International Brands Set Records—Market Share of Electric Mobility Is Growing Rapidly

In August 2026, new passenger car registrations in Germany totaled 212,563 vehicles, marking a 2.6 percent increase compared to the same month last year, with the same number of business days. 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 4.8 percent more vehicles have been newly registered than in the first eight months of the previous year. This totaled 1,965,024 passenger cars, including 875,179 vehicles from international brands, which thus accounted for a total market share of 44.5 percent since the start of the year. In August, this share stood at 47.0 percent, which is the highest statistically recorded figure to date.

VDIK President Imelda Labbé: “International manufacturers set two important records in August: With 47 percent, they achieved their highest-ever market share in the German passenger car market, and at the same time, more than half of all newly registered all-battery electric vehicles came from an international brand. This shows that diversity and product offerings in the entry-level segment are driving the growth of electric mobility. It is now crucial to further strengthen this positive trend with reliable and competition-friendly framework conditions for affordable mobility.”

68,930 all-electric passenger cars (BEVs) were newly registered in August 2026, representing a 75.1 percent increase compared with the same month a year earlier. New registrations for international brands are estimated to have risen at an above-average rate of 118.4 percent to 35,080 vehicles, giving them a BEV market share of 50.9 percent. This is the highest monthly BEV market share ever recorded for international brands. The total BEV market share in August 2026 stood at 32.4 percent of all new passenger car registrations, approximately 13.4 percentage points higher than in the same month of the previous year. This is the second-highest BEV market share on record and by far the highest share since the reduction in the electric vehicle purchase incentive in December 2022. Since the beginning of the year, a total of 515,545 BEVs have been newly registered, representing a 53.1 percent increase compared to the same period last year. International brands accounted for approximately 46.2 percent of this total. The BEV market share for the first eight months of 2026 totals 26.2 percent.

Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) also posted growth again in August compared to the same month last year. New PHEV registrations rose by 6.0 percent last month to 25,406 vehicles. This corresponds to a market share of 12.0 percent, which is about 0.4 percentage points higher than the figure for the same month last year. In the PHEV market, international brands are estimated to have put 11,098 new vehicles on the road in August, giving them a market share of 43.7 percent of the total PHEV market. A total of 219,808 new PHEV passenger cars have been registered since the beginning of the year (+15.6 percent), giving them a cumulative market share of 11.2 percent of all new passenger car registrations. Since the beginning of the year, international brands have held a market share of 41.1 percent of the total PHEV market.

In total, electric vehicles – that is, BEVs and PHEVs combined—accounted for 94,336 new passenger car registrations in August, an increase of 48.9 percent compared to the same month last year. Their market share stood at 44.4 percent (August 2025: 30.6 percent). Since the beginning of the year, 735,353 electric vehicles have been newly registered, bringing their market share to 37.4 percent.

The number of new commercial vehicle registrations in August was 26,308, down 2.9 percent from August of the previous year. Since January 2026, 223,440 new commercial vehicles have been registered (-2.3 percent).