Germany's EV share hits record 37% in October, beating gas and diesel combined

Fully electric cars took a record 37% of Germany's new-car market in October, according to data from the federal motor transport authority KBA, Electrek reports. That is 94,086 BEVs, up 79.5% from 52,425 a year earlier.

Combustion cars lose out

The total market grew just 1.7% to 254,492 cars, so EV growth came directly from combustion models. Petrol registrations fell 40.5% to 38,516 (15.1% share) and diesel 21.6% to 23,882 (9.4%). Combined, pure combustion cars made up 24.5% — and for the second month running, Germans registered more BEVs than petrol and diesel cars together. Plug-in hybrids slipped 7.9% to 28,499 (11.2%).

BEV share has climbed every month since overtaking other powertrains in June (28.4%): 32.4% in August, 34.5% in September and now 37%.

Already past the full-year forecast

From January to October Germany registered 698,230 BEVs, up 60.7%, about 28.2% of all new cars. That already beats the industry association VDA's forecast of about 693,000 for the whole of 2026; Electrek estimates the year could end near 875,000.

Why: a new incentive for private buyers

Germany's new subsidy, backdated to January 1, pays €3,000 for a new BEV (bought or leased) and up to €6,000 for lower-income households with children; households above €80,000 taxable income (€90,000 with children) are excluded. Private registrations rose 20.6% in October while company registrations fell 8.2%.

Thinking of switching? See our guides to home EV chargers, how long charging takes and hybrid vs plug-in hybrid vs EV.