For the first time in Europe’s largest market, electric cars outsold all other types of vehicles

Electric cars become sales leaders in Germany for the first time

Last month, Germany experienced a true turning point in its automotive market. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) outsold all other types of powertrains for the first time, capturing 28.4% of the country’s market. This happened in June, and they surpassed hybrids, which were the most popular choice just a month earlier. Two years ago, such a result would have seemed incredible for a country whose industrial identity is closely tied to the internal combustion engine.

June figures and statistics

According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), 84,057 new electric cars were sold in June. This is a 78.2% increase compared to June of last year. This surge allowed electric cars to barely outpace hybrids, whose registrations totaled 83,315 units, corresponding to a 28.1% market share.

Decline in popularity of petrol cars

It is important to note that both electric cars and hybrids now significantly outpace traditional petrol cars. The share of the latter in June was only 20.5% of the market, corresponding to 60,796 registrations. Petrol cars are followed by diesel cars with 33,862 sales (11.4% market share), and plug-in hybrids round out the top four with 32,212 units (10.9% market share).

Germany’s most popular electric cars

The undisputed leader among electric cars in June was the Tesla Model Y with an impressive 6,023 sales. Second place went to the Volkswagen ID.3 with 3,514 registrations, and third place to the Skoda Enyaq with 3,383 sales. The top ten most popular electric cars also included:

It is worth noting that the Model Y was so popular that it became the third best-selling new car overall in June, trailing only the VW Golf (8,117 sales) and the VW T-Roc (6,808 units).

Overall picture of Germany’s car fleet

Despite the rapid growth in sales of electric cars and hybrids, the vast majority of the country’s total car fleet still relies exclusively on fossil fuels. Currently, there are 61.3 million vehicles registered on German roads. Of these, 59.3% run on petrol, and 27% on diesel. Hybrids make up 6.5% of the fleet, while the share of electric cars (BEVs) is only 4.1%.

Table of the most popular electric cars in June 2026

These figures indicate that while new sales are actively shifting towards electrification, the process of renewing the entire vehicle fleet is a long one. Germany, as before, faces the challenge of gradually replacing tens of millions of cars with internal combustion engines. The success of electric cars in June, especially models like the Tesla Model Y and VW ID.3, demonstrates growing demand, but it will take years to achieve a significant share on the roads. It is also worth noting that hybrids remain a very popular compromise option, indicating that many buyers are not yet ready to abandon the internal combustion engine entirely.