In 2017, Volkswagen remained the top-selling car brand in Germany ahead of Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW. Ford outsold Opel.
Volkswagen had weaker sales and lost market share but easily remained the largest carmaker in Germany in 2017. Second placed Mercedes-Benz increased sales and gained market share while Audi and BMW both had weaker sales. Ford became the fifth best-selling car brand in Germany in 2017 while Opel fell back to sixth. Skoda remained the top-selling foreign car brand in Germany in 2017 while Renault was the most-popular French car in Germany and Hyundai the best-selling South Korean car brand.
The German New Car Market in 2017
New passenger vehicle registrations in Germany in 2017 increased by 2.7% to 3,441,262 cars. This was the fourth consecutive year that the German new car market exceed 3 million cars.
See 2017 Developments on the German New Car Market for more details on the composition of the German vehicle market and annual car sales figures.
Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in Germany in 2017 (Full Year)
The top-selling car marques in Germany in 2017 according to new passenger vehicle registration data released by the KBA were:
| 2017 | 2016 | % Share | % Change | ||
| Total | 3,441,262 | 3,351,607 | 100.0 | 2.7 | |
| 1 | VW | 634,270 | 656,025 | 18.4 | -3.3 |
| 2 | Mercedes | 326,188 | 311,286 | 9.5 | 4.8 |
| 3 | Audi | 283,196 | 289,617 | 8.2 | -2.2 |
| 4 | BMW | 261,864 | 262,083 | 7.6 | -0.1 |
| 5 | Ford | 246,589 | 239,766 | 7.2 | 2.8 |
| 6 | Opel | 243,715 | 243,792 | 7.1 | 0.0 |
| 7 | Skoda | 194,230 | 186,172 | 5.6 | 4.3 |
| 8 | Renault | 135,456 | 125,300 | 3.9 | 8.1 |
| 9 | Hyundai | 108,518 | 107,228 | 3.2 | 1.2 |
| 10 | Seat | 108,203 | 97,585 | 3.1 | 10.9 |
| 11 | Fiat | 84,324 | 77,336 | 2.5 | 9.0 |
| 12 | Toyota | 81,086 | 71,783 | 2.4 | 13.0 |
| 13 | Peugeot | 70,930 | 56,760 | 2.1 | 25.0 |
| 14 | Nissan | 68,019 | 72,547 | 2.0 | -6.2 |
| 15 | Mazda | 67,262 | 63,310 | 2.0 | 6.2 |
| 16 | Kia | 64,068 | 60,522 | 1.9 | 5.9 |
| 17 | Dacia | 62,678 | 49,124 | 1.8 | 27.6 |
| 18 | Citroen | 52,760 | 48,726 | 1.5 | 8.3 |
| 19 | Mini | 46,706 | 44,010 | 1.4 | 6.1 |
| 20 | Mitsubishi | 43,367 | 37,228 | 1.3 | 16.5 |
| 21 | Volvo | 40,857 | 39,923 | 1.2 | 2.3 |
| 22 | Suzuki | 38,165 | 31,371 | 1.1 | 21.7 |
| 23 | Smart | 36,723 | 37,299 | 1.1 | -1.5 |
| 24 | Porsche | 29,276 | 30,203 | 0.9 | -3.1 |
| 25 | Land Rover | 23,656 | 22,799 | 0.7 | 3.8 |
| 26 | Honda | 20,199 | 25,331 | 0.6 | -20.3 |
| 27 | Jeep | 13,390 | 14,782 | 0.4 | -9.4 |
| 28 | Jaguar | 8,987 | 8,713 | 0.3 | 3.1 |
| 29 | Subaru | 7,440 | 6,963 | 0.2 | 6.9 |
| 30 | Alfa Romeo | 6,096 | 4,293 | 0.2 | 42.0 |
| 31 | Tesla | 3,332 | 1,908 | 0.1 | 74.6 |
| 32 | DS | 3,309 | 4,377 | 0.1 | -24.4 |
| 33 | Ssangyong | 3,232 | 3,397 | 0.1 | -4.9 |
| 34 | Lexus | 3,002 | 2,456 | 0.1 | 22.2 |
| Others | 20,169 | 17,592 | 0.6 | Â – | |
| Source: KBA |
Top-Selling Car Brands in Germany in 2017 (Full Year)
Volkswagen easily remained the largest carmaker in Germany in 2017 but for the second consecutive year VW had weaker sales in a growing market. VW sales were down 3.3% for a 18.4% share of the German new car market. Volkswagen’s market share of new car sales in Germany was 19.6% in 2016 and 21.4% in 2017. However, towards the end of the year, VW sales improved strongly helped by discounting, new models and incentives.
Mercedes-Benz increased car sales in Germany in 2017 by 5% or 15,000 cars while VW sold around 22,000 fewer cars than in 2016. Mercedes-Benz solidified its lead in the premium car market: Audi sales were weaker and BMW sales were flat.
The only change in rank order amongst the top ten carmakers in Germany in 2017 was Ford finally moving ahead of Opel. Ford sales increased just above market average while Opel sales were down by 77 cars. Despite foreign ownership both Ford and Opel are considered German brands in Germany.
The top foreign brands performed generally better in Germany in 2017 than the domestic marques. VW-owned Skoda remained the top import car brand in Germany in 2017 with sales up by 4%. Renault performed even better with sales up 8% or 10,000 cars. Hyundai sales were only slightly stronger while VW-owned Seat was the most-improved top-ten brand in Germany in 2017 and missed out on 9th place by only 300 cars.
Fiat maintained 11th place with sales up 9%. Toyota sales in Germany in 2017 were up 13% and one rank position. Peugeot sales increased by a quarter or three rank places. Nissan, Mazda and Kia all moved down the ranks despite Mazda and Kia outselling the broader market.
Dacia had the strongest sales increase of the top 20 brands but kept its rank position from last year, as did Citroen and Mini that also had strong sales. Mitsubishi entered the top 20 list at the expense of Volvo.
Tesla, Alfa Romeo, Dacia and Peugeot were the most-improved brands in Germany in 2017. The worst performing brands were DS, Honda, Jeep and Nissan. In volume terms, VW lost the most with sales down by 22,000 cars.
