BMW remains ahead of Mercedes and Audi in Europe through the first eight months of 2026, with 534,686 registrations for the BMW brand alone. However, its lead has narrowed compared with the same period last year as electric vehicle registrations continue to grow across the European market.
BMW Maintains Its European Lead
ACEA’s broader Europe tally includes the UK and the four EFTA countries — Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland — in addition to the EU. The ranking remains unchanged, with BMW leading Mercedes and Audi.
BMW recorded 52,435 registrations in August, compared with 47,587 for Mercedes and 36,677 for Audi.
Through the first eight months of 2026, BMW registered 534,686 cars in Europe, an increase of 1.6 percent. Mercedes reached 447,759 registrations, up 3.4 percent, while Audi recorded 440,461, up 4.1 percent.
That leaves BMW roughly 87,000 units ahead of Mercedes and about 94,000 ahead of Audi. The figures apply to the BMW brand alone.
MINI added another 122,709 registrations during the same period, a 15.9 percent increase, bringing the BMW Group total to 657,395.
BMW’s Lead Over Mercedes and Audi Narrows
Based on ACEA’s percentages, BMW’s year-to-date lead over Mercedes at this point in 2025 was about 93,000 units. Its advantage over Audi was around 103,000 units.
Both gaps have since narrowed, by roughly 6,000 cars against Mercedes and 9,000 against Audi. August showed the same trend on a smaller scale, with BMW’s European margin over Mercedes shrinking from about 6,000 units a year ago to 4,384 this time.
BMW is positioned to finish 2026 ahead of Mercedes and Audi in Europe. With almost 90,000 cars separating BMW from Mercedes and four months remaining, Mercedes would need an extraordinary autumn to close the gap.
BMW Faces a Faster-Growing EV Market
The growth rates provide another part of the picture. EV registrations have increased by nearly 40 percent this year, while plug-in hybrids have grown by more than 20 percent. BMW, meanwhile, is up 1.6 percent.
BMW’s new electric lineup is only now arriving on the market. BMW iX3 deliveries have begun mostly in Europe, while the i3 has yet to reach customers. The iX4 and iX5 are also just around the corner, with additional electric vehicles scheduled to arrive next year.
Audi’s results present a different picture. The brand is up 4.1 percent for the year, the strongest growth among the three, although August brought another steep decline.
Within the BMW Group, MINI is the clear growth leader, expanding ten times faster than the BMW brand.
EVs Grow as Mild Hybrids Remain Europe’s Largest Category
Broader European market data shows that the shift toward electric vehicles is continuing, although it remains partial. Through August, battery-electric registrations rose 38.8 percent to 2,133,364 units.
Plug-in hybrids increased 22.2 percent to 964,497 units. At the same time, petrol-only vehicles fell 17.5 percent and diesels declined 19.0 percent.
However, those figures do not tell the entire story because ACEA counts 48-volt mild hybrids as a separate category. That remains the largest category in Europe, with 3,334,039 registrations, up 10.5 percent.
Mild hybrids alone have outnumbered pure EVs by about 1.2 million cars this year, meaning most new cars sold in Europe still use fuel.
BMW’s New Electric Lineup Arrives
European buyers are moving toward EVs at close to 40 percent annual growth, while BMW’s current registration figures largely reflect a lineup developed before the Neue Klasse arrived.
With the iX3 and i3 now approaching their respective market stages, the final months of 2026 and early 2027 will show how BMW’s new electric lineup affects its European performance.
