Volkswagen Group has said that it's seen a spike in the sales of its electric cars in the first quarter of the year.
In fact, in Europe, in the first three months of 2025, sales across all of VW Group's electric models increased by a massive 113 per cent. They were also up by 51 per cent in the US market, although there was a significant drop-off in China, where EV sales fell by 37 per cent for the Group. While that was a disappointment, the rapid climb in European EV sales means that Volkswagen Group is now the largest electric car maker in Europe, with its brands having a combined 26 per cent market share.
How many EVs did VW Group sell in Europe?
In Europe, VW Group sold 58,100 electric cars in the first three months, compared to 74,400 in the same period in 2024. With claims that its European EV model share has now grown to 19 per cent.
VW Group is seeing something of a surge for pretty much all of its models across Europe right now, with the claimed 'order bank' now standing at 980,000 cars. Of that, some 64 per cent are electric models, although VW says that the orders are coming in for all powertrains and namechecked the VW ID.7 Tourer, Cupra Terramar, Skoda Elroq, Audi Q6 e-tron and Porsche 911 as “enjoying great popularity.”
Globally, and looking at all the cars it makes, not just electric ones, VW Group sold 2.13 million vehicles in the first quarter, with almost one-half of those being sold in Europe. That's a 1.4 per cent increase on the same period last year, and the combined European increase (taking both Western Europe and Central & Eastern Europe together) was 11 per cent. Combined with strong performances in the US and South America, that, according to VW, “more than compensated for the drop of seven per cent sales in China.”
Is it just EVs that are surging ahead?
As well as electric vehicles, VW Group is also seeing an increase in demand for its plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV), with demand up by 15 per cent, to 82,500 sales in the first quarter. That improvement is being largely credited to the arrival of the Group's new long-range PHEV models, which claim official electric-only ranges of up to 143km.
When it comes to sales figures, the Group's best-selling EV is the combined ID.4 and ID.5 range, with sales of 43,700 in the first quarter. Next up is the ID.3 (28,100 sales) and then the Audi Q4 e-tron (22,800). That's followed by the Skoda Enyaq (20,200), the VW ID.7 (19,100), the Audi Q6 (16,000), the Porsche Macan (14,200), and the VW ID. Buzz (12,700), the Cupra Born (11,000), and the Cupra Tavascan (7,600).
How many cars were sold in total?
In terms of total sales, Volkswagen itself sold 1,134,200 cars in the first quarter globally. Skoda sold 238,600; SEAT/Cupra 146,700; and VW Commercial Vehicles sold 80,800. Audi found 383,400 customers; Bentley 2,400; Lamborghini 3,000; and Porsche 71,500.
“Our products are being well received and show that the Volkswagen Group is on the right track. We increased our all- electric deliveries worldwide by around 60 per cent in the first quarter. In Europe in particular, we were able to significantly expand our leading position in this segment with a doubling of deliveries. The share of all-electric models in our total volume in Western Europe also doubled to around 19 per cent. We have good momentum in our home region overall, which is also reflected in the 29 per cent increase in incoming orders across all drive types, bringing the order book there back up to around one million vehicles. In the coming months, we expect additional tailwind from numerous newly launched models. Overall, global deliveries increased slightly in the period to the end of March. Gains in North and South America as well as in Europe have more than compensated for the expected decline in China,” said Marco Schubert, VW's head of sales.