2019 (Full Year) Germany: Best-Selling Car Models

In 2019, the Volkswagen Golf and Tiguan were again the best-selling car models in Germany. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class moved into third.

In full calendar year 2019, the Volkswagen Golf easily maintained its traditional position as the best-selling car in Germany despite weaker sales. The VW Tiguan remained in second place with sales up while the Mercedes-Benz C-Class moved into third at the expense of the VW Polo. The Skoda Octavia remained Germany’s favorite imported car and the Fiat 500 the favorite foreign branded car without German owners. The Mercedes-Benz B Class was the only new entrant on the list of the 30 top-selling car models in Germany in 2019.

In 2019, new passenger vehicle registrations in Germany increased by 5% to 3,607,258 cars – see 2019 German New Car Market Overview for more details. Volkswagen was the top-selling brand, Tesla the top-selling electric car brand, and the Renault Zoe the favorite electric car model.

German Car Sales Statistics — 2022: Market Overview, Brands, Models, Electric; 2021: Market, Brands, Models, Electric; 2020: Market, Brands, Models, Electric; 2019: Market, Brands, Models, Electric

30 Best-Selling Car Models in Germany in 2019 (Full Year)

According to new passenger vehicle registration data released by the KBA for the German car market in 2019, the following were the 30 most popular car models:

	Brand	Model	Sales 2019	Sales 2018	% 18/19
1	VW	GOLF	204,550	211,512	-3.3
2	VW	TIGUAN	87,771	74,749	17.4
3	MERCEDES	C-CLASS	64,403	62,784	2.6
4	VW	POLO	61,286	70,488	-13.1
5	VW	PASSAT	59,322	70,007	-15.3
6	VW	T-ROC	58,898	35,299	66.9
7	FORD	FOCUS	58,261	49,279	18.2
8	SKODA	OCTAVIA	55,210	58,444	-5.5
9	OPEL	CORSA	51,708	47,848	8.1
10	AUDI	A4, S4, RS4	50,740	53,340	-4.9
11	MINI	MINI	50,019	50,494	-0.9
12	FORD	KUGA	49,625	42,276	17.4
13	MERCEDES	A-CLASS	44,189	35,252	25.4
14	AUDI	A6, S6, RS6	44,037	37,170	18.5
15	OPEL	ASTRA	43,892	45,932	-4.4
16	BMW	3 SERIES	43,327	34,514	25.5
17	FORD	FIESTA	43,316	47,224	-8.3
18	MERCEDES	E-CLASS	43,265	43,113	0.4
19	AUDI	A3, S3, RS3	42,609	45,901	-7.2
20	SKODA	FABIA	42,099	44,900	-6.2
21	VW	TOURAN	39,847	42,623	-6.5
22	SEAT	LEON	39,637	43,045	-7.9
23	MERCEDES	GLK, GLC	38,369	40,438	-5.1
24	VW	TRANSPORTER	37,609	39,433	1.2
25	FIAT	500	37,503	31,590	18.7
26	BMW	X1	36,109	31,521	14.6
27	BMW	5 SERIES	35,949	42,358	-15.1
28	MERCEDES	B-CLASS	33,709	24,848	35.7
29	BMW	2 SERIES	33,037	38,189	-13.5
30	BMW	1 SERIES	31,901	44,143	-27.7
	Source: KBA	–		–

Top Ten Best-Selling Car Models in Germany in 2019 (Full Year)

The Volkswagen Golf easily maintained its traditional position as Germany’s favorite car in 2019 despite sales being down 3.3%. Golf sales in 2019 in Germany were nearly 70,000 cars fewer than in 2015. The new Golf 8 was introduced towards the end of 2019 but software issues meant that the car will only become readily available from 2020.

The VW Golf has been the best-selling car model in Germany for every calendar year since 1981. In 1980, it was last outsold – by the Mercedes-Benz W123 (E-Class).

For the second consecutive year, the VW Tiguan was the second most popular car in Germany in 2019. Tiguan sales were up by 17% but even if sales were doubled, it would still have been well behind the market leader. The Tiguan was Germany’s favorite SUV, although the official classification is cross-country vehicle (Geländewagen).

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class improved from fifth a year ago to third best-selling car model in Germany in 2019. As a result, the VW Polo and VW Passat each slipped down a rank position with weaker sales.

The VW T-Roc was the most-improved car with sales up by 67% and moving up from 26th a year ago to 6th in 2019. Although this improvement was flattered by the T-Roc not being available for the full 2018, the sales total is impressive for a new model on the often conservative German car market. The T-Roc is Germany’s best-selling SUV according to the official German classification system, but many would give that title to the more rugged Tiguan.

The Ford Focus was helped by the introduction of a new model and improved two rank positions and had its highest sales volume in Germany for some years.

Sales of the Skoda Octavia were weaker in 2019 but the model is also in the process of being updated. The Skoda Octavia remained Germany’s favorite imported model. (Ford and Opel are generally considered German despite the foreign ownership.)

The Opel Corsa moved up one rank position with sales up 8%. The Corsa will be replaced early 2020 by a new model based on the French PSA chassis shared with the Peugeot 208 and Citroen C3. Nostalgic notions that the last “real” Opel Corsas were bought by enthusiasts were somewhat spoiled by 90% of new Corsas in 2019 being registered by businesses – the highest of any top-30 car model in Germany in 2019.

The Audi A4 rounded out the top-ten list with sales down 5% and a drop in rank position from 7th a year ago.

Top 30 Best-Selling Car Models in Germany in 2019

A few further salient features from the top 30 most popular car models in Germany in 2019:

The most-improved models, other than the T-Roc, were those helped by the introduction of new models. The Mercedes-Benz B-Class improved sales by 36% to enter the top-30 list at 28 from outside the top-50 a year ago. The B-Class also has the distinction of being the only top-30 car model in Germany with more private than business owners (49% vs 51%).

The Mercedes-Benz A-Class improved from 27th to 13th and the BMW 3 Series from 28th to 16th. Both were helped by model changes and increased sales by a quarter.

In contrast, the BMW 1 Series dropped from 15th to 30th with sales down 28% – the worst performer among the top models. The 1 Series was replaced at year-end with a new front-wheel-drive version that will only be available in volumes during 2020.

The Fiat 500 was the only car among the top-30 without strong German manufacturing or ownership links.

In 2019, new passenger vehicle registrations in Germany increased by 5% to 3,607,258 cars – see 2019 German New Car Market Overview for more details. Volkswagen was the top-selling brand, Tesla the top-selling electric car brand, and the Renault Zoe the favorite electric car model.