Germans are driving fewer kilometres each year. Last year, they drove a total of 591 billion kilometres, according to the Federal Road Transport Office (KBA). Compared to the previous year, this is a decrease of 0.6 percent. The fifth consecutive decline confirms the trend of recent years. In 2018, this figure was 39 billion more kilometres. The figure is extrapolated based on the mileage recorded during the general inspection.
On average, a car travelled 12,320 kilometres, 1.2 percent less than in 2022. Over time, the decline becomes even more evident: in 2014, each car travelled an average of 1,791 kilometres more.
The distance travelled by an average car depends on several factors: for diesel cars the average is 17,187 kilometres, for petrol cars it is only 9,580. In the “other vehicles” category, which includes electric cars, hybrids and petrol vehicles, the average mileage was 15,852 kilometres.
Especially young cars travel far
The age of the vehicle makes a big difference: cars between one and three years old traveled an average of almost 2,300 kilometers more than vehicles between four and seven years old. As the vehicle ages, the mileage continues to decrease. One reason could be that companies and, in particular, company vehicles travel long distances and often use newer cars.
The development of passenger cars is also reflected in the general trend: domestic mileage, which also takes into account other motor vehicles such as motorcycles, buses and semi-trailers, fell to 709 billion kilometres. However, this was only the fourth consecutive decline.
