EV grant approvals: the 2026 statistics
BAFA regularly publishes how many applications it has approved. Here are the October figures, set out clearly and compared model by model with new registrations from the Federal Motor Transport Authority.
Worked through by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
How many households like yours have been funded
Approvals in your band
21,337
| Income band | €45,001 – €60,000 |
| Share of all approvals | 21.8 % |
BAFA statistics as of 1 October 2026.
By 1 October 2026, BAFA had approved 97,790 EV grant applications and paid out 432 million euros, in the 135 days since the portal opened on 19 May 2026. 92 % of approvals were for battery electric cars, 8 % for plug-in hybrids. Purchases and leases were almost equally common: 49,328 to 48,462. More than half of grants, 52 %, went to households with taxable income of at most €45,000. Households above €80,000, funded only thanks to their children, made up 3 %. 34 % of funded households had at least one qualifying child. Tesla received the most approvals, 12,155, ahead of Skoda and Cupra. By model, the Tesla Model Y and Skoda Elroq led. Comparing approvals with all new registrations from January to September shows large differences: small cars like the Leapmotor T03 were largely bought with the grant, models with many company cars like the Skoda Enyaq only to a small extent.
Key figures
The figures below come from BAFA’s interim report as of 1 October 2026, midnight. They count approved applications, not those submitted or paid.
| Figure | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Approvals | 97,790 | |
| Paid out | €432 million | |
| Battery electric | 89,594 | 91.6 % |
| Plug-in hybrid | 8,196 | 8.4 % |
| Purchase | 49,328 | 50.4 % |
| Lease | 48,462 | 49.6 % |
A few days after this cut-off, the Federal Environment Ministry announced on 5 October 2026 that the mark of 100,000 approvals had been reached in early October; BAFA has not yet published a new breakdown. Approvals up to the cut-off amount on paper to just over 724 approvals a day since the start. The amount paid per approval is €4,418; since payment follows approval by a few weeks, that is more of a lower bound.
By income and children
| Household income | Approvals | Share |
|---|---|---|
| €0 to €45,000 | 51,209 | 52.4 % |
| €45,001 to €60,000 | 21,337 | 21.8 % |
| €60,001 to €80,000 | 22,560 | 23.1 % |
| €80,001 to €85,000 | 2,045 | 2.1 % |
| €85,001 to €90,000 | 639 | 0.7 % |
More than half of grants went to the first band. The two groups above €80,000 are small because only households with qualifying children are eligible there: between €80,001 and €85,000 with at least one child, above that with at least two. How the limits work exactly is under income limit.
| Household | Approvals | Share |
|---|---|---|
| no qualifying child | 64,976 | 66.4 % |
| one child | 11,424 | 11.7 % |
| two or more children | 21,390 | 21.9 % |
Households with two or more children appear almost twice as often as those with one. Part of the reason is the rule itself: two children lift the limit to €90,000 and raise the amount twice. More under children bonus.
By brand
| Rank | Brand | Approvals | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tesla | 12,155 | 12.4 % |
| 2 | Skoda | 7,224 | 7.4 % |
| 3 | Cupra | 6,229 | 6.4 % |
| 4 | Leapmotor | 5,816 | 5.9 % |
| 5 | BYD | 5,814 | 5.9 % |
| 6 | Renault | 5,721 | 5.9 % |
| 7 | Volkswagen | 5,464 | 5.6 % |
| 8 | Kia | 5,424 | 5.5 % |
| 9 | Hyundai | 4,988 | 5.1 % |
| 10 | BMW | 4,679 | 4.8 % |
| 11 | Ford | 4,340 | 4.4 % |
| 12 | Citroën | 3,797 | 3.9 % |
| 13 | Fiat | 3,535 | 3.6 % |
| 14 | Opel | 3,250 | 3.3 % |
| 15 | Peugeot | 2,649 | 2.7 % |
By model, next to registrations
BAFA also lists approvals by model. This site sets them beside the same model’s new registrations from January to September 2026 from the Federal Motor Transport Authority’s FZ10 statistics. Variants of a model are combined. The ratio is not an exact share: the KBA counts all registrations since January, including company cars, rental firms and dealers; BAFA counts approved applications, which were only possible from May and are processed with a few weeks’ delay. It does show, however, for which models private funded purchases play a large part.
| Model | Approvals | Registrations Jan. to Sep. | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model Y | 8,297 | 29,464 | 28.2 % |
| Skoda Elroq | 5,710 | 30,899 | 18.5 % |
| Tesla Model 3 | 3,845 | 15,069 | 25.5 % |
| Leapmotor T03 | 3,561 | 7,770 | 45.8 % |
| Volkswagen ID.3 | 3,541 | 24,352 | 14.5 % |
| Hyundai Inster | 3,337 | 10,119 | 33.0 % |
| BMW iX1 | 2,939 | 17,319 | 17.0 % |
| Cupra Born | 2,806 | 12,859 | 21.8 % |
| Citroën ë-C3 | 2,513 | 10,667 | 23.6 % |
| Dacia Spring | 2,402 | 7,649 | 31.4 % |
| Fiat 500e | 2,137 | 7,534 | 28.4 % |
| Renault Renault 5 | 1,963 | 7,113 | 27.6 % |
| Kia EV3 | 1,934 | 7,354 | 26.3 % |
| Cupra Tavascan | 1,687 | 10,430 | 16.2 % |
| Ford Explorer | 1,543 | 8,740 | 17.7 % |
The highest ratios are for Leapmotor T03 (45.8 %), Fiat Grande Panda Elektro (34.1 %), Hyundai Inster (33.0 %), Renault Renault 4 (31.7 %), Dacia Spring (31.4 %). The lowest are for Skoda Enyaq (4.9 %), BYD Seal U DM-i (12.7 %), Volkswagen ID.3 (14.5 %), Volvo EX30 (15.4 %), Cupra Tavascan (16.2 %). That fits a simple picture: cheap small cars are often bought by private buyers on middle incomes who receive the grant; larger models run more often as company or fleet cars, which are not eligible. What the models cost and what remains after the grant is on eligible models.
Purchase and lease in the statistics
That leasing, with 48,462 approvals, is almost as common as purchase, with 49,328, is only surprising at first sight. Leasing has been widespread for new electric cars for years, and the grant applies to private leases above a minimum term just as it does to purchases. For applicants this means that a lease puts you in the middle of the statistics, not at the edge. What is different with a lease, mainly the term, the down payment and the return, is explained under leasing.
Plug-in hybrids: a small share
Only 8.4 % of approvals concern plug-in hybrids. The reason is the stricter conditions: a hybrid must meet certain values for CO2 emissions or electric range, and fewer models qualify. On top of that, many hybrids are driven as company cars and cannot be funded at all. If you are considering a plug-in hybrid, check the values of the exact model before you buy, not when you apply.
What the figures mean for your application
The statistics say nothing about whether an individual application will be approved; only the conditions of the guideline decide that. They do help put three things in context. First, the grant is not a programme for a few. With almost 98,000 approvals in a few months, a properly prepared application is routine. Second, middle-income households are the largest group. If you think you earn too much on an ordinary salary, look up the taxable income on your tax assessment, not your gross pay. Third, children count. Just over a third of funded households had qualifying children, and above €80,000 they decide between a grant and none.
An example: a couple with two children and a joint taxable income of €84,000 falls into the band between €80,001 and €85,000. Without children they would be over the limit. With two qualifying children they are eligible and belong to the roughly 2,045 households in that band. The exact amount is worked out by the small calculator above or the grant calculator.
Where the figures come from and how often they change
BAFA publishes the statistics as a PDF on its EV grant page, at irregular intervals. The KBA model figures come from the FZ10 series, which reports new registrations by make and model range every month. This site takes both sources with their dates and calculates the shares itself. Differences of a few cases arise when BAFA writes model names differently from the KBA or counts variants separately. The ratio per model is therefore a guide figure, not an official number.
What the statistics do not show
- How many applications have been submitted but not yet approved or rejected.
- How much money remains available in total.
- A breakdown by federal state or age group.
- How many households over the income limit bought an electric car without the grant.
If you want to know how long the grant will run, the known dates and open questions are under how long it runs. The small calculator above places your household income in the statistics’ bands.