2022 (Full Year) Germany: Car Market Overview and Analysis

In 2022, new passenger vehicle registrations in Germany increased somewhat surprisingly by 1,1% but market analysis shows the German car market is still a quarter smaller than in 2019.

In 2022, new passenger vehicle registrations in Germany increased somewhat surprisingly by 1,1% but market analysis shows the German car market is still a quarter smaller than in 2019.
© Volkswagen AG

In full-year 2022, the German new car market expanded by 1.1% to 2,651,357 passenger cars (PKW) — the second-lowest total of new passenger vehicle registrations in Germany in a calendar year for decades. Sales of light commercial vehicles, trucks, buses, and motorcycles sales were weaker. Sales of electric cars increased by a third to a record 17.7% share of the German new car market while only 17.8% of all new cars used diesel. 

In 2022 (full year), the German new car market grew by 1.1% to 2,651,357 new passenger vehicle registrations, Volkswagen remained the best-selling brand, the VW Golf the top-selling car model, and the Tesla Model Y the favorite battery-electric car.

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

German New Motorized Vehicle Market in 2022 (Full Year)

In 2022, total new motorized vehicle registrations in Germany expanded by 0.2% to 3,240,478 vehicles (Kraftfahrzeuge) — just over 7,000 vehicles more than in 2021 but almost a million fewer vehicles than in 2019. Passenger cars (PKW) are by far the largest component of this total and only a rush of tax-beating registrations in December tipped the market positive.

According to the KBA, the composition of the new motorized vehicle market in Germany in 2022 was as follows:

Vehicle CategoryFahrzeugklasseFY2022FY2021%22/21
Motor CyclesKrafträder223,889200,231+11.8
Cars (PKW)Personenkraftwagen2,651,3572,622,132+1.1
BusesKraftomnibusse4,8836,474-24.6
Trucks (Lorries / LKW)Lastkraftwagen253,894293,359-13.5
Tractor UnitsZugmaschinen insgesamt85,44990,039-5.1
– of which Semi-Trailer– dar. Sattelzugmaschinen32,60829,698+9.8
Other motorized vehiclesSonstige Kraftfahrzeuge21,00621,656-3.0
All Motorized VehiclesKraftfahrzeuge zusammen3,240,4783,233,891+0.2
TrailersKraftfahrzeuganhänger311,752341,544-8.7
Source: KBA

German Car Production and Exports in 2022

Car production in Germany in 2022 increased by 11% to only 3.4 million. The 3.1 million cars produced in 2021 was the lowest number since 1975. Supply shortages, rather than demand, were the main brake on German car production, as was the case worldwide.

According to the VDA, car exports from Germany increased by a similar 10% to 2.6 million vehicles exported in 2022. Both car production and exports from Germany remained a quarter lower than in 2019.

New Passenger Car Sales in Germany by Month in 2022

The German new passenger car market was mostly negative throughout 2022 despite 2021 being the smallest car market in Germany for decades. A lack of computer chips and other supply chain issues led to heavy shortages in cars and lower sales.

Despite low deliveries, many carmakers reported record profits confirming that car producers favored high-profit models and quietly dropped cheaper models and lower-specification vehicles while blaming EU regulations for the change.

New passenger vehicle registrations in Germany per month were as follows during the past three years:

Germany Car Market Registrations by Month in 2022
German Car Registrations by Month in 2022 © KBA

Government subsidies for plug-in hybrids were scrapped at the end of 2022 and incentives for battery-electric cars will be lowered from January 2023. A sudden rush of registrations in November and especially December (+38%) tipped the market for the whole year somewhat unexpectedly positive. In December 2022, electrified car sales increased by 114% for a market share of 55.4% of which nearly 60% were battery electric vehicles — expect to see major electric car shortages in sales statistics for other European markets at the end of 2022.

New Car Sales in Germany by Year (2007-2022)

New passenger vehicle registrations in Germany in the full calendar year 2022 expanded by 1.1% to 2,651,357 cars — still almost a million fewer cars than in 2019. Only the late rush of registrations to receive government subsidies prevented a market weaker than 2021 which was the lowest total for the German new car market since re-unification in 1990 and the lowest since 1985 if only the West German market is counted. 2022 was the third consecutive year that the German new car market was smaller than three million vehicles.

New passenger vehicle registrations in Germany by year since 2007 were as follows:

YearGerman Car Sales% Change
20222,651,3571,1
20212,622,132-10.1
20202,917,678-19.1
20193,607,2585
20183,435,778-0.2
20173,441,2622.7
20163,351,6074.5
20153,206,0425.6
20143,036,7732.9
20132,952,431-4.2
20123,082,504-2.2
20113,173,6349
20102,916,260-23.4
20093,807,17523.2
20083,090,040-1.8
20073,148,163-9.2
Source: KBA

German Passenger Car Market in 2022 (Full Year)

In 2022, the popularity of both petrol and diesel-engined cars declined further in Germany. Petrol (excluding hybrids) remained by far the largest component of new cars but the market share slipped to 32.1% in 2022 (37.1% in 2021, 46.7% in 2020, 59.2% in 2019, and 62.4% in 2018). The market share for diesel was down to 17.8% (in previous years 20.1%, 28.1%, 32%, and 32.3%).

Hybrid cars took a market share of 31.2% in 2022 but many of these cars are driven mostly on petrol. The share of plug-in hybrids increased to 13.7% but are likely to plummet in 2023 as subsidies ran out at the end of 2022.

Registrations of battery-electric cars increased by a fairly low 32.2% to take a record 17.7% market share in 2022. Growth was faster in recent years with an 83.3% increase in 2021 and 207% in 2020. In 2019, electric cars had a market share of only 1.8% in Germany.

Average CO2-Emissions of new cars sold in Germany in 2022 were down 7.7% to 109.6 g/km (118.7 g/km in 2021 and 139.8 g/km in 2020.

The most popular car colors in Germany in 2022 remained grey (including silver) at 30.6%, black (26.4%), and white (20.5%).

German Car Sales by Market Segment in 2022

The most important market sectors for German new car sales in 2022 were:

  • 29.3% (25.4% in 2021) SUV, e.g. VW T-Roc
  • 15.9% (17.5%) compact, e.g. VW Golf
  • 12.4% (14.3%) small, e.g. VW Polo
  • 11.3% (10.7%) Geländewagen / Cross-Country, e.g. VW Tiguan
  • 10.2% (10.3%) middle class, e.g. VW Passat

With many so-called SUVs hardly different from a compact or small hatchback the terminology is increasingly irrelevant. It is also worth noting that in most other markets, SUV and Geländewagen numbers are combined so the market share of 40.6% — still less than the 46% in France.

In 2022 (full year), the German new car market grew by 1.1% to 2,651,357 new passenger vehicle registrations, Volkswagen remained the best-selling brand, the VW Golf the top-selling car model, and the Tesla Model Y the favorite battery-electric car.

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