7% between 2010 and 2019.
In 2024, 58.0% of transport energy (1,238 petajoules) utilized by private households, while the remaining 42.0% (896 petajoules) was consumed by the economy. Of the total energy used by households, transport comprised over a third (35.3%); conversely, its share of the energy consumption within the economy was only 14.7%.
Both private consumers and businesses continued to rely heavily on conventional fuels. Diesel, including biodiesel blends, represented the largest share of energy consumption at 60.8% (1,297 petajoules), followed by gasoline and bioethanol, which together accounted for 37.2% (794 petajoules). Alternative fuels played a much smaller role: electricity represented 1.0% (22 petajoules), and gas fuels made up 1.0% (21 petajoules). Although still minor, the consumption of electricity in transport saw dramatic gains due to the expansion of e-mobility; in 2024, electricity use rose by nearly a third (+32.0%) compared to 2023, and almost quadrupled (+278.1%) relative to 2021. Overall, all biofuels combined-including biodiesel, bioethanol, and biogas-covered 5.5% of the energy demand.
Regarding environmental impact, the transport sector produced 155 million tons of CO2 emissions in 2024. In addition to CO2, other harmful air pollutants were released, including 834,710 tons of carbon monoxide, 315,500 tons of nitrogen oxides, and 27,310 tons of fine particulate matter. Although CO2 emissions from transport only decreased by 6.0% between 2010 and 2024, the data shows notable reductions in certain air pollutants over the same period: emissions of carbon monoxide fell by 38.2%, nitrogen oxides dropped by 61.2%, and fine particulate matter decreased by 34.8%.
