2015 (Full Year) Germany: Best-Selling Car Brands

VW Beetle CabrioIn 2015, new passenger vehicle registrations in Germany increased by 5.6% with Volkswagen, Mercedes, Audi, BMW and Opel the top-selling car brands. Car sales increased to 3,206,042 vehicles – the highest total since 2009 and the second consecutive year that Europe’s largest single-country market exceeded three million cars. None of the top-ten best-selling car brands in Germany sold fewer cars in 2015 but most underperformed the broader market and thus lost some market share.

German New Car Market in 2015 (Full Year)

New passenger vehicle (PKW) registrations increased in 2015 by 5.6% to 3,206,042 cars. This followed a 3% increase in car sales in Germany in 2014 and the second consecutive year that the German new car market exceeded three million cars.

2015 was the best year for car sales in Germany since 2009:

Year German Car Sales % Change
2015 3,206,042 5.6
2014 3,036,773 2.9
2013 2,952,431 -4.2
2012 3,082,504 -2.2
2011 3,173,634 9
2010 2,916,260 -23.4
2009 3,807,175 23.2
2008 3,090,040 -1.8
2007 3,148,163 -9.2
Source: KBA

Total new vehicle registrations in Germany in 2015 increase by 5.4% to 3,742,552 vehicles including motorbikes, cars (PKW), buses, heavy (LKW) and agricultural vehicles.

According to the VDA, 5,739,900 (+2%) were produced in Germany of which 4,411,400 (+3%) were exported.

Best-Selling Car Brands in Germany in 2015

The top-selling car marques and manufacturers in Germany in 2014 according to new passenger vehicle registration data figures released by the KBA were:

Brand 2015 (Full Year) Sales 2014 % Share % Change
Total Market 3,206,042 3,036,773 100 5.6
1 VW 685,669 656,494 21.4 4.4
2 Mercedes 286,883 272,566 8.9 5.3
3 Audi 269,047 259,459 8.4 3.7
4 BMW 248,565 238,253 7.8 4.3
5 Opel 229,352 219,084 7.2 4.7
6 Ford 224,579 209,131 7 7.4
7 Skoda 179,951 173,583 5.6 3.7
8 Renault 110,039 105,322 3.4 4.5
9 Hyundai 108,434 99,820 3.4 8.6
10 Seat 94,673 93,129 3 1.7
11 Fiat 70,719 68,103 2.2 3.8
12 Nissan 69,835 62,536 2.2 11.7
13 Toyota 65,939 70,267 2.1 -6.2
14 Mazda 58,216 52,491 1.8 10.9
15 Kia 55,689 53,546 1.7 4
16 Peugeot 54,259 54,096 1.7 0.3
17 Citroen 51,413 52,003 1.6 -1.1
18 Dacia 45,764 48,907 1.4 -6.4
19 Mini 39,714 33,183 1.2 19.7
20 Smart 37,808 22,408 1.2 68.7
21 Volvo 36,120 31,919 1.1 13.2
22 Mitsubishi 34,443 24,131 1.1 42.7
23 Suzuki 30,903 27,835 1 11
24 Porsche 28,543 24,365 0.9 17.1
25 Honda 21,072 22,498 0.7 -6.3
26 LandRover 18,216 14,679 0.6 24.1
27 Jeep 14,819 10,268 0.5 44.3
28 Subaru 6,549 6,218 0.2 5.3
29 Jaguar 4,987 4,229 0.2 17.9
30 Alfa Romeo 2,800 3,391 0.1 -17.4

Top Ten Best-Selling Carmakers in Germany in 2015

The top ten most-popular car brands in Germany in 2015 remained unaltered from the order in 2014. All top-ten brands increased sales but mostly below the market average with brands in the Volkswagen group generally performing the weakest.

Volkswagen remained the best-selling car brand in Germany in 2015, although the brand is likely to suffer from further image damage in 2016 and the possibility that customers will expect discounts. In 2015, VW’s market share remained a solid 21.4% compared to 21.6% a year ago.

Mercedes-Benz consolidated second place with a 5.3% increase in sales – just below market average. Third-placed Audi was the weakest performer of the three German luxury carmakers, although fourth-placed BMW hardly performed better.

Opel hung onto fifth place but a resurgent Ford halved the gap to only 5,000 cars.

VW-owned Skoda remained Germany’s favorite imported car brand. Renault ended 2015 with just around 1,600 sales more than Hyundai that was the most improved of the top brands.

VW-owned Seat rounded out the top-ten list with flat sales in Germany in 2015.

Best-Selling Car Brands in Germany in 2015

A few further salient features from the new passenger car registrations data for Germany in 2015:

  • Toyota was the only top brand with weaker sales – Toyota slipped from eleventh last year to 13th behind Fiat and Nissan.
  • Smart was the most-improved brand with sales in Germany up 69% in 2015 and reentered the top-20 list from 25 a year ago. Sales of Jeep (+44%) and Mitsubishi (+43%) were also strongly up while Mini (19%) and Porsche (17%) were also much improved.
  • Toyota remained the strongest Japanese car manufacturer in Germany in 2015 but sales were down 6%. Honda sales suffered similarly but Nissan, Mazda and Suzuki all had double digit growth.
  • Alfa Romeo (-17%) was the worst performing of the top-30 car brands in Germany. Dacia, Honda, Toyota and Citroen were the only other brands to have sold fewer cars in Germany in 2015 than in 2014.
  • Only 34.2% of new cars were registered by private buyers – down from 36.2% a year ago.
  • Silver, which includes the whole spectrum from dull grey to a mirror finish, was the most popular color with a 28.6% market share while 27.3% of new cars in Germany in 2015 left the factory finished in black.

The VW Golf easily maintained its position as best-selling car model in Germany in 2015.

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.