2016 Germany: Total Number of Registered Cars

Volkswagen Museum in WolfsburgOn January 1, 2016, the total number of cars registered in Germany was 45,071,209. Volkswagen and Opel were the most common car brands on German roads. The total number of electric cars in Germany increased by more than a third but with a market share of only a tenth of a percentage point. Two thirds of cars are petrol driven. The average car in Germany at the start of 2016 was 9.2 years old.

Vehicles Registered in Germany in 2016

The total number of motorized vehicles registered in Germany (Fahrzeugbestand) on January 1, 2016, increased by 1.8% over the past year to 61.5 million vehicles according to the KBA. Three quarters of all vehicles in Germany are cars.

The total number of passenger vehicles (Personenkraftwagen / PKW) registered in Germany on January 1, 2016, increased by 1.5% to a new record 45,071,209 cars. This is 668,000 more cars on German roads than on January 1, 2015.

Total Number of Cars in Germany

A few further facts on the total number of cars in Germany at the start of 2016 according to KBA statistics:

  • Two-thirds (65%) of the cars are from German brands followed by 10.4% from Japan and 8.5% from France.
  • More than a quarter of all cars (26.4%) are compact cars (Kompaktklasse, better known in Germany as the Golf class).
  • The number of electric cars registered in Germany at the start of 2016 increased by 35% to a still very modest 25,502 cars, or 0.1% market share. Petrol (Benzin) engine cars have a market share of 66% and diesel 32%.
  • The average car in Germany is 9.2 years old – up from 9 a year ago.
  • 90% of all cars are registered by private owners.
  • Owners aged 60 years or older own 29.3% of all registered cars while drivers younger than 30 years own only 6.6%, which begs the question why so many German luxury brands try to chase the youth market?

Cars Registered in Germany by Brand in 2016

According to car registration numbers released by the KBA, the following where the most-popular car brands of all passenger vehicles registered for use on German roads on January 1, 2016:

2016 % Share 2015 % Change
TOTAL 45,071,209 100,0 44,403,124 1.5
1 VW 9,740,692 21,6 9,568,633 1.8
2 Opel 4,687,804 10,4 4,784,141 -2
3 Mercedes 4,223,587 9,4 4,152,334 1.7
4 Ford 3,352,642 7,4 3,339,043 0.4
5 Audi 3,091,807 6,9 3,004,819 2.9
6 BMW 3,082,243 6,8 3,011,032 2.4
7 Renault 1,833,271 4,1 1,868,200 -1.9
8 Skoda 1,760,728 3,9 1,628,106 8.1
9 Toyota 1,311,459 2,9 1,320,454 0.7
10 Peugeot 1,200,628 2,7 1,226,688 -2.1
11 Fiat 1,142,521 2,5 1,145,494 -0.3
12 Seat 949,663 2,1 890,358 6.7
13 Hyundai 939,195 2,1 852,131 10.2
14 Mazda 848,945 1,9 854,251 -0.6
15 Nissan 839,508 1,9 827,076 1.5
16 Citroen 768,479 1,7 769,782 -0.2
17 Kia 547,963 1,2 512,321 7
18 Honda 482,387 1,1 493,641 -2.3
19 Suzuki 463,599 1,0 453,533 2.2
20 Volvo 457,925 1,0 450,157 1.7
21 Mitsubishi 454,317 1,0 453,590 0.2
22 Smart 414,962 0,9 398,300 4.2
23 Dacia 383,289 0,9 339,389 12.9
24 Mini 346,403 0,8 317,653 9.1
25 Chevrolet 258,760 0,6 270,432 -4.3
26 Porsche 257,070 0,6 234,680 9.5
27 Alfa Romeo 135,721 0,3 142,901 -5
28 Subaru 123,587 0,3 123,981 -0.3
29 Daihatsu 102,154 0,2 110,661 -7.7
30 Land Rover 88,034 0,2 80,292 9.6
31 Jeep 81,948 0,2 72,198 13.5
32 Chrysler 78,115 0,2 84,314 -7.4
33 Jaguar 58,788 0,1 56,112 4.8
34 Saab 51,900 0,1 54,618 -5
35 Lancia 39,214 0,1 42,872 -8.5
36 MG Rover 37,772 0,1 42,269 -10.6
37 Sachsenring 33,550 0,1 32,832 2.2
38 DS 30,813 0,1 28,478 8.2
39 Lexus 25,145 0,1 24,901 1
40 Others 344,621 0,8 340,457

Most Popular Car Brands on German Roads in 2016

Volkswagen, not surprisingly, is the most common car brand in Germany. VW increase it share of the total number of cars in Germany by 1.8% to 9,740,692 cars or 21.6% of all registered cars in Germany on January 1, 2016. Of the extra 668,000 cars added to German roads, 172,000 were Volkswagens. The larger VW group, including Audi, Seat, Skoda, and Porsche, added 70% of the additional cars in Germany in 2016.

Opel remained the second most common car brand in Germany at the start of 2016 followed by Mercedes-Benz. With the number of Opels in Germany decreasing while Mercedes-Benz cars increase, the gap has shrunk to less than half a million cars compared to more than 800,000 in 2014. Opel’s share of the total car park in Germany was 3% more than its current share of the new car market.

The number of Ford cars in Germany remained stable with Ford in a fairly comfortable fourth place.

Audi and BMW swapped ranked positions from a year ago. Both brands increased the number of cars in Germany but Audi turned a 20,000-car deficit in 2014 to a nearly 10,000-car advantage in 2016.

Renault remained the most common foreign car in Germany but the number is slipping.

Skoda was the most improved top-ten brand in Germany by adding 132,000 cars (8.1%). The gap to Renault has shrunk from over 400,000 cars in 2014 to around 75,000 in 2016.

Of the other brands with over a million cars registered in Germany in 2016, Toyotas increased, Fiat was slightly down while Peugeot numbers were down the most of the top-ten car brands in Germany.

A few further salient features from the Bestand figures released by the KBA:

  • The most-improved brands in Germany were Jeep, Dacia and Hyundai.
  • The worst-preforming car brands in Germany were MG Rover, Lancia, Daihatsu, Chrysler, Saab and Alfa Romeo – most marques no longer available new in Germany.
  • 39 brands have more than 25,000 cars registered in Germany on January 1, 2016 – DS was previously not separately listed.
  • 29 marques had more than 100,000 cars registered in Germany on January 1, 2016 with Daihatsu likely to drop off this list by next year.
  • 11 car brands had more than a million cars registered in Germany on January 1, 2016 – Seat and Hyundai are likely to reach these numbers next.

See also: 2015 Germany: Total Number of Registered Cars

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.