2019 (Full Year) Germany: Best-Selling Car Models

In 2019, the Volkswagen Golf and Tiguan were again the best-selling car models in Germany. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class moved into third.

VW-Roc the most improved among the top 30 best selling car models in Germany in 2019

In full calendar year 2019, the Volkswagen Golf easily maintained its traditional position as the best-selling car in Germany despite weaker sales. The VW Tiguan remained in second place with sales up while the Mercedes-Benz C-Class moved into third at the expense of the VW Polo. The Skoda Octavia remained Germany’s favorite imported car and the Fiat 500 the favorite foreign branded car without German owners. The Mercedes-Benz B Class was the only new entrant on the list of the 30 top-selling car models in Germany in 2019.

In 2019, new passenger vehicle registrations in Germany increased by 5% to 3,607,258 cars – see 2019 German New Car Market Overview for more details. Volkswagen was the top-selling brand, Tesla the top-selling electric car brand, and the Renault Zoe the favorite electric car model.

German Car Sales Statistics — 2022: Market Overview, Brands, Models, Electric; 2021: Market, Brands, Models, Electric; 2020: Market, Brands, Models, Electric; 2019: Market, Brands, Models, Electric

30 Best-Selling Car Models in Germany in 2019 (Full Year)

According to new passenger vehicle registration data released by the KBA for the German car market in 2019, the following were the 30 most popular car models:

BrandModelSales 2019Sales 2018% 18/19
1VWGOLF204,550211,512-3.3
2VWTIGUAN87,77174,74917.4
3MERCEDESC-CLASS64,40362,7842.6
4VWPOLO61,28670,488-13.1
5VWPASSAT59,32270,007-15.3
6VWT-ROC58,89835,29966.9
7FORDFOCUS58,26149,27918.2
8SKODAOCTAVIA55,21058,444-5.5
9OPELCORSA51,70847,8488.1
10AUDIA4, S4, RS450,74053,340-4.9
11MINIMINI50,01950,494-0.9
12FORDKUGA49,62542,27617.4
13MERCEDESA-CLASS44,18935,25225.4
14AUDIA6, S6, RS644,03737,17018.5
15OPELASTRA43,89245,932-4.4
16BMW3 SERIES43,32734,51425.5
17FORDFIESTA43,31647,224-8.3
18MERCEDESE-CLASS43,26543,1130.4
19AUDIA3, S3, RS342,60945,901-7.2
20SKODAFABIA42,09944,900-6.2
21VWTOURAN39,84742,623-6.5
22SEATLEON39,63743,045-7.9
23MERCEDESGLK, GLC38,36940,438-5.1
24VWTRANSPORTER37,60939,4331.2
25FIAT50037,50331,59018.7
26BMWX136,10931,52114.6
27BMW5 SERIES35,94942,358-15.1
28MERCEDESB-CLASS33,70924,84835.7
29BMW2 SERIES33,03738,189-13.5
30BMW1 SERIES31,90144,143-27.7
Source: KBA

Top Ten Best-Selling Car Models in Germany in 2019 (Full Year)

The Volkswagen Golf easily maintained its traditional position as Germany’s favorite car in 2019 despite sales being down 3.3%. Golf sales in 2019 in Germany were nearly 70,000 cars fewer than in 2015. The new Golf 8 was introduced towards the end of 2019 but software issues meant that the car will only become readily available from 2020.

The VW Golf has been the best-selling car model in Germany for every calendar year since 1981. In 1980, it was last outsold – by the Mercedes-Benz W123 (E-Class).

For the second consecutive year, the VW Tiguan was the second most popular car in Germany in 2019. Tiguan sales were up by 17% but even if sales were doubled, it would still have been well behind the market leader. The Tiguan was Germany’s favorite SUV, although the official classification is cross-country vehicle (Geländewagen).

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class improved from fifth a year ago to third best-selling car model in Germany in 2019. As a result, the VW Polo and VW Passat each slipped down a rank position with weaker sales.

The VW T-Roc was the most-improved car with sales up by 67% and moving up from 26th a year ago to 6th in 2019. Although this improvement was flattered by the T-Roc not being available for the full 2018, the sales total is impressive for a new model on the often conservative German car market. The T-Roc is Germany’s best-selling SUV according to the official German classification system, but many would give that title to the more rugged Tiguan.

The Ford Focus was helped by the introduction of a new model and improved two rank positions and had its highest sales volume in Germany for some years.

Sales of the Skoda Octavia were weaker in 2019 but the model is also in the process of being updated. The Skoda Octavia remained Germany’s favorite imported model. (Ford and Opel are generally considered German despite the foreign ownership.)

The Opel Corsa moved up one rank position with sales up 8%. The Corsa will be replaced early 2020 by a new model based on the French PSA chassis shared with the Peugeot 208 and Citroen C3. Nostalgic notions that the last “real” Opel Corsas were bought by enthusiasts were somewhat spoiled by 90% of new Corsas in 2019 being registered by businesses – the highest of any top-30 car model in Germany in 2019.

The Audi A4 rounded out the top-ten list with sales down 5% and a drop in rank position from 7th a year ago.

Top 30 Best-Selling Car Models in Germany in 2019

A few further salient features from the top 30 most popular car models in Germany in 2019:

The most-improved models, other than the T-Roc, were those helped by the introduction of new models. The Mercedes-Benz B-Class improved sales by 36% to enter the top-30 list at 28 from outside the top-50 a year ago. The B-Class also has the distinction of being the only top-30 car model in Germany with more private than business owners (49% vs 51%).

The Mercedes-Benz A-Class improved from 27th to 13th and the BMW 3 Series from 28th to 16th. Both were helped by model changes and increased sales by a quarter.

In contrast, the BMW 1 Series dropped from 15th to 30th with sales down 28% – the worst performer among the top models. The 1 Series was replaced at year-end with a new front-wheel-drive version that will only be available in volumes during 2020.

The Fiat 500 was the only car among the top-30 without strong German manufacturing or ownership links.

In 2019, new passenger vehicle registrations in Germany increased by 5% to 3,607,258 cars – see 2019 German New Car Market Overview for more details. Volkswagen was the top-selling brand, Tesla the top-selling electric car brand, and the Renault Zoe the favorite electric car model.

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.