EV registrations in Germany near 30 percent for the first time
Electric vehicle registrations in Germany's car market surged in July, while sales of petrol and diesel cars kept declining. Chinese manufacturers, led by BYD, continue to gain ground.
More than 268,000 new passenger cars were registered in Germany, Europe's largest car market, in July 2026, according to data from the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA). The overall market grew by 1.2 percent compared with the previous year.
Electric vehicles showed particularly strong growth, with registrations up 61.7 percent to nearly 80,000 units, bringing their market share to 29.3 percent — the closest it has come to 30 percent so far. At the same time, traditional combustion vehicles kept losing ground: petrol car registrations fell by 29.7 percent and diesel by 21.8 percent. Hybrid vehicles retained the largest overall market share at 39.3 percent, of which 11.4 percentage points came from plug-in hybrids.
Manufacturer performance
Among manufacturers, Smart and BYD posted the fastest growth, while Mini and Mercedes also performed well. Opel, Ford, Volkswagen and Porsche, on the other hand, saw sales decline. Despite this, Volkswagen remains the market leader in Germany, while Škoda continues to be the most popular import brand.
Chinese brands gain ground
Chinese manufacturers are steadily expanding their presence in the German market. BYD registered 5,240 vehicles in July, more than 365 percent more than a year earlier. Since the start of the year, the brand has sold over 31,000 vehicles in Germany, already surpassing its entire 2025 result and reaching sales levels comparable to Tesla and Citroen this year. Other Chinese brands, including Leapmotor, MG Motor and Xpeng, have also seen rising sales.
