During the first three months of 2012, the German new passenger vehicle market expanded by 1.3 percent. Volkswagen, BMW-Mini, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi were the strongest selling car brands.
The German new car market expanded by 1.3% to 773,636 new passenger vehicle registrations during the first three months of 2012. This small, but significant growth when taking into account the weakness in other European car markets, was largely achieved due to a strong increase (+3.4%) during March. Volkswagen easily maintained its traditional position at the top of the list of best-selling car manufacturers in Germany and was followed by German premium-market and luxury brands BMW, Mercedes, and Audi.
List of the Best-Selling Car Makes & Brands in Germany, Q1/2012
Car sales statistics released by the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt show the list of the top-selling car brands and manufacturers in Germany during the first three months of 2012 as follows:
| Manufacturer | Jan – March 2012 | % Market Share | % Change from 2011 | |
| 1 | VW | 172,863 | 22,3 | 3,8 |
| 2 | BMW,Mini | 66,200 | 8,6 | 2,0 |
| 3 | Mercedes | 65,569 | 8,5 | 5,7 |
| 4 | Audi | 58,854 | 7,6 | 4,1 |
| 5 | Ford | 55,239 | 7,1 | -0,9 |
| 6 | Opel | 54,452 | 7,0 | -9,2 |
| 7 | Renault,Dacia | 38,363 | 5,0 | -5,8 |
| 8 | Skoda | 35,718 | 4,6 | -1,4 |
| 9 | Hyundai | 26,137 | 3,4 | 20,8 |
| 10 | Toyota,Lexus | 22,955 | 3,0 | -0,5 |
| 11 | Nissan,Infiniti | 19,378 | 2,5 | -4,5 |
| 12 | Peugeot | 18,406 | 2,4 | -3,6 |
| 13 | Fiat | 17,927 | 2,3 | -0,2 |
| 14 | Citroen | 17,363 | 2,2 | -0,5 |
| 15 | Seat | 14,960 | 1,9 | 6,2 |
| 16 | Kia | 13,428 | 1,7 | 67,6 |
| 17 | Mazda | 13,135 | 1,7 | -2,8 |
| 18 | Suzuki | 8,367 | 1,1 | -6,8 |
| 19 | Volvo | 8,325 | 1,1 | -4,8 |
| 20 | Smart | 7,162 | 0,9 | -5,7 |
| 21 | Mitsubishi | 6,997 | 0,9 | -18,8 |
| 22 | Chevrolet | 6,974 | 0,9 | 21,6 |
| 23 | Honda | 5,558 | 0,7 | -39,0 |
| 24 | Porsche | 5,426 | 0,7 | 33,8 |
| 25 | LandRover | 3,049 | 0,4 | 90,8 |
| 26 | Subaru | 2,681 | 0,3 | 10,0 |
| 27 | AlfaRomeo | 2,282 | 0,3 | -24,5 |
| 28 | Others | 2,046 | 0,3 | |
| 29 | Chrysler,Jeep,Dodge | 1,604 | 0,2 | 25,7 |
| 30 | Lancia | 986 | 0,1 | 182,5 |
| 31 | Jaguar | 931 | 0,1 | 21,5 |
| 32 | Daihatsu | 301 | 0,0 | -69,3 |
| Total | 773636 | 100,0 | 1,3 |
Source: www.kba.de
Top-Selling Car Brands & Manufacturers in Germany, Q1/2012
Volkswagen easily maintained its position at the top of the list of best-selling car brands in Germany by taking a market share of 22.3% of the total new car market during the first three months of 2012. In March 2012, VW sales were almost 10% higher than in March 2011.
VW was followed by premium and luxury brands BMW-Mini, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi, who all outperformed the overall market. More than 60% of new cars sold in Germany during the first quarter of 2012 were by German manufacturers. However, Ford and Opel – both considered German – had weaker sales with Opel particularly weak.
Changes in the Best-Selling Car Brands in Germany, Q1/2012
The most improved brands in the German car market during the first three months of 2012 were Lancia (+183%), Land Rover (+91%), Kia (+68%) and Porsche (+34%). Chevrolet, Chrysler / Jeep, Hyundai, and Jaguar also showed significant growth of over 20%.
The weakest performances were by Daihatsu (-69%), which is withdrawing from the German market, and Honda (-39%). All Japanese and French manufacturers had a negative start to the year in Germany.
The VW Golf remained the most popular car model in Germany during the first quarter of 2012.
