Exit polls show the center-right Christian Democratic Union party leading, with the AfD party heading towards the strongest showing of the far-right since World War II.

Germany's conservatives won the national election on Sunday, while the far-right Alternative for Germany came in second, its best ever result.

Centre-right opposition leader Friedrich Merz’s conservative bloc emerged as the frontrunner in Germany’s national election on Sunday, though without a decisive victory, according to exit polls by ARD and ZDF public television.

Millions voted for a new federal government after the country's three-party coalition fell apart at the end of last year.

Polls are open across Germany as the world’s third largest economy chooses a new leader to guide it through an era of febrile immigration debates and souring relations with Washington.

While polling suggests Germany's far-right AfD party will fare well, it's very unlikely to be part of the next government of Europe's biggest economy.