Registrations: Imports gain as Volkswagen slips in October

Germany’s new‑car market flipped further toward electrics in October, and the winners were increasingly import marques — a shift that matters for German drivers, dealers and suppliers and is already visible across the border in Austria.

What the numbers say

According to the Kraftfahrt‑Bundesamt (KBA) data published for October, 254,492 passenger cars were newly registered in Germany; 94,086 of them were battery‑electric vehicles (BEV), giving BEVs a record 37.0% share of the market in that month. The KBA figures show BEV registrations rose 79.5% year‑on‑year in October.

At brand level, traditional volume names fared unevenly: Volkswagen remained the single largest marque but recorded a decline versus October 2025, while several import brands posted sizeable gains. Reporting on the KBA tables, industry summaries list VW at an 18.2% share in October but down about 4.0% year‑on‑year; Opel, Ford and Audi all showed month‑on‑month drops (Opel −24.1%, Ford −9.8%, Audi −8.4%). By contrast, a group of import brands recorded strong increases — MG (SAIC) and Mazda rose strongly, and Kia, Dacia and Citroën also posted double‑digit gains.

China‑origin marques are a visible part of the import story. Industry trackers report that MG and other Chinese‑backed brands (including Leapmotor and Omoda) added thousands of registrations in October, contributing to a broader rise in the import share as German buyers move toward more BEV options. While still small relative to the legacy German brands, these newcomers now take meaningful single‑digit shares in monthly tables.

How Austria compares

The pattern is similar but earlier in development in Austria: Statistics Austria reports total new‑car registrations rose 12.1% in January–September 2026, and electric cars are already a large slice — 26.2% of new passenger cars for the period, with electric registrations up 36.9% year‑on‑year. VW and Škoda are still the most‑registered makes in Austria (VW 13.2%, Škoda 10.6% for Jan–Sep), but BYD, Seat and Mercedes also recorded growth in the first nine months of 2026.