How is Austria’s EV market progressing without purchase subsidies?
22 June 2026
Austria’s new electric vehicle (EV) market was previously supported by purchase subsidies. But without their help in 2026, are other incentives sustaining demand? Tom Hooker, Autovista24 journalist, reviews the market.
Purchase subsidies can be a major driver in boosting EV sales. This is especially true within the private sector. Austria’s EV market has previously benefited from such a scheme.
However, the federal government ended EV subsidies in February 2025 due to budget exhaustion, the European Alternative Fuels Observatory reports. The body also states that from 1 April 2025, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) were no longer exempt from motor-related insurance tax.
Additionally, the rate of public EV charging infrastructure installation in Austria has slowed, as confirmed by EV Volumes. Their data reveals the number of locations a connector type can be found, reflecting charger variety.
By this metric, there were 20,723 public EV charging locations recorded in the country in May this year. This was equated to year-on-year growth of 14.3%. Meanwhile, May 2025 recorded an increase of 24%.
Prevailing EV growth
Despite these factors, EV sales, including BEVs and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), grew across the first four months of 2026.
According to the latest EV Volumes’ data, deliveries in Austria increased by 27.3% year-on-year from January to April. In total, 35,604 units were sold.
This outpaced the overall new-car market, which recorded a 15.3% improvement in the first four months of the year, as reported by Statistik Austria.
Broken down, PHEVs saw a greater improvement than BEVs from January to April. The hybrid technology enjoyed a 37.6% year-on-year rise in volumes to 11,190 units. Meanwhile, all-electric models managed a 23% increase to 24,414 deliveries.
However, the opposite trend occurred in April. BEVs benefited from a 24.8% growth year on year, ahead of the 17.7% gain by PHEVs. Together, overall EV sales growth sat at 22.6% in April, ahead of the overall market’s 10.7% increase.
Attractive EV benefits
One reason for this growth may be other ongoing financial incentives, such as BEVs’ exemption from registration tax.
There are also significant benefits for companies. This includes immunity from ownership and pollution taxes for zero-emission vehicles. Additionally, companies may fully deduct VAT for BEVs priced up to €40,000. Partial deductions are available for vehicles where prices range between €40,000 and €80,000.
Alongside this, while Austria’s government no longer offers purchase subsidies, it is investing in charging infrastructure.
A programme from the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure, eMove Austria, has allocated around €220 million to e-mobility in 2026. Furthermore, the ministry will invest €30 million in constructing fast-charging stations in rural, underserved areas this year.
In the future, the funding structure will focus on the expansion of charging locations. Ultimately, with these investments, the number of charge points in Austria could see significant growth. In turn, this may convince more buyers to switch to EVs.
Tesla Model Y leads the way
The Tesla Model Y was the most popular option over the first four months of 2026. The crossover recorded 2,047 sales between January and April. It comfortably led the BEV market and held more than double the deliveries of Austria’s leading PHEV.
The Model Y accounted for 5.7% of all new EV sales in the country. Meanwhile, its sibling, the Tesla Model 3 made up 1.5%. The sedan placed ninth in the cumulative table with 538 units, although it did not make April’s top 10.
Meanwhile, the BYD Atto 3 enjoyed the best year-on-year growth of any BEV in April’s top 10. With 241 sales, this represented an increase of 1,105%. While the model placed outside the cumulative top 10, its sibling, the Sealion 7, sat seventh with 775 sales.
Skoda’s high-volume SUVs
The second-best-selling BEV in Austria between January and April was the Skoda Elroq. The SUV recorded 1,493 deliveries, followed by its bigger sibling, the Enyaq, which managed 1,268 sales. The duo were also the top two best-selling BEVs in April, helped by double-digit year-on-year growth.
Four more models from the Volkswagen (VW) Group appeared in the cumulative table. The VW ID.3 finished fourth, with 866 units, as the VW ID.7 secured sixth with 789 sales.
Further down the table, the VW ID.4 landed in eighth with 664 units, while the Audi Q6 e-tron rounded out the table in 10th. The SUV recorded 531 sales between January and April.
The BMW iX1 posted 806 sales between January and April. This helped its rise to fifth position, splitting the two most-popular VW models.
A turbulent PHEV market
The VW Golf was Austria’s best-selling PHEV between January and April. However, this year has not been straightforward for the hatchback. While its 839-unit total translated into a leading 7.5% market share, just 115 of these sales occurred in April. This was only enough to put it 10th in the month’s best-sellers table.
Its closest competition came from within the VW Group stable, namely the Cupra Terramar. The SUV posted 685 deliveries in the first four months of the year, while it led April’s monthly standings. The VW Multivan came second in the month, bringing its sales total to 511 from January to April. This was enough for fifth in the cumulative chart.
It was the BYD Seal U that followed the VW Group models after four months of 2026, with 563 units. However, like the VW Golf, the SUV also struggled in April, placing outside the top 10. Yet BYD still secured fifth and eighth in the month, courtesy of the Seal 6 and the Atto 2, respectively.
The Jaecoo J7 was the fourth best-selling PHEV from January to April, thanks to 520 sales. This was helped by a strong monthly result, where the model took third.
Between January and April, the Ford Kuga came sixth with 497 units. The Mercedes-Benz GLC claimed seventh, reaching 450 deliveries, just 10 units ahead of the MG eHS. Rounding out the top 10 were the Volvo XC60 and the BMW X3, with 428 and 411 sales, respectively.
