2026 (First Half Year): The best-selling car brands in Germany were Volkswagen, followed by Skoda, BMW, Mercedes, and Audi.
New passenger vehicle registrations in Germany increased by 5.8% during the first half of 2026, while battery-electric car sales increased by 48%. Despite weaker sales, Volkswagen remained the largest carmaker and the best-selling electric car brand in Germany during the first six months of 2026. Skoda has surpassed both Mercedes-Benz and BMW to become the second most popular car brand in Germany thus far in 2026. The VW Golf remained Germany’s best-selling new car model in the first semester of 2026.
Latest German Car Sales Statistics: 2026 (HY): Brands 2026 (Q1): Brands, Models, Electric; 2025: Market Overview, Brands, Top 50 Models, Electric; 2024-2007.
German New Car Market in 2026 (Half Year)
The total German motorized vehicle (Kraftfahrzeuge) expanded by 6.3% to 1,792,069 vehicles (KFZ) during the first six months of 2026, compared to 1,685,212 in 1-6/2025. The largest component, new passenger vehicle registrations (Personenkraftwagen), increased by 5.5% to 1,484,393 cars (PKW) compared to 1,402,789 in 2025 (HY) and 1,471,641 in 2024 (HY).
Sales of battery-electric vehicles (BEV) increased by a stronger 48% during the first half of 2026. All-electric car sales increased as the market responded to the introduction of new incentives and car buyers reacted to the possibility of continued high fuel prices.
Top 40 Best-Selling Car Brands in Germany in 2026 (First Half)
The 40 top-selling car marques in Germany during the first half of 2026, according to the KBA, were:
| R | Brand / Marke | 2026 (HY) | % Change | % Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | Total Market | 1,484,393 | +5.8 | 100.0 |
| 1 | VW | 273,747 | -4.3 | 18.4 |
| 2 | SKODA | 128,218 | +17.6 | 8.6 |
| 3 | BMW | 126,766 | +6.5 | 8.5 |
| 4 | MERCEDES | 125,960 | -0.8 | 8.5 |
| 5 | AUDI | 106,422 | +8.9 | 7.2 |
| 6 | SEAT | 79,094 | -5.7 | 5.3 |
| 7 | OPEL | 70,403 | +14.5 | 4.7 |
| 8 | HYUNDAI | 48,306 | +4.1 | 3.3 |
| 9 | FORD | 48,255 | -9.2 | 3.3 |
| 10 | FIAT | 35,832 | +28.8 | 2.4 |
| 11 | DACIA | 34,430 | -2.9 | 2.3 |
| 12 | RENAULT | 33,291 | +15.8 | 2.2 |
| 13 | TOYOTA | 32,206 | -18.5 | 2.2 |
| 14 | PEUGEOT | 31,235 | +2.8 | 2.1 |
| 15 | KIA | 30,927 | +3.1 | 2.1 |
| 16 | TESLA | 28,857 | +224.6 | 1.9 |
| 17 | CITROEN | 27,220 | +9.6 | 1.8 |
| 18 | VOLVO | 26,278 | -17.6 | 1.8 |
| 19 | BYD | 26,252 | +315.2 | 1.8 |
| 20 | MAZDA | 24,435 | +20.4 | 1.6 |
| 21 | MINI | 21,171 | +39.0 | 1.4 |
| 22 | NISSAN | 16,742 | -2.8 | 1.1 |
| 23 | MG ROEWE | 16,152 | +40.2 | 1.1 |
| 24 | PORSCHE | 15,601 | -5.5 | 1.1 |
| 25 | SUZUKI | 11,436 | -2.7 | 0.8 |
| 26 | LEAPMOTOR | 8,402 | +306.5 | 0.6 |
| 27 | LAND ROVER | 7,654 | +11.5 | 0.5 |
| 28 | MITSUBISHI | 6,912 | -45.2 | 0.5 |
| 29 | JEEP | 5,892 | -13.0 | 0.4 |
| 30 | SMART | 4,218 | +116.3 | 0.3 |
| 31 | HONDA | 4,072 | +10.4 | 0.3 |
| 32 | XPENG | 3,357 | +215.2 | 0.2 |
| 33 | ALFA ROMEO | 2,511 | -36.5 | 0.2 |
| 34 | POLESTAR | 2,429 | +26.8 | 0.2 |
| 35 | LEXUS | 1,778 | -29.0 | 0.1 |
| 36 | SUBARU | 1,761 | -20.4 | 0.1 |
| 37 | KGM | 1,369 | -12.2 | 0.1 |
| 38 | DS | 1,101 | -35.1 | 0.1 |
| 39 | FERRARI | 947 | -4.8 | 0.1 |
| 40 | ALPINE | 803 | +78.0 | 0.1 |
| Source: KBA |
Best-Selling Car Brands in Germany in 2026 (Half Year)
Volkswagen remained by far the largest car brand in Germany. However, during the first half of 2026, VW sales were 4.3% weaker while the market expanded by almost 6%. Volkswagen’s market share in Germany slipped by 2 percentage points.
VW-owned Skoda became the second-most popular car brand in Germany during the first six months of the year with sales up by 17.6% to move ahead of both BMW and Mercedes.
BMW stayed in third with stronger sales. Mercedes had only slightly weaker sales than in 2025 but slipped from its traditional second position to fourth. Audi rounded out the so-called premium German brands with sales up 8.9%.
Stellantis brands Opel and Fiat had stronger sales in Germany, with Fiat moving back into the top ten most popular car brands in Germany thus far in 2026. Ford was the worst-performing top ten brand in Germany.
The most improved car brands in the first half of 2026 in Germany were BYD, Leapmotor, and Tesla, who all benefited from strong demand for electric cars. Although Chinese car brands find the German market particularly complicated, BYD has now entered the top 20 list and outsold all Japanese brands except Toyota. BYD replaced MG as the most popular Chinese brand in Germany.
The worst-performing larger car brands in Germany in the first semester of 2026 were Toyota, Volvo, and Ford.
Latest German Car Sales Statistics: 2026 (HY): Brands 2026 (Q1): Brands, Models, Electric; 2025: Market Overview, Brands, Top 50 Models, Electric; 2024-2007.