New vehicle registrations in July 2026: BEV share rises to 29.3%

In July 2026, 268,068 new passenger cars were registered, 1.2 percent more than in the same month the previous year. Electric vehicles saw a surge of 61.7 percent to 78,609 units, accounting for 29.3 percent of total registrations, while gasoline vehicles dropped to 18.9 percent and diesel vehicles to 11.8 percent.

Advertisement

The Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) has released the registration figures for July 2026. A total of 268,068 passenger cars were registered in that month, representing a 1.2 percent increase compared to the previous year’s corresponding month. Private buyers drove this growth, with their new car registrations rising by 8.0 percent, accounting for 36.8 percent of the total market. In contrast, commercial vehicle registrations declined by 2.4 percent. Over the first seven months of the year, the market as a whole is 5.1 percent higher than during the same period last year.

Electric cars account for 29.3 percent of the market

The most notable figure in the statistics relates to battery electric vehicles. With 78,609 new registrations, BEVs saw a 61.7 percent increase and accounted for 29.3 percent of total registrations. This meant that in July, almost one out of every three newly registered cars was a pure electric vehicle. Plug-in hybrids totaled 30,609 units, representing 11.4 percent of registrations, and remained far behind BEVs. When all hybrid variants, including plug-in models, are combined, there were 105,284 new registrations, accounting for 39.3 percent of the total.

Traditional internal combustion engines continue to lose ground. Gasoline vehicles now account for only 18.9 percent, a decline of 29.7 percent compared to the previous month. Diesel vehicles make up 11.8 percent, showing a decrease of 21.8 percent. Alternative fuels other than electricity remain a minor note: liquefied gas increased to 1,705 units, representing a 59.2 percent rise and accounting for 0.6 percent of the total. The KBA recorded just one registration for vehicles powered by natural gas throughout the month.

Advertisement

Smart and BYD lead in terms of growth

Among German brands, Smart recorded the strongest growth at 106.6 percent, but with a 0.3 percent market share it remains in a niche position. Following behind was MINI, with 19.3 percent growth and a 1.7 percent share. Mercedes saw an increase of 8.0 percent, reaching 9.9 percent, while MAN reported a 1.9 percent rise but only a 0.1 percent share. Audi improved by 1.5 percent, accounting for 6.5 percent of the market, and BMW increased by 0.5 percent to 9.2 percent. Opel declined by 18.1 percent to a 4.4 percent share, Ford dropped by 17.0 percent to 3.6 percent, Volkswagen fell by 7.6 percent to 17.9 percent, and Porsche decreased by 4.5 percent to 1.0 percent. Despite these declines, Volkswagen once again remained the largest brand in terms of market share at 17.9 percent.

Among imported brands with at least a 1.5 percent market share, BYD stands out: the Chinese manufacturer saw its new vehicle registrations rise by 365.4 percent, reaching a 2.0 percent share. Significant increases were also recorded by Renault (+32.3 percent with a 2.5 percent share), Citroën (+23.1 percent with a 1.7 percent share), Peugeot (+22.0 percent with a 2.0 percent share), Fiat (+13.6 percent with a 2.3 percent share), and Kia (+11.4 percent with a 2.5 percent share). Seat achieved a 4.9 percent increase and a 5.2 percent share. On the losing side were Toyota (-25.0 percent with a 2.3 percent share), Volvo (-14.2 percent with a 1.7 percent share), Dacia (-11.2 percent with a 2.4 percent share), and Hyundai (-6.7 percent with a 3.3 percent share). Skoda remained the leading imported brand with an 8.7 percent share.

SUVs dominate the segments

In terms of segments, SUVs accounted for the largest share at 35.7 percent, with a 5.4 percent increase in July. Followed by the compact class, which rose to 13.8 percent after a 11.0 percent decline. Small cars reached 13.3 percent, up by 9.9 percent, while SUVs saw 10.2 percent, down from 4.8 percent. The highest percentage growth was recorded by minivans at 25.0 percent, accounting for 2.8 percent of the market. On the decline were sports cars (-27.1 percent with a 0.5 percent share), luxury vehicles (-20.2 percent with a 0.5 percent share), minivans (-16.4 percent with a 1.6 percent share), motorhomes (-15.7 percent with a 2.2 percent share), and utility vehicles (-4.3 percent with a 4.8 percent share).

Vehicles and Used Car Market

In the commercial vehicle segment, other motor vehicles saw a 19.5 percent increase, while motorcycles recorded a 10.9 percent rise. The KBA reported declines for coaches (-11.9 percent) and trucks (-8.0 percent). Overall, tractor units ended the month with a 3.6 percent decrease, and semi-trailer tractors showed a 3.0 percent drop compared to the previous month. Across all vehicle types, 325,682 motor vehicles and 25,377 trailers were newly registered.

The used car market performed weaker than the new car sector. In July 2026, 685,844 motor vehicles changed ownership, representing a 4.2 percent decline. For trailers, there were 42,670 ownership transfers, a 4.6 percent decrease. With the exception of coaches, which saw a 6.8 percent increase, all vehicle types in the used car market experienced declines.