2012 First Quarter Best-Selling Car Brands and Manufacturers in Germany

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.

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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.

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.