Tesla saw a sharp rebound in two of Europe’s largest auto markets in March, with registrations quadrupling year over year in Germany to 9,252 units and rising 20% in the UK to 8,599 units.
The March results marked Tesla’s strongest monthly performance in Germany since December 2022 and its best month in the UK in months.
According to data published on Tuesday by the KBA, Tesla saw a fourfold increase in vehicle registrations both year over year and sequentially in Germany.
It was the company’s best monthly result in Europe’s largest auto market since December 2022, when it registered more than 17,000 units.
The result gave Tesla a 3.1% share of all new vehicle registrations in the country.
March represented about 75% of all Tesla registrations in Germany during the first quarter, which totaled 12,829 units — a 160% growth year over year.
Tesla sold 19,390 vehicles in Germany throughout 2025, according to data published Tuesday by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA).
The figure was nearly half of the 37,574 units registered the previous year.
German EV Adoption
A total of 294,161 new passenger cars were registered in Germany in March, up 16.0% from the same month a year earlier. First-quarter registrations rose 5.2% overall.
Commercial registrations climbed 13.0% year over year to account for 65.0% of the total, while private registrations increased 22.2%.
Battery electric vehicles (BEV) accounted for 70,663 of the month’s registrations, up 66.2%, taking a 24.0% market share.
Hybrids (HEV) accounted for 117,846 units, or 40.1% of the market, including 29,996 plug-in hybrids (PHEV).
Leapmotor, which entered Germany through its partnership with Stellantis, posted a 318.1% year-over-year surge and reached 0.5% market share.
XPeng rose 211.9%, reaching 0.2% market share as it prepares to begin deliveries of its P7+ sedan in the country.
Nio registered two vehicles in Germany in March, bringing the EV maker’s total for the first quarter to eight units in Europe’s largest automotive market.
Lineup
Until earlier this year, Tesla sold all four of its S, 3, X, and Y models in Germany, with refreshed versions of the Model S and Model X having launched in Europe in late 2025.
The two flagship models, priced from €109,990 ($128,500) and €114,990 ($134,320) respectively, were discontinued as Tesla ended production by March 31, leaving only inventory units available.
The refreshed Model Y is priced from €39,990 ($46,700) following the launch of the Standard variant in European markets in October.
The Premium version starts €5,000 above. Standard production began at Giga Berlin in early November, with deliveries commencing in December.
Tesla also debuted the Model 3 Standard in late 2025, two months after its US launch. The entry-level version of the sedan starts at €36,990 ($43,200).
Incentives in Germany
The March rebound comes as Germany’s reinstated EV purchase incentive begins to filter through the market.
The federal government confirmed in January that the new scheme, worth around €3 billion through 2029, applies retroactively to all eligible electric vehicles registered since January 1, 2026.
Private buyers can receive between €3,000 and €6,000 depending on household income and family size, with a taxable annual income cap of €80,000 — rising to €90,000 for households with two or more children.
Plug-in hybrids and range-extended EVs are also eligible at lower rates, provided they emit no more than 60 grams of CO2 per kilometer.
The online application portal is expected to go live in May.
The program replaces the previous ‘Umweltbonus,’ which was abruptly scrapped in late 2023 and triggered a sharp slump in German EV demand throughout 2024 and early 2025.
German production
Tesla’s German operations remain entangled in a labor dispute with IG Metall, Europe’s largest industrial union, following weeks of escalating tensions around the Giga Berlin works council election held in early March.
The conflict intensified in February after Tesla filed a criminal complaint accusing an IG Metall representative of secretly recording a closed works council meeting at the Grünheide plant.
The union denied the allegation, calling it an attempt to damage its standing ahead of the vote, and responded with a defamation complaint against plant manager André Thierig.
German prosecutors have since dropped the investigation, finding no evidence that the laptop’s microphone had been active or that any recording took place. In the run-up to the election, CEO Elon Musk sent a pre-recorded video message to the plant’s roughly 10,700 workers warning that planned expansion at Giga Berlin would not proceed if IG Metall gained influence on the council.
Thierig had previously drawn what he called a “red line” against the union’s push for a 35-hour workweek and a collective bargaining agreement.
IG Metall’s vote share fell from 39.4% in 2024 to 31.1%, securing 13 of the council’s 37 seats.
Tesla in the UK
Tesla registered 8,599 vehicles in the UK in March, bringing its first-quarter total to 11,739 units.
According to data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the result marks the first year-over-year increase in six months.
March volumes more than doubled sequentially and rose 20% from the same month a year ago.
Tesla had registered 718 vehicles in the UK in January and 3,140 in February.
Despite the March rebound, first-quarter sales came in roughly 800 units below the same period last year.
Tesla‘s UK registration patterns are largely shaped by the logistical timing of shipments from GigaBerlin and GigaShanghai.
The company registered 45,513 vehicles in the UK throughout 2025, a 9.6% decline from the more than 50,000 units sold the previous year.
UK EV Adoption
New vehicle registrations in the UK grew 6.6% in March — typically its busiest month — with 380,627 new vehicles registered,
It was also the strongest month on record for new energy vehicle (NEV) volumes, which reached 196,059 registrations.
Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) registrations rose 46.9% to a 13.0% market share, while hybrid vehicles (HEV) climbed 7.3% to 15.8%.
Battery electric vehicles (BEV) hit a new record, up 24.2% to 86,120 registrations.
However, BEVs accounted for just 22.6% of the market in March and 22.4% year to date — well below the 33% target set for 2026 under the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate.
The SMMT noted that conditions have shifted sharply since the mandate was set.
Battery costs at the start of 2026 were more than 30% higher than expected, industrial energy prices were around 80% above 2021 levels, and public charging costs have risen by more than 140% over the past five years.
SMMT CEO Mike Hawes said an “urgent review of the transition is required to secure a sustainable market, economic growth and the UK’s net zero ambitions,” citing the impact of the Iran crisis on energy costs and consumer confidence.
The UK has set a target for all new vehicles sold from 2030 to be electric or plug-in hybrid, and plans to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars entirely.
Policy Shifts
The UK is adjusting its approach to EVs both at the point of purchase and on the road.
Starting in April 2028, electric vehicles will be subject to a pay-per-mile road charge similar to the duty currently applied to internal combustion engine vehicles. The government says the measure will create a fairer system for all drivers.
The change follows the introduction of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for EVs in April 2025, which starts at £10 in the first year and rises to £195 from the second year onward.
EV Market Leader
Tesla led the UK’s electric vehicle segment in the first quarter, after Ford dominated the category in January and February.
Ford sold 13,596 vehicles across all powertrains in the first two months of the year and recorded 5,862 BEVs in March, according to registration tracking platform EU-EVs.
The SMMT does not break down sales by individual model, publishing only the ten best-selling models in the overall market.
It also reports sales by powertrain at the market level, but does not disclose each brand’s powertrain mix.
Chinese automaker BYD sold nearly twice as many vehicles as Tesla in the UK last month, but its BEV-only registrations ranked below the US company, according toEU-EVs.
The Shenzhen-based manufacturer produces both plug-in hybrids and fully electric models.
Geely-backed Polestar, headquartered in Sweden, registered 2,406 vehicles in one of its largest markets.
Despite a slight decline from March 2025, quarterly sales jumped 12.3% to 4,151 units year over year.
UK Lineup
Tesla‘s UK lineup consists of the Model 3 sedan and the Model Y SUV.
The Model Y was the UK’s best-selling EV in 2025, followed by the Model 3 in second place, according to SMMT data.
In the first three months of 2026, the Model Y maintained its position in the EV segment.
The Model Y Standard launched in Europe in October and reached the UK in early December.
The Rear Wheel Drive variant of the refreshed Model Y — previously named Standard — is priced from £41,990 ($56,000), while the Long Range RWD and Long Range AWD start at £48,990 and £51,990, respectively.
Tesla‘s best-selling model is also offered in the Performance version, priced from £61,990 ($82,700).
The more affordable Model 3 arrived in the UK in January, lowering the sedan’s entry price to £37,990 ($50,700).
Up until March 31, customers could lease the Model Y from £299 per month on a 36-month business contract hire, with 12 months’ payment required upfront.
Tesla was also offering one year of unlimited free Supercharging on selected Model 3 inventory units, alongside 0% APR financing, until March 31.
As of Tuesday, the company is offering both models with a 0% interest rate, with an additional £3,750 trade-in bonus.
The campaign runs until June 30.
After announcing it would halt production of both models this year to transition the lines toward its Optimus humanoid robot, Tesla removed the Model S and Model X from its UK website.
