In 2015, the Volkswagen Golf remained Germany’s top-selling car model followed by the VW Passat, VW Polo and Mercedes-Benz C Class. The Skoda Octavia was again the most-popular imported car with German buyers. Four of the ten most-popular car models in Germany in 2015 were Volkswagens with a further three from other brands belonging to the VW Group.
30 Best-Selling Car Models in Germany in 2015 (Full Year)
New passenger vehicle registration data released by the KBA showed the following 30 cars as the most-popular car models in Germany in 2015:
| Brand and Model | Sales in 2015 | Sales in 2014 | |
| 1 | VW GOLF | 270,952 | 255,044 |
| 2 | VW PASSAT | 97,586 | 72,153 |
| 3 | VW POLO | 69,867 | 68,103 |
| 4 | MERCEDES C-CLASS | 67,549 | 60,350 |
| 5 | VW TIGUAN | 58,978 | 61,947 |
| 6 | SKODA OCTAVIA | 57,907 | 52,620 |
| 7 | AUDI A3, S3, RS3 | 57,858 | 65,199 |
| 8 | OPEL ASTRA | 56,079 | 46,193 |
| 9 | OPEL CORSA | 52,741 | 55,151 |
| 10 | AUDI A4, S4, RS4 | 52,493 | 48,278 |
| 11 | FORD FOCUS | 51,677 | 49,494 |
| 12 | BMW 1 Series | 46,340 | 50,250 |
| 13 | FORD FIESTA | 45,424 | 45,228 |
| 14 | SKODA FABIA | 45,018 | 38,470 |
| 15 | BMW 3 Series | 44,637 | 55,681 |
| 16 | AUDI A6, S6, RS6 | 44,095 | 39,596 |
| 17 | BMW 2 Series | 42,916 | New |
| 18 | SEAT LEON | 42,125 | 40,251 |
| 19 | MINI | 39,714 | 33,183 |
| 20 | VW UP | 38,877 | 40,902 |
| 21 | VW TOURAN | 37,098 | 47,801 |
| 22 | MERCEDES B-CLASS | 35,112 | 36,639 |
| 23 | FIAT 500 | 33,908 | 29,920 |
| 24 | VW TRANSPORTER | 33,768 | 30,796 |
| 25 | BMW 5 Series | 33,108 | 38,733 |
| 26 | MERCEDES A-CLASS | 32,658 | 36,657 |
| 27 | OPEL MOKKA | 31,037 | 27,693 |
| 28 | MERCEDES E-CLASS | 30,860 | 37,117 |
| 29 | FORD KUGA | 28,529 | 25,751 |
| 30 | NISSAN QASHQAI | 27,529 | 24,558 |
Top-Ten Best-Selling Car Models in Germany in 2015
The Volkswagen Golf remained the most-popular car model in Germany in 2015. The VW Golf has been the top-selling car model in Germany every calendar year since 1981. Golf sales increased by almost 16,000 cars. In Germany, almost 40% of all Volkswagens sold in 2015 were Golfs while only 0.2%, or a mere 1,142 cars, were Jettas.
The Volkswagen Passat maintained its traditional second place on the list of top-selling car models in Germany. The new Passat sold over 25,000 cars more than a year ago.
In 2015, for the second successive year, the VW Polo was the third most-popular car model in Germany. The Polo is aging and sales were positive but rather flat in an expanding market.
The Mercedes-Benz C Class improved from sixth a year ago to fourth best-selling car model in Germany in 2015. Nearly a quarter of all Mercedes-Benz cars sold in Germany in 2015 were C Class models.
The aging VW Tiguan – the car has been in production with only minor updates since 2007 – was again the fifth most-popular car in Germany and again the most popular SUV in Germany. Volume numbers were slightly down in expectations of the new second generation becoming available to German buyers from January 2016.
The Skoda Octavia improved three placed to sixth and was again the most-popular imported car in Germany in 2015.
The Audi A3 slipped from fourth a year ago to seventh place.
The Opel Astra reentered the top-ten list in Germany in 2015 – up to eighth place from 14th a year ago. During the 1980s and 1990s the Astra (and Kadett predecessor) was frequently the second most-popular car in Germany. The Astra was the fifth most-popular car in Germany in 2012 but the previous model found little favor with German car buyers.
The Opel Corsa slipped one place from a year ago. Although a new model was launched a year ago, many German buyers found it not really new enough and rather opted for the even older but more refined VW Polo.
The Audi A4 reentered the top-ten list – up from 12th place a year ago.
Best-Selling Car Models in Germany in 2015
A few further salient features from the list of top-selling car models in Germany in 2015:
- The two cars dropping out of the top-ten list were the BMW 3 Series (from 7th to 15th) and the BMW 1 Series (from 10th to 12th) due to the BMW’s decision to create the separate 2 and 4 series. (Not being in the top-ten sales list is probably not a bad idea for a carmaker claiming to sell premium products.)
- The new BMW 2 Series ended the year as 17th most popular car model in Germany in 2015. The 4 Series was 47th with 20,000 cars.
- The Ford Focus was the only car model amongst the 10th to 30th most-popular car models to have maintained the same sales position in 2015 as in 2014.
- The Fiat 500 was the most-popular foreign car from a brand not belonging to a German car manufacturer.
- The Nissan Qashqai was the most-popular Japanese car in Germany in 2015. It improved from 34th a year ago. The most-popular South Korean car in Germany was the Hyundai i30 (32) and the most-popular French car the Renault Clio (41).
- The two cars slipping out of the top-30 list from a year ago were the VW Caddy (26 to 31) and the Audi A1 (29 to 35).
See also: 2015 Germany: Best-Selling Car Manufacturers and Brands
