VW sells significantly more electric cars than competitor Tesla in April

Wolfsburg. The tide has shifted significantly since 2023. According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority, the Volkswagen brand once again sold more electric cars in Germany in April than Tesla—more than ten times as many. The US manufacturer slipped further down the rankings. Other German vehicle manufacturers also consolidated their positions.

In the German electric car market, 45,535 new cars were registered. The VW Group dominated in April. Not only is the core brand far ahead of the competition with 9,725 newly registered all-electric cars, according to figures from the Federal Motor Transport Authority, but second, fourth, and fifth place also go to brands from the Wolfsburg-based group. Skoda even managed to push BMW out of second place, albeit by a very narrow margin, with 4,216 cars to 4,151 – thanks in part to the new Elroq, which is now enjoying high new registration figures.

Fourth and fifth place go to Audi with 3,390 and Seat with 3,196 electric vehicles, ahead of Mercedes-Benz with 2,626. Looking at the entire period since the beginning of the year, the top rankings are almost identical – except that BMW is ahead of Skoda.

Tesla, on the other hand, continued its downward spiral in April. With 885 new registrations, the electric car manufacturer, which was number one in Germany just a few years ago, dropped out of the top 10 and landed in 16th place. This is likely due to the continued political involvement of CEO and largest shareholder Elon Musk, but also possibly the impact of the Model Y model change.

The electric SUV has now also lost its long-held position as the most frequently newly registered model in Germany. Here, too, the VW Group now dominates with the ID.7, ID.3, the combined ID.4 and ID.5 models of the core brand, as well as the Skoda Elroq and the Seat Born. The top 10 are entirely made up of German brands or subsidiaries of German companies. This reflects the companies' increasingly broad product range.

A look at VW's market share demonstrates just how dominant VW is in the German electric car market. In April and in the first four months of the year, the company achieved around 47 percent. BMW is second with just over 11 percent, including Mini.

By comparison, according to the Federal Motor Transport Authority, a total of 242,728 cars, including combustion engines and hybrid vehicles, were newly registered in April. Among the German brands, Opel achieved a market share of 4.7 percent with 11,486 vehicles, an increase of 20.7 percent compared to the same month last year. Ford achieved 9,534 vehicles, corresponding to a market share of 3.9 percent and an increase of 15.2 percent compared to April 2024.

The other German brands recorded declines compared to the same month last year, with Smart (270 cars, market share of 0.1 percent and a decline of 82.4 percent), Porsche (3,154 vehicles, market share of 1.3 percent and a decline of 23.5 percent) and Audi (15,509 cars, market share of 6.4 percent and a decline of 16.7 percent) experiencing the most significant declines.

Volkswagen only experienced a single-digit drop, reaching 49,393 vehicles, corresponding to a market share of 20.3 percent and a decline of 2.7 percent. VW was the German brand with the largest share in April.

SUVs remain the most popular segment among customers. They have a market share of 31.7 percent, representing an increase of 12.3 percent. The second strongest segment is the compact class, which achieved a share of 16.8 percent despite a decline of 1.5 percent.