2011 (Full Year) Germany: Top-Selling Car Brands and Manufacturers

In 2011, Volkswagen remained the best-selling carmaker in Germany while BMW-Mini took the second position for the first time ever. New passenger car registration in Germany increased by 9% in 2011.

Volkswagen Phaeton Factory in Dresden, Germany
© Volkswagen Media Services

Volkswagen easily remained Germany’s best-selling car brand in 2011. In an expanding auto market, VW managed to increase its market share to 21.6% (from 20% in 2010). BMW-Mini was the second strongest car manufacturer in Germany for the first time ever. Mercedes-Benz slipped from second to third followed by Opel, Audi, Ford, Renault, and Skoda.

The German car market grew by 8.8% during 2011 to reach 3,173,634 new passenger vehicle registrations. The total motor vehicle market in Germany came to 3,697,290 vehicles, up 9.9% from 2010.

Top 30 Best-Selling Car Brands in Germany in 2011 (Full Year)

Car sales statistics released on January 3, 2012, by the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt list the top-selling automobile manufacturers in Germany in 2011 as follows:

Position Manufacturer Cars Sold in 2011 % Increase over 2010
1 Volkswagen 686,722 11.9
2 BMW, Mini 297,439 11.5
3 Mercedes 285,651 1.6
4 Opel 254,605 9
5 Audi 250,708 10.5
6 Ford 230,939 16.5
7 Renault, Dacia 160,366 4.4
8 Skoda 142,611 7.9
9 Hyundai 86,866 16.9
10 Toyota, Lexus 83,204 5.7
11 Peugeot 82,743 -1.8
12 Fiat 80,125 2.5
13 Nissan 70,874 15.5
14 Citroen 66,711 -2.5
15 Seat 59,030 17
16 Kia 42,065 14.9
17 Mazda 41,330 -10.6
18 Suzuki 34,418 5.7
19 Volvo 33,888 31.4
20 Mitsubishi 30,050 20.8
21 Chevrolet 29,762 21.6
22 Honda 29,487 -3.1
23 Smart 29,470 1.4
24 Porsche 18,690 15
25 Alfa Romeo 10,480 21.6
26 Land Rover 6,674 1.4
27 Subaru 6,210 -20
28 Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge 5,180 -18.6
29 Daihatsu 3,932 -26
30 Jaguar 3,094 -2.3
Total German Car Market 2011 3,173,634 +8.8

Top-Selling Car Brands & Manufacturers in Germany in 2011 (Full Year)

Volkswagen continues to increase market share in Germany in 2011 and now has 21,6% of the German new passenger vehicle market. BMW-Mini saw solid growth to become the second best-selling car manufacturer in Germany for the first time in the firm’s history. Mercedes lost market share with weak growth and slipped to third place in 2011.

Opel, Audi, Ford, Renault-Dacia, and Skoda all maintained their positions on the best-sellers list for cars in Germany in 2011. Ford saw the largest growth of any of the bigger manufacturers; Opel grew in line with the market, while both Renault and Skoda underperformed the market growth. French car manufacturers generally struggled in Germany in 2011.

Hyundai also saw solid growth and became the first Korean car manufacturer to enter the top-ten list of best-selling car brands in Germany. Peugeot slipped out of the top ten list. Toyota maintained its tenth place with some growth. (Toyota had a disastrous year in Germany in 2010 when sales almost halved.)

Volvo sales boomed in Germany in 2011 by almost a third. The strongest growth was by Lancia but even an increase of sales by 60.2% could not lift the Italian brand higher than thirty-first place.

Germany’s favorite car model in 2011 remained the VW Golf.

About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience in online writing. His best-selling cars website has been reporting car sales statistics since 2008 with classic car auction prices focusing on the most expensive automobiles sold at public auctions in the past decade. He also owns the travel websites European-Traveler.com and Lake Geneva Switzerland. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Finance from the University of London.