International manufacturers continue to grow – Positive trend in BEVs

In March 2026, new passenger car registrations in Germany totaled 294,161 vehicles, marking a 16.0 percent increase compared to the same month the previous year, with one additional working day. Calendar-adjusted growth thus stands at +10.8 percent. This is according to an analysis of figures from the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) conducted by the Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK). Since the beginning of the year, a total of 5.2 percent more vehicles have been newly registered than in the first three months of the previous year. This amounted to 699,404 passenger cars, including 306,569 vehicles from international brands, which thus held a total market share of 43.8 percent. In March, this share was as high as 44.4 percent.

VDIK President Imelda Labbé: “International automakers have once again significantly increased their market share compared to last year. This shows that international vehicles are technically innovative and attractive, and meet customer expectations. International automakers have also made noticeable gains in the battery electric vehicle (BEV) segment.”

70,663 all-electric passenger cars (BEVs) were newly registered in March 2026, representing a 66.2 percent increase compared to the same month last year. New registrations for international brands are estimated to have risen by 64.6 percent to 28,023 vehicles, giving them a BEV market share of 39.7 percent. The total BEV market share in March 2026 stood at 24.0 percent of all new passenger car registrations, approximately 7.2 percentage points higher than in the same month last year and, at +2.1 percentage points, also significantly higher than the market share in the previous month. Since the beginning of the year, a total of 159,630 BEVs have been newly registered, representing a 41.3 percent increase compared to the same period last year. International brands accounted for approximately 42.7 percent of this total. The BEV market share for the first three months of 2026 stands at 22.8 percent.

Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) also saw growth in March (albeit at a slower pace) compared to the same month last year. New PHEV registrations rose by 13.0 percent last month to 29,996 vehicles. This corresponds to a market share of 10.2 percent, which is, however, about 0.3 percentage points below the previous year’s figure. In the PHEV market, international brands are estimated to have put 12,578 new vehicles on the road in March, giving them a market share of 41.9 percent of the total PHEV market. A total of 76,114 new PHEV passenger cars have been registered since the beginning of the year (+19.3 percent), giving them a cumulative market share of 10.9 percent of all new passenger car registrations. Since the beginning of the year, international brands have held a market share of 37.4 percent of the total PHEV market.

In total, electric vehicles – that is, BEVs and PHEVs combined—accounted for 100,659 new passenger car registrations in March, a 45.7 percent increase over the same month last year. Their market share stood at 34.2 percent (March 2025: 27.2 percent). Since records began, this is therefore only the fourth time that the threshold of 100,000 newly registered electric cars per month has been surpassed; previously, this always occurred before the expiration of a purchase incentive.  Since the beginning of the year, 235,744 electric vehicles have been newly registered, bringing their market share to 33.7 percent.

The number of new commercial vehicle registrations in March was 30,566, 2.6 percent higher than in March of the previous year. Since January 2026, 78,523 new commercial vehicles have been registered (-4.9 percent).