- Mercedes EV sales (cars and vans) jumped 50% in Q2, even as its overall passenger-car sales fell.
- Europe accounted for roughly 82% of Mercedes’ global electric car sales.
- New models have given Mercedes EV sales momentum at home, but it’s still struggling in global markets, especially in China.
Mercedes-Benz didn’t have the best second quarter, with global passenger car sales down 8% year-over-year to around 417,800 vehicles, dragged down by poor sales in China, which fell by 30%. However, even though the overall number of vehicles went down, its EV sales increased dramatically year-over-year.
The 63,000 BEVs sold across Mercedes-Benz cars and vans marked a 50% year-over-year increase over Q2 2025 and a 25% sequential increase over Q1 2026. Electric vans had a strong quarter, with 10,100 units sold globally, up 46% year over year and up 64% compared with Q1. That raised the global electric share of Mercedes-Benz Vans sales to 11%, up from 7% in 2025.
Europe did the heavy lifting. Mercedes sold 43,500 electric passenger cars in Europe in Q2, up 87% year over year. That means Europe alone accounted for roughly 82% of the brand’s global electric passenger-car sales during the quarter. Mercedes’ BEV share in Europe almost doubled to 26%, meaning a little over a quarter of all Mercedes vehicles sold on the continent were pure electric.
Mercedes notes that EV sales have also doubled in its home market, Germany, where EV sales jumped 48% in June and accounted for 28.4% of all cars sold, according to the Federal Motor Transport Authority.
Globally, though, things aren’t looking so hot for Mercedes. Even though the share of EVs in its total sales rose to 13% in Q2 (up from 7% last year), this is mostly thanks to surging sales in Europe. The outlook was worse in other markets. The manufacturer also revealed that plug-in vehicles (EVs and plug-in hybrids) totaled 87,500 units globally, accounting for around 21% of its total quarterly sales. Of those, 52,900 were fully electric, and 34,600 were PHEVs.
The brand’s new electric portfolio helped its European sales surge. Deliveries of the new CLA are already underway, and the order books for the new electric C-Class and GLC are open, with first deliveries expected before the end of the year. Mercedes also revealed the VLE, which is available with fully electric power and touted as a cross between a van and a luxury sedan, taking what’s best from both form factors.
The 50% jump shows Mercedes can still move the needle in its traditional markets with new products, but it isn’t any closer to achieving its global ambitions. In the EV race, a strong Europe is useful, but it won’t be enough if BMW, Tesla, and China’s premium brands keep gaining ground in the markets Mercedes still needs to crack, as well as at home.