Andreia RochaThe change is less in the mechanics and more in the conversation. An electric car breaks down less often than a combustion car of the same age, but the call that reaches the service desk is different: it is about the 12 V battery, charging, apps that will not unlock the car and range that will not reach the destination. Whoever answers in German still does the same job – understand, dispatch, follow through. What has grown is the list of things you need to be able to explain over the phone.
The number of calls has not dropped
It is worth starting here, because intuition tends to get it wrong. In 2025, the ADAC carried out 3,691,813 roadside assistance call-outs in Germany – 1.6% more than in 2024, or roughly one request every nine seconds. The peak day was 29 December 2025, with 18,588 requests.
The car fleet has been going electric and the phone has kept ringing. For anyone considering this job, that answers the unspoken question: no, the work is not disappearing.
The most common breakdown is not the one you would expect
In 2025, the 12 V starter battery was behind 45.4% of all breakdowns recorded by the ADAC. In 2015 it was 35.7%. It is the same small battery that electric cars also have, and it is still the main reason a car stops.
The second cause, at 21.8% in 2025, is engine management and the high-voltage systems.
Why does this matter to whoever answers? Because the first thing many people say on the phone is "my car is electric, it must be the big battery" – and in most cases it is not. Being able to steer the conversation without confirming the customer's guess, and without contradicting it head-on, is part of the job.
The electric car breaks down less, and people still call
The ADAC figures for 2025 show that a five-year-old electric car had a breakdown rate of 10.3, against 17.4 for combustion vehicles of the same age.
The same report puts forward a hypothesis about on-board breakdowns in electric cars: drivers "wake" the car through the app more often than manufacturers expected, and every wake-up draws on the 12 V battery. Be careful about what this is – it is the ADAC's interpretation, not a measured figure. Do not present it to the customer as a proven cause.
But it is useful as a sign of what has changed: the car has become something people interact with remotely, and that interaction has consequences too.
What this changes in what you hear on the phone
The way people describe the problem has a new vocabulary. It is no longer just "it won't start"; it now includes things that did not exist ten years ago:
- The app will not unlock the car, or does not show its status. It could be the network, it could be the account, it could be a flat 12 V battery.
- The charging point refuses the session. It is not a vehicle fault, but for someone who is stuck it is exactly the same thing.
- The range is not enough. The person has not broken down – they are scared. It is a different kind of call, and it takes a different kind of calm.
- Messages from the high-voltage system. Here there is a clear limit to what can be suggested over the phone, and knowing where that limit lies is a skill.
In general, none of this changes the essentials of an assistance call: understanding what is going on, confirming the details and explaining the next step. What changes is how many questions you may need to ask before you know what help to arrange.
Connected services did the same thing on the other side
Some of these calls are no longer roadside assistance. They are product support, and that is where the Automotive Service project comes in, alongside Roadside Assistance: its posting includes questions about the vehicle, e-mobility and service.
From the caller's side, the line is not always clear. The driver does not know – and does not need to know – whether their problem is a breakdown or a question about using the car: they say what is happening and expect help. How these requests are split between the two projects is not published.
Why this reaches Portugal in German
Because the home market has grown fast. In the first half of 2026, 1,220,890 new fully electric cars were registered in the European Union, 20.7% of the market, compared with 15.6% in the same period of 2025. Germany was up 48%.
More electric cars on the road means more drivers with e-mobility questions, asked in German. That is the context of these four roles.
Do I need to know about electric cars?
Not to start with. Familiarity with the automotive sector is listed in the postings as preferred, not as a requirement. What is mandatory is German – native level or C1 at least, with no certificate required by the postings – and, in the Roadside Assistance roles, fluent English.
The postings do not describe how the technical side is learned, and I will not make it up. What they ask for is native or C1 German and strong communication skills.
Electric cars break down less – does that mean fewer calls?
It has not so far. The ADAC had more call-outs in 2025 than in 2024, even with the electric fleet growing.
So what is the most common breakdown?
The 12 V battery: 45.4% of ADAC cases in 2025. That applies to both combustion and electric cars.
Do I need to know how to fix charging problems?
You need to know how to steer the conversation and dispatch whoever fixes it. The postings do not ask for technical training in e-mobility.
Which of the two projects takes these calls?
It depends on what the person is calling about. Roadside Assistance is the car that has stopped; Automotive Service is product support, including e-mobility.
How much does it pay?
It is on the page for each role, linked below. I do not repeat the figures here.
- Autohaus, "ADAC rückte 2025 fast 3,7 Millionen Mal aus", published on 2026-03-10, accessed 2026-09-17 – ADAC call-outs in 2025, change from 2024 and peak day – https://www.autohaus.de/nachrichten/autohandel/pannenhilfe-adac-rueckte-2025-fast-3-7-millionen-mal-aus-3777646
- ADAC, Pannenstatistik 2026, published on 2026-04-23, accessed 2026-09-17 – causes of breakdowns in 2025 and comparison with 2015; breakdown rates for electric and combustion vehicles at five years; the hypothesis about waking the car through the app – https://www.adac.de/rund-ums-fahrzeug/unfall-schaden-panne/adac-pannenstatistik-2026/
- ACEA, new car registrations in the first half of 2026, published on 2026-07-23, accessed 2026-09-17 – volume and share of fully electric cars in the EU and growth in Germany – https://www.acea.auto/pc-registrations/new-car-registrations-5-7-in-h1-2026-battery-electric-20-7-market-share/
- Official postings for the Contact Center Agent (German Speaker) roles, Volkswagen Group Services Portugal – language requirements and working arrangement.