15 May 2026
As Europe’s electric vehicle (EV) market goes from strength to strength, the dynamic within it is shifting rapidly. Brands hailing from outside the continent are enjoying considerable success, while some incumbent players are suffering from stagnant sales. Autovista24 journalist Tom Hooker explores the trends reshaping the playing field.
Many geopolitical and economic uncertainties threaten to slow down Europe’s EV transition. But on the contrary, sales continue to speed up. According to EV Volumes data, plug-in deliveries soared by 28% year on year in the first quarter, with 1,083,241 units.
This was the first time that over one million EVs were registered in the first three months of a year. These figures trailed the fourth quarter of 2025 by just 64,361 units, a substantial achievement for two reasons.
Firstly, October to December 2025 marked the highest number of EVs ever delivered in a quarter. Secondly, the fourth quarter typically records the highest volume in a year, while the first three months usually post the lowest cumulative volumes.
BEVs drove EV volume growth
Breaking down this year’s first-quarter EV result, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) drove volume growth. The technology recorded an additional 146,703 sales compared to the same period in 2025. This brought its total to 725,375 units, up 25.4% year on year. As a result, it achieved a dominant 67% share of the EV market.
Meanwhile, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) saw stronger percentage growth, as deliveries surged by 33.6% year on year to 357,866 units. The powertrain represented 33% of overall EV sales, up 1.4 percentage points (pp) from the first quarter of 2025.
EV growth between January and March was boosted by a particularly strong third-month result. Figures increased by 38.4%, reaching 504,885 sales.
Yet unlike the cumulative performance, BEV figures showed greater improvement than PHEVs, both in percentage and volume terms. All-electric volumes jumped by 40.9% to 345,208 units. On the other hand, PHEV sales increased by 33.4% to 159,677 deliveries.
Overall, March proved pivotal in determining where different brands and models sat after the first quarter. The month accounted for 46.6% of all EV deliveries in the period, helped by the spectacular BEV performance. But which brands were able to capitalise on Europe’s prospering EV market?
Unstoppable Chinese brand erosion
Many key themes have shaped Europe’s EV market so far in 2026. One of these has been the number of Chinese makes and models entering the continent. While some are just finding their footing, others are already challenging more established players.
One brand in the latter category is BYD, which was Europe’s fourth best-selling EV brand in the first quarter.
The marque recorded the highest year-on-year growth of any carmaker in the top 10 best-sellers list. Its volumes jumped by 154.7% to 73,535 units, handing it a 6.8% share of overall EV sales. This has doubled from the first quarter of 2025.
If its current growth rate continues, BYD could move further up the table. The brand sat just 6,113 units behind second at the end of the three-month period.
In March alone, the Chinese carmaker saw sales soar by 150.9%, as it climbed its way to third in the standings. BYD took a 7.5% market share, placing it ahead of BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz.
PHEVs accounted for 53.1% of BYD’s EV sales in the first quarter. This was led by the BYD Seal U, Europe’s best-selling model in the three-month period. The SUV recorded 21,494 deliveries and a 6% market share.
Jaecoo J7 makes inroads
Another Chinese PHEV SUV, the Jaecoo J7, followed, with 17,434 units and a 4.9% hold in the quarter. It led the March standings, after a 338.8% surge to 10,359 sales. This was helped by an impressive performance in the UK market.
The BYD Seal U was just 673 units behind in the monthly figures, with a smaller 55.6% increase to 9,686 deliveries. Together, the duo dominated, recording over 4,000 units more than the closest challenger.
BYD placed another PHEV in the first quarter top 10 standings, namely the Atto 2. The SUV sat 10th with 7,347 sales, after a strong fifth-place finish in March.
Other BYD models which contributed considerable volumes to the brand’s total sat in the BEV market. The Dolphin Surf and Sea Lion 07 recorded 8,907 units and 7,729 deliveries between January and March, respectively.
Both BYD’s were some way off the Leapmotor T03, another all-electric model with increasing volumes in Europe. The city car was ninth in the BEV best-sellers list in the first quarter, with 14,962 units. Of this total, 6,831 deliveries occurred in March alone, a 541.4% surge year on year.
Tesla’s bounce-back
Ahead of BYD in Europe’s first-quarter EV best-sellers list, Tesla has enjoyed a bounce-back in demand. The US marque managed a 45.4% uptick after three months of 2026, with 78,642 units. This translated to a 7.3% market share, up 0.9pp year on year.
Much of Tesla’s first-quarter success can be attributed to its March performance. The brand maintained its typical delivery schedule, where volumes peak in the last month of each quarter.
With an 85.3% increase to 52,801 sales in March, it comfortably topped the best-sellers list. Tesla captured 10.5% of overall EV volumes, 2.4pp ahead of second place.
The carmaker’s Model Y led the month’s BEV standings. This was thanks to a 115.6% year-on-year growth to 33,741 units. The crossover also topped the all-electric table in the first quarter, with 51,395 sales, over 23,000 units ahead of second place. The model achieved a 7.1% market share.
Its sibling, the Model 3, sat third in the cumulative BEV table, with 26,671 deliveries. The majority of these came in March alone, after the sedan’s volumes soared by 48.4% to 18,817 sales. The Model 3 and Model Y made up 99.3% of Tesla’s total deliveries.
This is unlike the carmakers around it in the table, whose volumes are more spread out across different models. Furthermore, Tesla does not sell any PHEVs. Therefore, its performance against marques which offer both EV technologies even more impressive.
German brands lead, despite stagnating sales
However, neither BYD nor Tesla could topple the lead held by Volkswagen (VW) at the end of the first quarter. The German carmaker’s 96,601 sales total made it Europe’s best-selling EV brand between January and March.
Yet its 2.8% delivery increase was far off the overall market’s pace of growth. In turn, the brand’s 8.9% share fell by 2.2pp year on year. VW was second in March, with a 3.6% rise to 40,738 units.
In total, 53% of the brand’s sales in the first quarter came from its ID.3, ID.4 and ID.7 models. The trio sat sixth, seventh and eighth in the cumulative BEV best-sellers table, respectively. Overall, BEVs contributed to most of VW’s deliveries, with a 62% hold.
The VW Tiguan was the marque’s next most popular model between January and March. The SUV placed third in the PHEV standings after the first quarter, with 13,016 units. It also came third in March, despite a 3.4% delivery decline.
BMW was Europe’s second-best-selling EV brand in the first quarter. The carmaker recorded 79,648 deliveries, giving it a 7.4% share. However, this was a rise of just 0.6% year on year. In turn, its slice of the market thinned by 1.9pp, due to increased competition.
The brand’s most popular EV between January and March was the iX1. The all-electric recorded 13,941 sales, representing 17.5% of BMW’s overall figure. It was followed by the X1, which placed seventh in the cumulative PHEV standings with 9,508 deliveries. Eighth in the table was the BMW X3, thanks to 8,353 units.
The BMW i4 also posted notable volumes in the first quarter. It accounted for 11.7% of the brand’s total volume with 9,351 sales. BMW had a relatively even split between BEV and PHEV volumes, with BEVs representing 55.1% of the total figure.
Mercedes-Benz’s slipping EV share
Another German brand that saw its EV market share slip between January and March was Mercedes-Benz. In the first three months of the year, it captured 5.9% of the total volume in the period. This was down 0.9pp compared to the same period in 2025. Despite this, its sales still rose by 11.6% to 64,385 units, enough for sixth in the best-sellers table.
Mercedes-Benz’s most popular EV in the first quarter was the CLA. The model made up just over a fifth of the carmaker’s overall figure, with 13,225 sales. In March, the CLA posted a 5,986.2% surge in volumes to 6,634 units. This handed it 10th in the BEV standings.
Fifth in the cumulative PHEV best-sellers list was the GLC, as 10,923 new models hit the road. Like the CLA, its deliveries surged in March, with a 120.6% rise.
The EQA was Mercedes-Benz’s third-best-selling model in the first quarter, with a 13.1% share of the brand’s total. Overall, The German brand has a wide range of EVs contributing to volumes, with 26 models recording sales between January and March.
An opposite trend
As some Mercedes-Benz’s best-selling models saw soaring deliveries, an opposite trend could be seen at Audi. While no models had a standout performance, the brand’s overall result was outstanding.
Volumes surged by 50.1% over the first three months of 2026 to 66,086 units, as it took fifth in the best-sellers chart. Consequently, its slice of Europe’s EV market widened by 0.9pp year on year to 6.1%.
Audi’s most popular model in this period was the Q4 e-tron, with 14,503 deliveries. The SUV sat 10th in the cumulative BEV table, and bettered this result with an eighth-place finish in March. However, its 6,852-unit total translated to an 8.7% decline from 12 months ago.
The Q6 e-tron and A6 e-tron also posted strong volumes in the first quarter. The duo posted 12,092 units and 7,826 units, respectively.
Like Audi, Ford’s best-selling EV has struggled to gain momentum in 2026. The Kuga saw a 37.9% slump in March, as it landed eighth in monthly PHEV standings. Things were slightly better in the first quarter chart, as it sat sixth with 10,372 units.
Despite this, Ford’s EV deliveries have skyrocketed so far this year. The marque managed a 49.9% year-on-year surge to 42,674 sales. This made it the 10th best-selling electric brand in the first quarter, as the carmaker’s share rose from 3.4% to 3.9%. BEV’s made up for the majority of sales, taking a 61.8% slice of the market.
The carmaker’s most popular model in this period was the Ford Explorer, with 10,412 units. The Puma was also in high demand, as 9,385 new models were taken to European roads.
Volvo struggles to keep up
As Audi and Ford enjoyed positive first-quarter results, the same could not be said for Volvo in ninth. The marque suffered a 7.6% drop in EV sales between January and March. This made it the only brand in Europe’s top 10 best-sellers list to record a decline. Volvo’s 45,805-unit total translated to a 4.2% market share, down 1.7pp year on year.
The carmaker’s XC60 was the fourth most popular PHEV in the first quarter, with 12,381 sales. However, momentum is slowing for the SUV, which endured an 11.6% delivery fall in March. Not far behind the PHEV’s three-month total was the EX30, which posted 11,487 units.
Skoda and Renault’s strong start
On the other hand, Skoda had a positive start to the year. Apart from BYD, the brand was the fastest-growing in Europe’s first-quarter top 10, with a 66.9% surge to 60,349 sales. Its market share also grew by 1.3pp year-on-year to 5.6%, handing it seventh place.
Skoda’s EV lineup was headed by the Elroq, which sat second in the cumulative BEV best-sellers table. Its 28,305-unit total accounted for 46.9% of the brand’s total sales figure. The model ended the quarter on a high, with a 150.4% year-on-year improvement in March. It landed third in the monthly standings.
Fifth in the monthly standings and first-quarter table was the Skoda Enyaq. After three months of 2026, it recorded 22,010 deliveries. The Kodiaq was the carmaker’s next best-selling model, with 6,646 units. Overall, BEVs made up the bulk of Skoda’s EV volume, with an 83.4% share.
Behind, Renault also enjoyed soaring EV sales in the first quarter. It achieved a 46.3% year-on-year increase to 52,107 sales, capturing 4.8% of overall EV volumes, up from 4.2%.
The combined deliveries of the Renault 5 and Alpine A290 came fourth in the cumulative BEV best-sellers table. The hatchbacks recorded 24,929 units, as a 35.7% sales rise in March alone ensured a strong position. The Renault Scenic and Renault 4 also posted notable results, with 11,495 units and 7,453 units, respectively.
Looking at Renault’s powertrain split, PHEVs represented just 3.8% of the carmaker’s EV sales. This means any dip in demand for its most popular BEV models will be felt on a brand level.
