In March 2026, a total of 294,161 new passenger cars were registered in Germany. According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority, this represents a 16.0 percent increase compared to the previous month. Over the first quarter, the overall registration figures showed a 5.2 percent increase. During March, the share of commercial registrations rose by 13.0 percent to reach 65.0 percent, while private new registrations saw a substantial jump of 22.2 percent.
Among German brands, Smart recorded the largest percentage increase, jumping by 189.6 percent, though its overall contribution to new registrations remained small at just 0.2 percent. Several brands also showed double-digit growth: Opel (+43.0 percent/4.7 percent), Mini (+42.3 percent/1.2 percent), Audi (+25.0 percent/7.5 percent), and BMW (+16.5 percent/8.3 percent). Ford (+8.7 percent/3.2 percent) and VW also saw increased registrations. Conversely, Porsche saw a drop of 12.1 percent (1.0 percent share), and MAN decreased by 47.6 percent (0.0 percent share). Notably, VW achieved the largest brand share of new registrations, accounting for 17.9 percent.
For imported brands, Lynk & Co. and Aston Martin stood out with extremely high percentage increases, although their collective share of new registrations was barely noticeable. Skoda and Hyundai both posted double-digit gains, while Seat registered a decline. Several brands-BYD, Leapmotor, Tesla, XPENG, and Alpine-managed to achieve gains in the hundreds of percent. In contrast, Maxus and NIO had to report significant decreases. Skoda was the leading imported brand, with an 8.4 percent share of new registrations.
In terms of vehicle segments, SUVs accounted for 37.1 percent of new cars in the third month of the year, increasing by 29.0 percent. The compact class was the second strongest segment, representing 13.5 percent of sales (up 5.4 percent), followed by small cars, which made up 12.2 percent (up 11.0 percent). The mid-size segment also showed a strong improvement, increasing by 20.4 percent (8.6 percent share).
The statistics also indicated growth for Mini-vans (+16.4 percent/0.8 percent), SUVs/off-road vehicles (+13.9 percent/10.3 percent), camper vans (+12.0 percent/3.0 percent), utilities (+9.6 percent/4.4 percent), and Minis (+7.4 percent/1.8 percent). The upper mid-size segment remained stable, with a minor increase of 0.1 percent compared to the previous year’s month. Conversely, the upper class segment saw an 18.0 percent decline (0.4 percent share), sports cars dropped by 9.3 percent (0.7 percent share), and large vans decreased by 3.3 percent (1.7 percent share).
Regarding powertrains, 70,663 new vehicles were electric (BEV), marking a significant increase of 66.2 percent and contributing 24.0 percent to total sales. Hybrid vehicles were the most sold at 117,846 units, accounting for 40.1 percent of the market (a 16.2 percent increase); this figure included 29,996 plug-in hybrids (up 13.0 percent, 10.2 percent share). Gasoline cars made up 22.8 percent of new registrations (66,959 units), though this number was 4.9 percent lower than the previous month. Diesel cars also declined slightly, falling by 0.6 percent to 37,664 units, making up 12.8 percent of sales. Additionally, 1,015 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles (down 18.9 percent, 0.3 percent share) and one hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle were registered. No new registrations were recorded for natural gas or hydrogen. In the commercial vehicle sector, the report showed positive development for tractor units, which rose by double digits (26.5 percent), including semi-trailers (up 32.2 percent), city buses (up 12.0 percent), and other motor vehicles (up 33.8 percent). Only heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) experienced a slight dip (-1.9 percent).
For motorcycles, the reporting month showed a clear registration increase of 45.5 percent. Overall, 358,592 motor vehicles (Kfz) rose by 16.7 percent in March, alongside 28,816 vehicle trailers (Kfz-Anhänger) which increased by 12.5 percent. Separately, the number of used vehicles changing ownership increased by 9.3 percent, and 41,082 vehicle trailers were registered (up 9.5 percent).