One in eight Volkswagen Group vehicles was a BEV in Q3

Volkswagen sold a strong 20 per cent more electric vehicles in Europe in Q3 compared to the same period last year. However, EV sales are lagging in the US and China, causing the German automaker to report a decline in overall electric vehicle deliveries. While the share of EVs in total sales has increased, the overall sales decline is even steeper.

Image: Volkswagen

Volkswagen is losing competitiveness — not in Europe, but primarily in its non-European markets, according to the newly published sales statistics for the third quarter. The Group delivered 240,200 battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) worldwide between July and September, which marks a 4.7% decrease compared to the same period last year. Of these, 209,100 units were sold in Europe, representing a 19.6% increase, while the Group’s BEV sales in the USA, China and the rest of the world declined significantly.

Looking at the year-to-date performance, it becomes clear that Volkswagen Group’s global BEV deliveries from January to September 2026 fell by 5.4% to 678,700 vehicles. Here, too, the disparity between Europe (+12.1%) and other regions is evident, with substantial sales losses. This confirms a long-standing trend.

Volkswagen’s total sales drop by 14.3%

Breaking it down across all powertrains, Volkswagen sold approximately 1,885,300 vehicles in the third quarter, showing a significant decline of 14.3% compared to Q3 2025. BEV sales, however, decreased by a smaller margin of 4.7%, meaning that in Q3, one in eight Group vehicles worldwide had a purely electric powertrain (electric share: 12.7%). Expanding this perspective to the year so far, Volkswagen recorded 6.01 million vehicles sold globally from January to September (-9% year-on-year) with an electric share of 11.3%. Notably, the Group is currently experiencing only modest growth across all powertrains in South America (+4%), Western Europe (+1%) and Central and Eastern Europe (+5%). These gains are insufficient to offset the declines in North America (-4%) and, in particular, the sharp drop in China (-30%).

Regional differences are also evident in BEV sales but with varying patterns. The Volkswagen Group remains the BEV market leader in Europe with 209,100 sales in the third quarter (+19.4%). Volkswagen’s BEV share in Europe has thus climbed from 18% to 20% after nine months of the year. In contrast, the markets in China and the USA are losing significance. BEV car sales there plummeted by 30.1% and 86.4%, respectively. The only silver lining is that in Q3, Volkswagen managed to slightly curb its losses in China compared to the first half of the year, though the decline in the USA has accelerated further.

Deliveries

to Customers by MarketsJul. – Sep. 2026Jul. – Sep. 2025Delta (%)Jan. – Sep. 2026Jan. – Sep. 2025Delta (%)

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

World240.200252.100-4.7678.700717.700-5.4

Volkswagen also notes that it is recording positive momentum in China from the new, locally developed electric models in a significantly declining market. However, the overall BEV market in the USA has declined sharply following the expiry of government incentive programmes. Additionally, ongoing import tariffs have caused Volkswagen’s BEV deliveries there to drop by 78% in the first nine months of the year.

Plug-in hybrids gain ground in the portfolio

On a positive note for VW, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), which Volkswagen includes in its statistics alongside range-extender vehicles (EREVs), increased by 23% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2026 to 368,000 units. This accounts for 6.1% of all Group sales in the same period. In China, deliveries of electrified vehicles in Q3 reportedly increased by around 30% compared to the same quarter last year. However, Volkswagen has not provided absolute figures, so the actual impact on sales remains unclear. Incidentally, the Group’s first EREV model is the ID. ERA 9X04 — also in China.

Volkswagen lists the following model series as its best-selling BEVs of the year:

• Škoda Elroq – 92,200 units
• Volkswagen ID.4/ID.5 – 81,900
• Škoda Enyaq (incl. Coupé) – 72,700
• Volkswagen ID.3 – 61,100
• Audi Q6 e-tron (SUV/Sportback) – 50,400
• Volkswagen ID.7 (incl. Tourer) – 47,500
• Audi Q4 e-tron (SUV/Sportback) – 47,000
• Volkswagen ID. Buzz (incl. Cargo) – 42,000
• Cupra Born – 29,000
• Audi A6 e-tron (Avant/Sportback) – 27,600

The top four models are the same as in the mid-year report this summer. The Q4 e-tron, however, has dropped to seventh place, while the Audi Q6 e-tron and VW ID.7 have each moved up one position.

Škoda and SEAT/Cupra make gains

Volkswagen has also published a detailed breakdown of how electric car sales have developed across its individual brands. The data reveals that BEV sales for Volkswagen Passenger Cars (-22.4%) and Audi (-21.5%) were particularly weak in the third quarter, while Porsche managed to recover (from -31% year-on-year in the first half of the year to +2.5% in Q3). Meanwhile, Škoda (+30% year-on-year) continues to emerge as a volume driver, as evidenced by the ranking, which includes two Škoda BEVs among the top three electric cars. As a result, the gap between VW and Škoda in BEV sales narrowed to just under 15,000 units in Q3. A year earlier, the difference was still around 50,000.

Deliveries to

Customers by BrandsJul. – Sep. 2026Jul. – Sep. 2025Delta (%)Jan. – Sep. 2026Jan. – Sep. 2025Delta (%)

Core Brand Group175.700174.600+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

Progressive Brand Group48.70062.000-21.5143.700163.400-12.0

Audi 48.700 62.000-21.5 143.700 163.400-12.0

Bentley––––––

Lamborghini––––––

Sport Luxury Brand Group15.10014.700+2.538.70048.900-20.8

Porsche 15.100 14.700+2.5 38.700 48.900-20.8

Trucks / TRATON Brand Group800800-4.92.7002.100+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

Despite these relatively sobering figures, Volkswagen emphasises that BEV demand is set to pick up soon. The order backlog for pure electric vehicles in Europe has reportedly increased by more than 60%. Volkswagen says that the recently introduced Electric Urban Car Family, including the VW ID. Polo and ID. Cross02, Škoda Epiq03 and CUPRA Raval, has already attracted nearly 150,000 orders from customers. Across all powertrains, order intake after three of four quarters in 2026 has risen by 4%, while the German automotive Group says the BEV share of the order backlog is increasing to around 40%. This suggests a growing share of electric vehicles in future sales statistics. The current 12.7% is a relatively low figure. At Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars, one in six new Mercedes passenger cars was already fully electric in the third quarter (16.8% E-share).

Martin Sander, Member of the Extended Group Board of Management for Sales, comments: “In a persistently challenging market environment, the Volkswagen Group kept its deliveries outside of China stable overall in the first nine months. We recorded growth in South America and Europe. In our home market, we are seeing a significantly accelerated trend towards all-electric vehicles. The main reasons for this are the currently high fuel prices and the wider range of entry-level models. […] Overall, one in five of the models we’ve delivered in Europe is all-electric, and in our order book, that share is as high as around 40 per cent.” Sander also noted that the significantly declining overall market in China remains an industry-wide challenge.