German Battery Production Hits Record €8.1 Billion but China Dependence Deepens
Germany’s battery manufacturing sector reached an all-time high of €8.1 billion ($9.4 billion) in 2025, buoyed by accelerating electric vehicle production and surging demand for energy storage systems, the German Electrical and Digital Industry Association (ZVEI) reported on Tuesday.
The 11 per cent year-on-year increase marks a milestone for an industry that Berlin has identified as strategically vital to its industrial future. Lithium-ion battery output, the segment most closely tied to the electric vehicle transition, performed particularly well, climbing 28 per cent to €4.6 billion.
Both trends — rising EV production and sustained energy storage demand — are expected to continue driving the market through 2026, the ZVEI said in its assessment published from Frankfurt.
Yet the headline figures mask a growing vulnerability. Battery imports from China rose by a quarter in 2025 to approximately €11 billion, cementing Beijing’s position as the dominant supplier to the German market. China remains ahead of European competitors such as Hungary, a trend that has been building for years and shows no sign of reversing.
The dependency is particularly acute for lithium-ion batteries, the technology at the heart of the electric vehicle revolution. Gunther Kellermann, managing director of the ZVEI’s battery industry association, warned that supply chain disruptions could have consequences far beyond the automotive sector.
“If these are interrupted, or individual regions suddenly halt their exports entirely, it becomes clear how vulnerable we are, especially in critical sectors such as defence or data centres,” Kellermann said.
The warning carries added weight in the context of rising geopolitical tensions and the broader debate within the European Union about economic sovereignty. Domestic battery production has become a strategic policy goal, with the European target of covering at least 40 per cent of annual battery cell demand from homegrown production by 2030. The ZVEI said it supports that target and welcomed increased federal research funding under Germany’s “High-tech Agenda.”
Kellermann argued that the industry’s most pressing need is not targeted purchase subsidies for electric vehicles but rather lower electricity prices across the board — a structural reform that would benefit the entire manufacturing base.
His assessment of the industry’s prospects was blunt. “If we do not now succeed in creating good framework conditions and fair competition, and in developing a strategy for our battery ecosystem, we could irreversibly lose industrial battery production on the European continent,” he said.
The figures arrive at a moment when Germany is wrestling with deeper questions about its industrial model. The country’s traditional strengths in automotive engineering and precision manufacturing are being tested by the global shift toward electrification and digitalisation. Battery production sits at the intersection of both transitions, making it a bellwether for the broader health of German industry.
For Africa, where several nations are positioning themselves as future participants in the global battery supply chain — through critical mineral extraction in the Democratic Republic of Congo, lithium mining in Zimbabwe, and graphite production in Mozambique — Germany’s growing dependence on Chinese imports underscores both the opportunity and the challenge of breaking into a market dominated by a single supplier.
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