Skoda model tastes success in Europe’s new EV market
15 June 2026
A Skoda model topped the charts in Europe’s new battery-electric vehicle (BEV) market during April. This came as all-electric cars once again outperformed plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). Tom Hooker, Autovista24 journalist, reviews the figures.
In April, BEVs recorded a second consecutive month of greater year-on-year growth than PHEVs in Europe’s new-car market.
Sales of BEVs reached 256,825 units in April, up 37.8%, according to the latest EV Volumes data. PHEVs also posted an improvement, as volumes rose by 22.7% to 120,601 sales. Combining both technologies, deliveries of EVs increased by 32.6% in April.
Between January and April, BEV sales climbed by 28.5% year on year to 982,913 units. This was below PHEVs’ 30.7% delivery surge to 478,564 units. Combining BEV and PHEV volumes, EV sales grew by 29.2% between January and April.
Market-leading growth
The Elroq led the way for BEVs in April. The model recorded a year-on-year volume rise of 31.5%, enough for it to take first. The SUV was the only BEV able to post five-digit sales in April, with 10,597 deliveries. The Skoda Enyaq also posted a strong year-on-year growth of 52.7% to 8,598 units in third.
Between January and April, the Skoda Elroq was the closest competitor to the market-leading Tesla Model Y. However, it was some distance behind with a 20,788-unit gap. The Enyaq was the fourth best-selling EV between January and April.
Sandwiched between the two Skodas in April was the combined total of the Renault 5 and Alpine A290. The hatchbacks’ volumes increased by 37.4% year on year to 9,318 sales. It landed between the two Skoda BEVs in the cumulative figures as well, taking third.
The Tesla Model Y also recorded double-digit growth in fifth, with sales soaring by 78% year on year. This helped it to maintain its lead in the cumulative ranking between January and April.
However, out of its 59,578 sales in the first four months of 2026, April accounted for just 8,131 of them. This was only enough for fourth in the monthly table. Yet this does follow Tesla’s usual delivery pattern, with volumes typically spiking at the end of the quarter.
The Volkswagen (VW) ID.3 saw deliveries improve by 9.9% in April to 7,618 units. However, the ID.4 was able to record double-digit growth, up 14.1% to 7,061 sales. The VW ID.3 and VW ID.4 sat sixth and seventh between January and April, respectively.
Strong German BEV presence
The Mercedes-Benz CLA saw 6,528 sales in April, making it the seventh best-selling all-electric model. It was 10th in the cumulative standings, just 61 units behind the ID.7.
In ninth, the Leapmotor T03 enjoyed significant growth. The city car achieved a 387.5% improvement to 5,606 sales. Its delivery total between January and April stood at 20,562 units, enough to claim eighth place.
Conversely, the BMW iX1 recorded much shallower growth in April. The SUV’s volumes were up by 9.6% to 5,743 units. Audi’s Q4 e-tron was the fifth German model in April’s top 10, with a 16.6% year-on-year rise to 5,385 deliveries.
BYD dominates PHEV market
Four German models featured in April’s PHEV top-10-best-sellers list, a trend mirrored in the cumulative standings. The VW Tiguan took third in both charts. In April, it recorded a 0.5% increase to 4,866 sales. This was not enough to topple BYD, which secured the top two positions.
The BYD Atto 2 was just 74 units ahead of the VW Tiguan. After posting just 106 units between January 2025 and January 2026, volumes accelerated in February. This put it in eighth position across the first four months of 2026.
Meanwhile, the Seal U led the way in April. The PHEV posted a 41.6% year-on-year growth to 7,024 deliveries, giving it a lead of 2,084 units over second. This gap extended to 7,466 units in the cumulative chart, with the Jaecoo J7 the closest competitor.
The latter, also a Chinese SUV, claimed fifth in the monthly table, with a 177.1% improvement to 4,192 sales. This was the best year-on-year growth in the PHEV top 10.
BMW’s mixed bag
With a 109.5% surge to 2,768 units, the only other model to achieve a triple-digit increase was the BMW X3 in ninth. However, the BMW X1 did not enjoy the same result, with a 9.8% decline to 3,095 deliveries in seventh. Both German SUVs held the same positions respectively in the cumulative chart.
The Ford Kuga suffered a sales decline of 2% to 2,825 sales in April. The PHEV placed sixth across the first four months of the year.
The Volvo XC60 in fourth witnessed the sharpest decline. The SUV endured a 14.8% fall to 4,336 units. Even so, it kept the same position in the cumulative table.
Behind it, the Mercedes-Benz GLC claimed fifth. This followed a 40.8% sales surge for the SUV, with 3,610 new models delivered in April.
Finally, in 10th place, the MG eHS also enjoyed double-digit growth, with a 25.9% rise to 2,753 units in the month.
