Significant growth in international sales boosts the electric vehicle market in May

In May 2026, new passenger car registrations in Germany totaled 239,448 vehicles, marking a 0.1 percent increase compared to the same month last year, despite having two fewer business days. Adjusted for calendar effects, market growth thus stands at +11.2 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 3.6 percent more vehicles have been newly registered than in the first five months of the previous year. This amounted to a total of 1,188,015 passenger cars, including 519,783 vehicles from international brands, which thus held a total market share of 43.8 percent since the start of the year. In May, this share stood at 44.1 percent.

VDIK President Imelda Labbé: “The disproportionate increase in the BEV market share of international manufacturers is due to their strong product offerings, particularly in the entry-level segment, but also to lower operating costs compared to internal combustion engines. The federal government’s subsidies provide an additional incentive, especially for those with lower and middle incomes, where price sensitivity plays a particularly important role. The trend in demand is encouraging; orders for BEVs have more than doubled compared to the same month last year.”

59,969 all-electric passenger cars (BEVs) were newly registered in May 2026, representing a 39.3 percent increase compared to the same month last year. New registrations for international brands are expected to have risen by an above-average 60.6 percent to 27,924 vehicles, giving them a BEV market share of 46.6 percent. The total BEV market share in May 2026 stood at 25.0 percent of all new passenger car registrations, approximately 7.0 percentage points higher than in the same month of the previous year, but about 0.8 percentage points below the previous month’s figure. Since the beginning of the year, a total of 283,949 BEVs have been newly registered, representing a 40.9 percent increase compared to the same period last year. International brands accounted for approximately 44.0 percent of this total. The BEV market share for the first five months of 2026 stands at 23.9 percent.

Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) also saw growth again in May compared to the same month last year. New PHEV registrations rose by 10.9 percent last month to 27,921 vehicles. This corresponds to a market share of 11.7 percent, which is about 1.2 percentage points higher than the figure for the same month last year. In the PHEV market, international brands are estimated to have put 12,844 new vehicles on the road in May, giving them a market share of 46.0 percent of the total PHEV market. A total of 131,581 new PHEV passenger cars have been registered since the beginning of the year (+16.1 percent), giving them a cumulative market share of 11.1 percent of all new passenger car registrations. Since the beginning of the year, international brands have held a 40.1 percent market share of the total PHEV market.

In total, electric vehicles – that is, BEVs and PHEVs combined – accounted for 87,890 new passenger car registrations in May, an increase of 28.8 percent compared to the same month last year. Their market share stood at 36.7 percent (May 2025: 28.5 percent). Since the beginning of the year, 415,530 electric vehicles have been newly registered, bringing their market share to 35.0 percent.

The number of new commercial vehicle registrations in May was 26,217, 5.0 percent lower than in May of the previous year. Since January 2026, 132,450 commercial vehicles have been newly registered (-3.8 percent).