October new vehicle registrations: Electric Mercedes GLC already in 3rd place
Which are the most successful models among the more than 94,000 new electric vehicle registrations in October? We analyzed the data from the Federal Motor Transport Authority. The results show that this time, the Volkswagen ID.7, a familiar name, tops the rankings, while the electric Mercedes GLC gains momentum and ends up in third place.
Mercedes-Benz GLC
Image: Mercedes-Benz
As is well known, the KBA’s model figures always come out slightly later than the registration numbers by manufacturer and power type. In our separate article from Wednesday, you can therefore read about the overall trends, such as the 94,086 new electric vehicles registered in Germany in October. This represented a 79.4 percent increase in BEV registrations compared to the previous month. The share of pure electric vehicles among all new passenger car registrations rose to 37.0 percent, reaching a new high.
Let’s take a look at the model figures now — focusing, as usual, only on electric vehicles. It’s clear that the range of electric cars is growing continuously, as evidenced not only by the numerous new models introduced by electrive but also by a specific figure: 221. This represents the number of fully electric models that the KBA has recorded for this year with at least one registration.
Admittedly, this includes some special cases such as the last remaining VW e-up!, which was still in stock somewhere, or the E-truck eActros 600 converted into an expedition vehicle for Tobias Wagner’s round-the-world journey, which was registered as a passenger car rather than a truck due to its characteristics.
On the other hand, there are indeed models with strong sales figures: Skoda Elroq and Tesla Model Y alone are two electric vehicles that have seen over 30,000 new registrations in Germany since the start of the year. A total of 20 electric vehicle models achieved at least 10,000 units sold between January and October in the Federal Republic. Additionally, 99 electric vehicle models sold over 1,000 units each. In total, 698,230 electric vehicles were newly registered in Germany since the beginning of the year.
Top 10 in October: VW and Skoda represented twice each
Let’s dive into the details and first take a look at the top ten best-selling electric car models in October. As in previous months, a large number of these models come from the VW Group: VW ID.7 ranks first, Skoda Elroq is in second place, VW ID.4 (including ID.5) is in fifth place, Skoda Enyaq is in sixth place, VW ID.3 is in seventh place, and Cupra Tavascan is in eighth place. That means six of the top ten electric car models come from this Wolfsburg-based automaker.
It’s worth taking a look at third place as well: there the fully electric Mercedes GLC sits, having risen six places from ninth place compared to September. The GLC was previously Mercedes’ most successful model as a gasoline-powered vehicle, and it now enjoys great popularity as an electric car as well. Its popularity is so high that there is currently a six-month wait time for a custom-configured electric GLC.
Newcomers Cupra Raval and Skoda Epiq in the Top 30
What else is happening in the market? Volkswagen Group’s new Electric Urban Car Family, featuring affordable electric compact cars, is also gaining momentum. Its members, the Cupra Raval and Skoda Epiq, made it into Germany’s top 30 electric cars by new registrations already in October.
And here is the overall overview with the top 30 of the most newly registered electric cars in Germany:
| Rank | Brand | Model | October | Jan.-Oct. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | VW | ID.7 | 3,576 | 26,048 |
| 2 | Skoda | Elroq | 3,542 | 34,441 |
| 3 | Mercedes | GLC | 3,429 | 11,772 |
| 4 | BMW | iX1 | 3,215 | 20,534 |
| 5 | VW | ID.4, ID.5 | 3,188 | 21,772 |
| 6 | Skoda | Enyaq | 2,882 | 27,226 |
| 7 | VW | ID.3 | 2,813 | 27,165 |
| 8 | Seat | Tavascan | 2,784 | 13,214 |
| 9 | Mercedes | CLA | 2,772 | 20,231 |
| 10 | Tesla | Model Y | 2,534 | 31,998 |
| 11 | Mini | Mini | 2,515 | 17,209 |
| 12 | Audi | Q4 e-tron | 2,336 | 11,852 |
| 13 | Audi | A6 e-tron | 2,096 | 17,167 |
| 14 | Citroën | ë-C3 | 1,854 | 12,521 |
| 15 | Audi | Q6 e-tron | 1.849 | 15.978 |
| 16 | Dacia | Spring | 1.743 | 9.392 |
| 17 | Volvo | EX30 | 1.591 | 6.650 |
| 18 | BMW | iX3 | 1.523 | 11.055 |
| 19 | VW | ID. Buzz | 1.520 | 9.421 |
| 20 | Mercedes | GLB | 1.470 | 8.911 |
| 21 | Leapmotor | B10 | 1.457 | 5.528 |
| 22 | Cupra | Born | 1.398 | 14.257 |
| 23 | Kia | EV2 | 1.387 | 7.172 |
| 24 | Hyundai | Inster | 1.343 | 11.462 |
| 25 | Cupra | Raval | 1.246 | 6.200 |
| 26 | Ford | Explorer | 1.114 | 9.854 |
| 27 | Renault | R5 | 1.089 | 8.202 |
| 28 | MG Motor | 4 Urban | 1.086 | 1.086 |
| 29 | Skoda | Epiq | 1.070 | 1.451 |
| 30 | Mazda | CX-6e | 1.050 | 2.057 |
Not yet visible in the top 30, but still models that should be on your radar: The VW ID. Polo, another member of the Electric Urban Car Family, has seen over 2,000 new registrations in Germany since it went on sale. The new electric sedan BMW i3 has accumulated around 750 units so far.
For both models, these figures represent totals from the beginning of the year rather than monthly numbers, as deliveries started much later. This leads us to the top 30 rankings for the whole year, which differ significantly from the ranking for the single month of October. Here, the Skoda Elroq, Tesla Model Y, and Skoda Enyaq lead the way, while the rising star Mercedes GLC ranks only 17th due to its launch later in the year:
| Rank | Brand | Model | Jan.-Oct. | October |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Skoda | Elroq | 34.441 | 3.542 |
| 2 | Tesla | Model Y | 31.998 | 2.534 |
| 3 | Skoda | Enyaq | 27.226 | 2.882 |
| 4 | VW | ID.3 | 27.165 | 2.813 |
| 5 | VW | ID.7 | 26.048 | 3.576 |
| 6 | VW | ID.4, ID.5 | 21.772 | 3.188 |
| 7 | BMW | iX1 | 20.534 | 3.215 |
| 8 | Mercedes | CLA | 20.231 | 2.772 |
| 9 | Mini | Mini | 17.209 | 2.515 |
| 10 | Audi | A6 e-tron | 17.167 | 2.096 |
| 11 | Audi | Q6 e-tron | 15.978 | 1.849 |
| 12 | Tesla | Model 3 | 15.466 | 397 |
| 13 | Cupra | Born | 14.257 | 1.398 |
| 14 | Cupra | Tavascan | 13.214 | 2.784 |
| 15 | Citroën | ë-C3 | 12.521 | 1.854 |
| 16 | Audi | Q4 e-tron | 11.852 | 2.336 |
| 17 | Mercedes | GLC | 11.772 | 3.429 |
| 18 | Hyundai | Inster | 11.462 | 1.343 |
| 19 | BMW | iX3 | 11.055 | 1.523 |
| 20 | BMW | i4 | 10.038 | 933 |
| 21 | Ford | Explorer | 9.854 | 1.114 |
| 22 | VW | ID. Buzz | 9.421 | 1.520 |
| 23 | Dacia | Spring | 9.392 | 1.743 |
| 24 | Mercedes | GLB/EQB | 8.911 | 1.470 |
| 25 | Leapmotor | T03 | 8.818 | 1.048 |
| 26 | Fiat | 500 | 8.502 | 968 |
| 27 | Kia | EV3 | 8.261 | 907 |
| 28 | Renault | R5 | 8.202 | 1.089 |
| 29 | BMW | 5er | 8.130 | 884 |
| 30 | Opel | Grandland X | 7.503 | 644 |
Interestingly, with the Leapmotor T03, it is the only BEV model from China to make it into this year’s top 30. In contrast, BYD, often perceived as an electric vehicle brand, has no models in the top 30 for two reasons: Firstly, the manufacturer has a broader range of electric models, but none of them achieve high sales figures individually. Secondly, BYD accounts for only 39 percent of BEVs registered in Germany since the start of the year, while 61 percent of the nearly 48,000 new registrations of this brand in Germany are plug-in hybrids.
BYD’s and other Chinese brands’ strategic shift from BEVs to PHEVs due to high EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles has now led to the EU and China agreeing on a sort of brake on the import of Chinese hybrids and plug-in hybrids.
One final observation: Even though some traditional automakers rank high in the list of electric vehicle models, this does not necessarily mean that their share of total sales is high. For example, the Volkswagen brand has managed to sell 87,907 electric vehicles in Germany since the start of the year. However, given the total of 442,775 new passenger car registrations by VW, its electric vehicle share in Germany stands at only 19.9 percent since the beginning of the year. Other traditional German brands have higher shares: 24.0 percent for Mercedes-Benz, 26.6 percent for BMW, 27.0 percent for Audi, and even 35.6 percent for Porsche.
Kia has the highest electric vehicle share among traditional brands: the South Korean company accounts for 51.4 percent of BEV sales in the German market. This is thanks to its wide range of electric models, including six vehicles of various sizes from the EV2 to the EV9, as well as the electric van PV5.