Fleet registrations in Germany were up in March, including EVs, reflecting continued growth from the country in 2019, unlike other countries in the EU which have seen declining numbers so far this year.  

True fleet registrations in Germany grew by 5.5%, according to Dataforce. This was bolstered by Volkswagen, which held the No. 1 spot with a 7.6% growth. This was followed by Audi at No. 2 with a 26.5% growth, followed by BMW in third. Audi saw its strength in this area heavily derived from the success of the A4, A6, and Q3.

Rounding out the top five were Mercedes-Benz in fourth followed by Ford.

Battery-electric vehicles reached 2,000 registrations for the first time ever Germany, and retained 2.6% of the market. At the same time, the growth rate for hybrids was significantly lower, so that electric vehicles were outmatching them for the first time since May 2014, according to Dataforce.

Established EV models like Renault Zoe, BMW i3, Smart ForTwo Electric and Nissan Leaf all recorded growth rates and newcomers such as Audi e-tron, Hyundai Kona and Jaguar I-Pace generated additional volume. The high-flyer in March, however, was Tesla’s Model 3, which accounted for nearly 700 new registrations.