Noble rank in Germany and Britain was on the way up (7)
I believe the answer is:
dukedom
'noble rank' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'germany and britain was on the way up' is the wordplay.
'germany' becomes 'd' (vehicle registration code for Deutschland).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'britain' becomes 'UK' (synonyms).
'was on the way up' becomes 'edom' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'd'+'uk'+'edom'='DUKEDOM'
'in' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dukedom that I've seen before include "Highest title of aristocracy" , "nobility?" , "Noble rank" , "Hereditary title" , "Wellington's rank" .)