New registrations in September: Tesla Model Y takes the lead from behind
New data from the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) shows that Tesla’s Model Y was by far the electric vehicle with the most new registrations in Germany in September. Yet this bestseller ranked only 15th in the list back in August. There were also other developments in the market, as shown in our eMobility Dashboard.
Tesla Model Y
Image: Tesla
In the end, it’s not really a surprise that the Tesla Model Y once again rose to the top of new car registrations in Germany in September. After all, the Texas-based manufacturer, which has a factory for that exact model just outside Berlin, employs a somewhat unique delivery and registration strategy that causes the figures to surge sharply at nearly the end of each quarter before dropping again at the start of the next quarter.
Nevertheless, the figures are impressive: With 8,038 units sold, the Model Y far surpassed all others. This marked the highest monthly sales figure for Tesla’s electric mid-size SUV—the previous record was 6,841 units sold in March (also a quarter-end month). For comparison, the lowest monthly sales figure for the Model Y was just 299 units in July, while only 1,426 units were registered in Germany in August.
The monthly figures resemble those of a roller coaster, but with 29,464 units sold from January to September, the Model Y remains the second-best-selling electric car in Germany so far this year. There is also an interesting correlation: the Model Y is currently the most popular vehicle for the federal government’s electric car incentives, having received 8,297 approved applications since its launch in May (as of October 1).
As for the other positions: Tesla’s mid-range sedan, the Model 3, has also risen significantly in rankings—moving up ten places compared to last month, August. According to the KBA, 4,512 new Model 3 vehicles were registered in Germany, and it also benefits greatly from the electric car incentives, placing it third in the model rankings.
Skoda Elroq as Tesla’s Rival and 9-Month Winner
Bronze goes to the Skoda Elroq with 4,128 units sold. This is two positions lower than in July and August. The sales figures for this electric SUV from the Czech subsidiary of Volkswagen are much more consistent than those of the Tesla Model Y: its monthly sales range from 3,000 to 4,000 units throughout the year — and the 4,128 new registrations in 2026 even set a new record for the Elroq. Consistency is rewarded: across the first nine months of the year, the Skoda Elroq ranked first in electric vehicle registrations in Germany with 30,845 units sold.
Let’s look at the other positions in the top 10: As in September, these are once again dominated by many familiar names, namely Skoda Enyaq, Volkswagen ID.4/ID.5, Volkswagen ID.3, Mini Electric, Volkswagen ID.7, Mercedes-Benz GLC, and Mercedes-Benz CLA. It’s important to note, as usual, that the KBA does not distinguish between Mini’s three all-electric models—Aceman Electric, Cooper Electric, and Country Electric—which slightly distorts the rankings in this category. Here is an overview of the top 10:
| Rank | Model | New Registrations |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Tesla Model Y | 8,038 |
| 2 | Tesla Model 3 | 4,512 |
| 3 | Skoda Elroq | 4,128 |
| 4 | Skoda Enyaq | 2,852 |
| 5 | Volkswagen ID.4 (including ID.5) | 2,795 |
| 6 | Volkswagen ID.3 | 2,425 |
| 7 | Mini Electric | 2,389 |
| 8 | Volkswagen ID.7 | 2,331 |
| 9 | Mercedes-Benz GLC | 2,205 |
| 10 | Mercedes-Benz CLA | 2,164 |
A total of 88,599 new electric vehicles were registered in Germany in September, as we reported earlier in the eMobility Dashboard. With 34.5 percent of new car registrations, more than one in three new passenger cars registered in Germany were electric vehicles in September — a new record. At the same time, new electric vehicle registrations increased by around 95 percent compared to the previous month.
An interesting aspect of these KBA registration figures is looking at them by brand: Tesla leads here with 12,552 BEVs, followed by the standalone brand VW with 9,440 fully electric vehicles, and Volkswagen’s subsidiary Skoda with 7,673 electric cars.
Kia and Leapmotor in the Top 10 of Manufacturers
This reveals that brands such as Kia or Leapmotor appear in the top 10 of electric vehicle manufacturers, even though they are not among the top 10 based on individual models. This is because some manufacturers like Tesla and Skoda have so far focused on a few high-volume models, while Kia offers a wider range with its electric vehicle lineup featuring six different models from EV2 to EV9, plus the electric van PV5, which collectively earn it a spot in the top 10. For Leapmotor, five BEV models are sufficient to reach the top 10, with the B03X making its debut in new vehicle registrations. We were able to test this compact electric SUV during our first drive.
| Rank | Manufacturer | Registrations |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Tesla | 12,552 |
| 2 | VW | 9,440 |
| 3 | Škoda | 7,673 |
| 4 | Mercedes-Benz | 6,497 |
| 5 | Audi | 5.265 |
| 6 | BMW | 4.751 |
| 7 | Kia | 4.184 |
| 8 | Seat | 3.585 |
| 9 | Renault | 2.782 |
| 10 | Leapmotor | 2.570 |
Let’s take a final look at the model counts since the beginning of the year. As mentioned earlier, in the cumulative view from January to September 2026, the Skoda Elroq leads, followed by the Tesla Model Y. Many other models appear after that, which you are already familiar with from our ranking for September alone: Bronze goes to the Volkswagen ID.3, followed by Skoda Enyaq, the larger sibling of the Elroq, Volkswagen ID.7, Volkswagen ID.4 (including ID.5), as well as the Mercedes-Benz CLA, BMW iX1, Audi A6 e-tron, and Tesla Model 3.
| Rank | Model | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | Total |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Skoda Elroq | 3.121 | 3.406 | 3.872 | 3.341 | 3.083 | 3.315 | 3.541 | 3.038 | 4.128 | 30.845 |
| 2 | Tesla Model Y | 1.119 | 1.340 | 6.841 | 1.968 | 2.410 | 6.023 | 299 | 1.426 | 8.038 | 29.464 |
| 3 | Volkswagen ID.3 | 2.405 | 2.455 | 3.298 | 3.518 | 3.050 | 3.514 | 2.220 | 1.467 | 2.425 | 24.352 |
| 4 | Skoda Enyaq | 1.841 | 2.308 | 3.392 | 2.790 | 2.770 | 3.383 | 2.868 | 2.140 | 2.852 | 24.344 |
| 5 | Volkswagen ID.7 | 2.632 | 2.246 | 3.039 | 2.541 | 1.952 | 2.248 | 3.247 | 2.236 | 2.331 | 22.472 |
| 6 | Volkswagen ID.4 (including ID.5) | 991 | 1.623 | 2.554 | 2.064 | 1.453 | 1.674 | 3.241 | 2.189 | 2.795 | 18.584 |
| 7 | Mercedes-Benz CLA | 1.330 | 1.401 | 2.221 | 2.385 | 1.647 | 2.048 | 2.514 | 1.749 | 2.164 | 17.459 |
| 8 | BMW iX1 | 961 | 756 | 1,658 | 2,421 | 1,736 | 2,628 | 2,901 | 2,449 | 1,809 | 17,319 |
| 9 | Audi A6 e-tron | 1,454 | 1,337 | 2,208 | 1,510 | 1,131 | 2,274 | 1,898 | 1,749 | 1,510 | 15,071 |
| 10 | Tesla Model 3 | 162 | 872 | 2,356 | 1,134 | 2,664 | 1,708 | 56 | 1,605 | 4,512 | 15,069 |
That’s an overview of the most popular electric new cars in Germany. For more data, check our monthly Mobility Dashboard, where you can also find all figures on new vehicle registrations by drive type.
