KBA figures: 32.4 percent of all new cars are fully electric
New data from the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) shows that electric vehicles reached a new record market share in new car registrations in Germany in August 2026. For the first time, this figure exceeded 30 percent — and by a significant margin: specifically, 32.4 percent of all new cars in August were fully electric, meaning almost one in three.
In August, a total of 212,563 new passenger cars were registered in Germany across all propulsion types. Of these, 68,930 were electric vehicles, accounting for a market share of 32.4 percent. It appears that the new federal government incentives for electric cars, launched in May, are having an increasing impact, although KBA does not provide specific data on this. Notably, the market share of electric vehicles has risen sharply since the introduction of these incentives: it was 28.4 percent in June and 29.3 percent in July, but this time it saw a significant jump of 3.1 percentage points to the aforementioned 32.4 percent.
This is a positive sign for the advancement of electric mobility, which is thus gaining momentum. Looking back one year, BEVs accounted for only 19.0 percent of new vehicle registrations in Germany. Even in absolute terms, there was a significant increase from August 2025 to August 2026: at that time, the KBA reported exactly 39,367 new electric cars on German roads. The 68,930 new electric vehicle registrations in August 2026 represent a growth of 75.1 percent.
Let’s take a look at other types of propulsion systems: 25,406 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) were also newly registered, accounting for 12.0 percent of the market share. When combining BEVs and PHEVs, the proportion of new registrations with external charging capabilities reaches a impressive 44.4 percent.
KBA: Other propulsion types showing decline
Only 16.7 percent of new registrations were for pure gasoline vehicles (35,536 units), whose number decreased by 37.9 percent compared to the previous month according to KBA. Diesel cars also saw a decline of 17.3 percent (22,516 units), accounting for 10.6 percent of the market. In contrast, the largest share—84,603 units—went to hybrid vehicles, which held a 39.8 percent market share. However, KBA included the PHEVs mentioned separately earlier in this figure. The 971 liquefied gas-powered cars can be considered relatively insignificant. No new registrations were recorded in August for vehicles powered by natural gas, hydrogen engines, or fuel cells (hydrogen) according to KBA.
A look at the manufacturers shows that foreign producers are continuing to gain market share, especially in the electric vehicle sector. According to the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers (VDIK), new registrations of electric vehicles from foreign brands are expected to rise by 118.4 percent above average, reaching 35,080 vehicles – meaning just over half of all electric cars came from foreign manufacturers.
Since the KBA will not release statistics on individual vehicle models until September 7, this claim cannot yet be verified in detail. The publicly available dataset currently contains only general figures on propulsion types and general figures on manufacturers. It is still not possible to determine how many electric cars belong to each manufacturer.
Growth at Tesla, Xpeng, BYD, and Leapmotor
Thus, only from pure electric vehicle manufacturers can one obtain the exact BEV registration figures: Tesla reported 3,034 units (+110.5 percent), Xpeng 1,163 units (+311 percent), Smart 491 units (+18.9 percent), and Zeekr, which launched in Germany this year, 94 units.
The Chinese brands BYD, MG Motor, and Leapmotor are also closely watched in the industry, although they do not produce only electric vehicles. All three continue to show strong growth: BYD saw a surge of 371.8 percent, with 5,256 new registrations — a large portion likely consisting of plug-in hybrids as in recent months, with the rest being electric cars. MG Motor increased its sales by 54.5 percent to 3,307 units, but its portfolio includes not only electric and hybrid vehicles but also internal combustion engines. Leapmotor, a Stellantis subsidiary, saw growth of 172.9 percent to 2,254 units. In addition to BEVs, Leapmotor offers vehicles with range extenders.