Overview
- The Senatsverkehrsverwaltung reported that at the end of 2025 Berlin had about 1.074 million privately registered passenger cars, equal to 275 cars per 1,000 residents and the lowest rate since the 2008 survey began.
- The absolute car stock fell by roughly 24,000 vehicles from its 2021 peak and new private-car registrations in 2025 were just 59,523, the fewest in the data series since 2001.
- Car ownership is uneven across the city with central districts the least car-heavy (Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg 168 per 1,000; Mitte 179 per 1,000) and outer districts the most (Steglitz-Zehlendorf 364 per 1,000).
- The Senate count excludes company-registered vehicles and uses the municipal population register so its numbers are not directly comparable with KBA or federal data that use different vehicle and population bases.
- The decline is changing daily life and policy choices by reducing likely parking demand, lowering registration revenue, and sharpening political fights over how much street space to keep for cars versus walking, cycling, and public transport.