With an election this month, here's how the parties have reacted to today's incident
Immigration and security were already a focal point of Germany's election campaign, with polls showing a surge in support for the far-right AfD party.
After police confirmed the man detained in connection with today's "suspected attack" is a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, political leaders are once again setting out their position on migration.
Germany goes to the polls in just 10 days.
German leader vows deportation
Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) are third in polls, said the perpetrator cannot expect to stay in Germany.
In August, his government said it was resuming flights for convicted criminals of Afghan nationality to their home country and Scholz today repeated his intention to continue this policy.
"This perpetrator cannot count on any leniency, he must be punished and he must leave the country," he said.
Far-right asks "should this go on forever?"
The far-right AfD, in second place in polls, also seized on the incident, with co-leader Alice Weidel focusing on the driver's nationality.
"Should this go on forever? Migration turnaround now," she posted on social media platform X.
"Millions of people have come to us who previously threw away their passports. And we don't know who they are."
Election front-runner calls for 'change'
Conservative Friedrich Merz, front-runner to be Germany's next chancellor, has said safety would be his top priority.
"We will enforce law and order. Everyone must feel safe in our country again. Something has to change in Germany," Merz posted on X.
He has accused Scholz of being soft on immigration. Last month he broke a taboo in Germany by winning a parliamentary vote on asylum with the support of the AfD.
Bavaria's premier, who is the leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the sister party to the Christian Democrats (CDU) that's leading in polls, said this is "more evidence that we can't go from attack to attack and show dismay".
Markus Soder said: "We actually have to change something. This is not the first such act. So, we feel with the people today, but at the same time we are determined that something much change in Germany, and quickly."