EVs overtake petrol cars as electric sales surge 66 pct in Europe’s biggest economy

Electric cars have overtaken petrol models in monthly new car registrations in Germany, following the introduction of a new subsidy programme and the sharp increase in oil prices caused by the war in Iran. Registrations of pure electric cars rose 66 percent in March 2026 compared to a year ago to almost 71,000, the country’s motor vehicle authority KBA said.

The rising popularity of electric cars pushed their share of all registrations to 24 percent, while petrol cars’ share fell below 23 percent as their registrations declined five percent to 67,000. 

The take-up of electric cars in Germany already gathered pace last year, but sales lag well behind earlier government plans to bring their number to 15 million by 2030. At the start of the year, the government launched a new subsidy programme to support lower income households in buying or leasing electric cars. The abrupt end of a previous subsidy programme in late 2023 resulted in a sales collapse.

The increase in registrations follows reports from dealerships and online portals that the sharp oil price hike clearly stoked consumer interest in electric vehicles. This trend is likely to show up only gradually in registration numbers, as electric car buyers often need to wait several months before their new vehicle can be delivered. Registrations of private cars saw particularly strong growth, resulting in a decline in the company car share to 65 percent. 

Hybrid cars that are equipped with an electric motor and a combustion engine dominated the market in March with a share of 40 percent. Registrations of hybrids rose 16 percent to around 118,000, including plug-in hybrids. Registrations of diesel cars fell slightly to less than 38,000, taking their market share to around 13 percent. 

US brand Tesla registered a comeback following an earlier sales collapse linked to the reputational damage caused by CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in US politics. Following price cuts, Tesla sales more than quadrupled to more than 9,000 in March compared to a year ago.

Clean Energy Wire. Reproduced with permission.