Every third new registration is an e-car

08.04.2026

Source: E & M powernews

Registration figures on the German car market rose significantly in March. Electric cars played a large part in this.

Every third new registration in March 2026 was an electric car. This was reported by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) in its latest market overview. The electric share of total registrations was therefore 34 percent.

According to the statistics, significantly more new vehicles were registered on the German passenger car market in March than in the same month last year. Compared to March 2025, the number of passenger car registrations rose by 16% to 194,200. The VDA attributes this partly to the weak level of the previous year, but also to the additional working day in March.

In the first quarter, new registrations totaled 699,400 vehicles, an increase of 5%. However, according to the VDA, the market is still around 21% lower than in 2019.

New registrations of electric vehicles rose by 46% to 100,700 units compared to the previous month. Battery electric vehicles (BEV) grew by 66% to 70,700 units, plug-in hybrids (PHEV) by 13% to 30,000 units.

A total of 235,800 electric vehicles were newly registered in the first quarter, an increase of 33%. Of these, 159,600 units were BEVs, which corresponds to an increase of 41 percent. PHEVs reached 76,100 units, an increase of 19 percent.

More production, more exports

400,800 passenger cars were produced in March, an increase of 3 percent compared to the same month last year. Here too, the increase is due to the additional working day. At just under 1.1 million units, production in the first quarter was 2% below the previous year's figure and 16% below the 2019 level.

Exports also developed positively in March: at 310,700 vehicles, they were 3% up on the same month last year. In the year to date, 799,500 passenger cars have been exported, 2% less than in the previous year. This represents a decline of 18 percent compared to 2019.

The trend in incoming orders was mixed. While domestic orders increased by 7% in March, orders from abroad fell by 3%. Overall, incoming orders were therefore 2% lower than in the same month last year. The VDA does not believe that geopolitical developments have had any influence on the current registration figures. Due to the time lag between orders and registrations, the March data does not reflect any short-term effects. Possible effects of rising energy prices on demand could only become apparent later in the year, the association writes.

Author: Katia Meyer-Tien