Volkswagen: One in every eight group vehicles was an electric car in Q3
Volkswagen sold 20 percent more electric vehicles in Europe during Q3 compared to the previous year. However, sales of electric cars are struggling in the U.S. and China, resulting in overall declining figures for this German automaker in the electric vehicle segment. This still isn’t enough to increase the share of electric vehicles, as total sales are shrinking even more sharply.
Image: Volkswagen
Volkswagen is losing competitiveness—not in Europe, but mainly in its overseas operations. This is evident from the recently released sales statistics for the third quarter. According to these figures, the company delivered 240,200 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) worldwide between July and September, which is 4.7 percent less than in the same period last year. Of these, 209,100 units were sold in Europe, representing a 19.6 percent increase in sales, while the company’s BEV sales in the U.S., China, and the rest of the world declined significantly.
Looking at the year-to-date performance, it is evident that Volkswagen Group’s global BEV deliveries from January to September 2026 declined by 5.4 percent to 678,700 vehicles. Once again, the gap between Europe (+12.1%) and other regions, which experienced significant sales drops, becomes apparent. This indicates a trend that has been ongoing for some time.
Volkswagen’s overall sales drop by 14.3 percent
But step by step: Across all powertrains, Volkswagen sold around 1,885,300 vehicles in the third quarter, a significant drop of -14.3% compared to Q3/2025. Electric vehicle sales declined at a lower rate of -4.7%, meaning that in the third quarter, one in eight of the group’s vehicles worldwide had a pure electric drive (electric share: 12.7%). Looking at the entire year to date, Volkswagen sold 6.01 million vehicles globally from January to September (-9% year-on-year), with an electric share of 11.3%. Notably, the group is currently growing only modestly across all powertrains in South America (+4%), Western Europe (+1%), and Central and Eastern Europe (+5%). This growth cannot offset the declines in North America (-4%) or, even more significantly, the further slump in China (-30%).
In terms of electric vehicle sales, regional differences are also evident — but in different forms: The Volkswagen Group remains the leader in the BEV market in Europe, with 209,100 units sold in the third quarter (+19.6%). Volkswagen’s share of BEVs in Europe rose from 18% to 20% after nine months of the year. In contrast, markets in China and the U.S. are losing importance increasingly. Sales of battery-electric cars there dropped by 30.1% and 86.4%, respectively. The only positive aspect is that in the third quarter, Volkswagen was able to somewhat curb its losses in China compared to the first half of the year, while sales continued to decline more sharply in the U.S.
Deliveries
To customers by market July – Sep. 2026 July – Sep. 2025 Delta (%) Jan – Sep. 2026 Jan – Sep. 2025 Delta (%)
Europe 209,100 174,800 +19.6 586,100 522,700 +12.1
USA 5,100 37,400-86.4 14,900 68,700-78.4
China 18,000 25,800-30.1 48,900 85,100-42.5
Rest of the World 8,100 14,100-43.0 28,800 41,100-30.0
World 240,200 252,100-4.76 78,700 717,700-5.4
Volkswagen notes that “in China, a market in clear decline is seeing positive momentum from new electric models developed locally.” However, the overall BEV market in the USA has declined significantly after the end of government subsidy programs. Ongoing import tariffs have also caused Volkswagen’s BEV deliveries there to drop by 78 percent in the first nine months of the year.
Part-time electric vehicles may gain prominence in the portfolio
On the positive side, plug-in hybrids (PHEV), to which Volkswagen also includes range-extender vehicles (EREV) in its statistics, saw a 23 percent increase compared to the same period last year so far, reaching 368,000 units. They accounted for 6.1 percent of all group sales in the first nine months of the year. In China, deliveries of electrified vehicles are said to have increased by around 30 percent in Q3 compared to the previous year’s quarter. However, Volkswagen does not provide absolute figures, leaving the actual impact on sales unknown. Incidentally, the company’s first EREV model is the ID. ERA 9X – also produced in China.
For the best-selling BEV vehicles of the year, Volkswagen lists the following models:
- Škoda Elroq – 92,200 units
- Volkswagen ID.4/ID.5 – 81,900
We are already familiar with these top four models from the summer’s semi-annual report. The Q4 e-tron, on the other hand, has dropped to seventh place. Audi Q6 e-tron and VW ID.7 have each moved up one position.
Škoda and Seat/Cupra can make a difference
Volkswagen also releases a detailed overview of how the electric vehicle sales for its various brand subsidiaries have evolved. It shows that in terms of BEV sales, Volkswagen Cars (-22.4%) and Audi (-21.5%) experienced a very weak third quarter, while Porsche managed to recover (from -31% year-on-year in the first half of the year to +2.5% in the third quarter). On the other hand, Skoda is increasingly becoming a key contributor (+30% year-on-year), as indicated by the ranking above, which features two Skoda electric vehicles among the top 3 best-selling electric cars. As a result, VW and Skoda were separated by only about 15,000 units in BEV sales during the third quarter. A year earlier, that gap was around 50,000 units.
Deliveries to
Customers by brandJul. – Sep. 2026Jul. – Sep. 2025Delta (%)Jan. – Sep. 2026Jan. – Sep. 2025Delta (%)
Brand group Core175.700174.600+0,6493.600503.300-1,9
Volkswagen Passenger Cars 73.900 95.200-22,4 212.200 287.900-26,3
Škoda 59.300 45.600+30,0 167.400 118.500+41,3
SEAT/CUPRA 24.800 19.800+25,5 65.100 57.300+13,5
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles 17.700 14.100+25,9 48.800 39.600+23,4
Brand group Progressive48.70062.000-21,5143.700163.400-12,0
Audi 48.700 62.000-21,5 143.700 163.400-12,0
Bentley––––––
Lamborghini––––––
Brand group Sport Luxury15.10014.700+2,538.70048.900-20,8
Porsche 15.100 14.700+2,5 38.700 48.900-20,8
Brand group Trucks / TRATON800800-4,92.7002.100+29,2
Scania 250 160+55,3 640 380+68,9
MAN 380 290+32,3 1.480 1.090+35,5
International 100 360-72,2 490 540-8,3
Volkswagen Truck & Bus 50 10+487,5 50 60-3,6
Volkswagen Group (total)240.200252.100-4,7678.700717.700-5,4
Volkswagen emphasizes that despite the relatively sober figures, demand for BEVs should start to rise soon. Orders for pure electric vehicles in Europe are said to have increased by more than 60 percent. “In particular, the recently introduced Electric Urban Car Family, including the VW ID. Polo and ID. Cross, Škoda Epiq, and CUPRA Raval, is very popular among customers with nearly 150,000 orders so far,” Volkswagen explains. Across all drive types, order intake increased by 4 percent after three out of four quarters in 2026, with “the BEV share of total orders rising to around 40 percent,” according to the company. This indicates an increasing share of electric vehicles in the future, given sales statistics. The current 12.7 percent is a relatively low figure. At Mercedes-Benz, one in six new Mercs were sold in the third quarter alone.
Eds-Pkw are fully electric (16.8 percent electric share).Martin Sander, member of the Extended Group Management for Sales, commented: “In a continuously challenging market environment, the Volkswagen Group has maintained stable deliveries outside China over the first nine months. We saw growth in South America and Europe. In our home market, we observe a significantly accelerated trend toward fully electric vehicles. The main reasons for this are currently high fuel prices and an increased range of entry-level models. […] Overall, one in five of our vehicles delivered in Europe is fully electric, and this proportion is even around 40 percent in pending orders.” Sander continued that the sharply declining overall market in China naturally remains a challenge for the entire industry.