Germany registered 249,163 new cars in April 2026, BEV share back to 25.8%
Germany's KBA registered 249,163 new passenger cars in April 2026, a 2.7% increase on April 2025. The headline story: battery-electric vehicles climbed to 25.8% market share, with 64,350 units, up 41.3% year-on-year (KBA, 7 May 2026). Germany's new income-tested EV grant opened for applications on 19 May 2026, after this data, but is backdated to registrations from 1 January.
April 2026, Germany headline numbers
| Metric | April 2026 | vs April 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Total new passenger registrations | 249,163 | +2.7% |
| BEV registrations | 64,350 | +41.3% |
| BEV share | 25.8% | n/a |
| Hybrid registrations (excl. plug-in) | 70,207 | n/a |
| Plug-in hybrid registrations | 27,546 | +13.3% |
| Petrol | 53,420 | -20.0% |
| Diesel | 32,437 | -13.8% |
| Commercial registration share | 64.6% | volume -0.2% |
| Private registration share | 35.4% | volume +8.2% |
Brand share, April 2026
| Brand | April share | Notable |
|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen | 18.5% | Largest brand despite -6.7% volume |
| Mercedes-Benz | 9.3% | +4.9% |
| BMW | 9.0% | -0.5% |
| Skoda | 8.5% | Strongest growth, +12.2% YoY (top import) |
Why BEV is recovering
The April reading adds to the evidence that Germany's 2024 BEV-share fall was a subsidy-cycle adjustment rather than a rejection of electric cars. KBA does not publish causes; AutoNergy's reading of the factors:
- Manufacturer pricing: carmakers have kept cutting BEV prices and lease rates since the old grant ended. We covered the dynamic in our Germany BEV recovery deep-dive.
- VW ID line: the ID.7, ID.3 and ID.4/ID.5 were Germany's three best-selling BEVs of 2025. Detail in the VW ID line article.
- Cheaper new entrants: Chinese brands and new small BEVs have widened the choice at lower price points.
The SUV / compact split
SUVs took 35.1% segment share in April with a 13.5% YoY increase, the largest segment. The compact class fell 12.9% but remained the second-largest segment, and small cars were third at 13.2%, up 12.1%.
Source & methodology
Figures from KBA (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt) Pressemitteilung Nr. 18/2026 (Fahrzeugzulassungen im April 2026), published 7 May 2026. Powertrain definitions follow KBA classification. Live brand share and powertrain mix on the Germany dashboard.
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