On January 1, 2017, the total number of cars registered in Germany was a record 45,803,560 with VW, Opel and Mercedes-Benz the most common brands.
The total number of passenger vehicles registered in Germany on January 1, 2017, increased by 1.6% to a new record 45,803,560 cars. Volkswagens remained the most-common car brand on German roads with more than one in five cars wearing the VW emblem. Opels were still the second most-common brand in Germany but Mercedes-Benz is catching up fast. Two-thirds of cars in use in Germany were made by German carmakers. The average age of cars registered in Germany increased to 9.3 years.
Total Number of Vehicles Registered in Germany in 2017
According to the KBA, the number of motorized vehicles (Kraftfahrzeuge / Kfz) in Germany on January 1, 2017, increased by 1.8% to 55,568,268 vehicles plus 7,050,590 trailers (Kraffahrtzeuganhänger).
The number of passenger vehicles (Personenkraftwagen / PKW) registered in Germany increased by 1.6% to a new record 45,803,560 cars compared to 45,071,209 cars at the start of 2016.
Cars Registered in Germany in 2017
A few interesting statistics released by the KBA concerning the total number of cars (Fahrzeugbestand) registered for use on German roads at the beginning of 2017:
- Nearly two-thirds (64.8%) of all vehicles on German roads were made by German manufacturers.
- Compact cars, e.g. VW Golf, were the most common with 26,2% followed by small cars, e.g. VW Polo, at 19.5%, and mid-size, e.g. VW Passat, at 15.1%.
- Petrol cars had a market share of 65.5% followed by diesel cars at 32.9%.
- Electric cars increased to only 34,022 cars in total registered for use on German roads while hybrids increased to 165,405 cars.
- The average age of cars registered in Germany increased to 9.3 years compared to 9.2 years in 2016.
- 600,000 cars in Germany were older than 30 years. Many of these cars qualify for historic number plates that in some cases bring tax and insurance benefits.
Cars Registered in Germany by Brand in 2017
The most-popular car brands of passenger vehicles registered in Germany on January 1, 2017, according to registration statistics released by the KBA were:
| Brand | 2017 | % Share | 2016 | % Change | |
| Total | 45,803,560 | 100 | 45,071,209 | 1.6 | |
| 1 | VW | 9,887,132 | 21.6 | 9,740,692 | 1.5 |
| 2 | Opel | 4,607,857 | 10.1 | 4,687,804 | -1.7 |
| 3 | Mercedes | 4,307,158 | 9.4 | 4,223,587 | 2 |
| 4 | Ford | 3,380,357 | 7.4 | 3,352,642 | 0.8 |
| 5 | Audi | 3,173,116 | 6.9 | 3,091,807 | 2.6 |
| 6 | BMW | 3,154,576 | 6.9 | 3,082,243 | 2.3 |
| 7 | Skoda | 1,893,636 | 4.1 | 1,760,728 | 7.5 |
| 8 | Renault | 1,806,227 | 3.9 | 1,833,271 | -1.5 |
| 9 | Toyota | 1,299,589 | 2.8 | 1,311,459 | -0.9 |
| 10 | Peugeot | 1,169,212 | 2.6 | 1,200,628 | -2.6 |
| 11 | Fiat | 1,147,115 | 2.5 | 1,142,521 | 0.4 |
| 12 | Hyundai | 1,028,705 | 2.2 | 939,195 | 9.5 |
| 13 | Seat | 1,008,058 | 2.2 | 949,663 | 6.1 |
| 14 | Nissan | 854,037 | 1.9 | 839,508 | 1.7 |
| 15 | Mazda | 850,206 | 1.9 | 848,945 | 0.1 |
| 16 | Citroen | 747,528 | 1.6 | 768,479 | -2.7 |
| 17 | Kia | 588,269 | 1.3 | 547,963 | 7.4 |
| 18 | Honda | 476,015 | 1 | 482,387 | -1.3 |
| 19 | Suzuki | 471,793 | 1 | 463,599 | 1.8 |
| 20 | Volvo | 468,295 | 1 | 457,925 | 2.3 |
| 21 | Mitsubishi | 458,411 | 1 | 454,317 | 0.9 |
| 22 | Smart | 434,564 | 0.9 | 414,962 | 4.7 |
| 23 | Dacia | 429,094 | 0.9 | 383,289 | 12 |
| 24 | Mini | 377,036 | 0.8 | 346,403 | 8.8 |
| 25 | Porsche | 277,093 | 0.6 | 257,070 | 7.8 |
| 26 | Chevrolet | 245,048 | 0.5 | 258,760 | -5.3 |
| 27 | Alfa Romeo | 129,570 | 0.3 | 135,721 | -4.5 |
| 28 | Subaru | 123,463 | 0.3 | 123,587 | -0.1 |
| 29 | Land Rover | 96,802 | 0.2 | 88,034 | 10 |
| 30 | Daihatsu | 93,746 | 0.2 | 102,154 | -8.2 |
| 31 | Jeep | 93,049 | 0.2 | 81,948 | 13.5 |
| 32 | Chrysler | 71,834 | 0.2 | 78,115 | -8 |
| 33 | Jaguar | 63,483 | 0.1 | 58,788 | 8 |
| 34 | Saab | 49,304 | 0.1 | 51,900 | -5 |
| 35 | Lancia | 35,574 | 0.1 | 39,214 | -9.3 |
| 36 | Sachsenring | 34,449 | 0.1 | 33,550 | 2.7 |
| 37 | MG Rover | 34,246 | 0.1 | 37,772 | -9.3 |
| 38 | DS | 32,192 | 0.1 | 30,813 | 4.5 |
| 39 | Lexus | 25,497 | 0.1 | 25,145 | 1.4 |
| 40 | Others | 380,224 | 0.8 | 344,621 | |
Most-Popular Car Brands in Germany in 2017
Given the large number of cars involved and the increasing age of cars on German roads, it is no surprise that the relative rank order of manufacturers and brands of cars registered in Germany remained relatively stable.
Volkswagen remained by far the most common car brand on German roads with 21.6% of all cars registered at the beginning of 2017 wearing a VW badge. Although VW lost market share in Germany for new cars sold in 2016, the total number of VW cars increased by 1.5% – just below market average. At just below ten million cars, Volkswagens are more common in Germany than Opel and Mercedes-Benz combined.
Mercedes-Benz continued to narrow the gap to second placed Opel. The gap has narrowed by half a million cars since 2014 confirming both the lack of popularity of new Opels in recent years as well as that Mercedes-Benz owners keeping cars longer on the road. Opel was the only German brand with negative numbers.
Ford, which like Opel, had been less popular with German car buyers in recent years compared to a decade ago, maintained its traditional fourth spot.
Audi took fifth place from BMW last year and increased the lead slightly but both brands, like Mercedes-Benz, grew faster than the market average.
VW-owned Skoda was the most improved of the ten most-popular car brands in Germany seeing a 7.5% increase of the number of Skoda cars in Germany in just a year.
Renault, Toyota and Peugeot all had fewer cars registered in Germany in 2017 but maintained their relative positions from a year ago. Such declines are generally bad news for garages specializing in servicing cars from these brands.
There were only five rank position swaps in 2017 compared to a year ago: Hyundai overtook Seat despite both marques seeing a big increase in the number of car registered in Germany, Nissan overtook Mazda, Porsche overtook Chevrolet that had withdrawn mostly from the German market two years ago, Land Rover overtook Daihatsu that is also no longer sold in Germany while Sachsenring (Trabi) passed MG Rover.
Both Hyundai and Seat had over a million cars registered in Germany in total for the first time in 2017.
