2022: Germany – Total Number of Registered Cars By Brand (Kfz-Bestand)

In 2022, the total number of passenger vehicles registered for use on public roads in Germany increased to over 48.5 million cars. Volkswagen and Mercedes were the most common brands.

In 2022, the total number of passenger vehicles registered for use on public roads in Germany increased to over 48.5 million cars. Volkswagen and Mercedes were the most common brands.

On 1 January 2022, the total number of passenger vehicles registered for use on public roads in Germany was 48,504,878 cars — an increase of 0.6%. Volkswagen remained by far the most common car brand seen in Germany with more than a fifth of the total German car parc. Mercedes-Benz was the second most common car brand in Germany followed by Opel and Ford. The average age of cars in Germany increased to over 10 years.

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

Total Number of Vehicles in Germany in 2022

The total number of motorized vehicles registered on 1 January 2022 for use on public roads in Germany (Fahrzeugbestand) at the KBA increased by 1.3% to a new record 67.7 million vehicles. This number includes 59,635,446 (2021: 59,020,091 +1.0% / 2020: 58,158,344 / +1.5%) motorized vehicles (Kraftfahrzeuge / Kfz) and 8,102,581 (2021: 7,867,929 +3.0% / 2020: 7,652,232 +2.8%) trailers (Kraftfahrzeuganhänger).

By far the largest component of the motorized vehicles were passenger cars (PKW) 48,540,878 (2021: 48,248,584 +0.6% / 2020: 47,715,977 / +1.1) followed by motorcycles at 4,780.854 (2021: 4,661,561 +2.6% / 2020: 4,506,410 +3.4%) and heavy commercial vehicles (trucks / lorries / LKW) at 3,550,814 (2021: +3,410,280 +4.1 / 2020: 3,276,093 +4.1%).

Number of Cars on German Roads (2013 – 2022)

The total number of passenger vehicles (PKW) on German roads at the start of 2022 increased by 0.6% to 48,540,878 cars or 292,294 more cars than a year ago. The increase was significantly lower than in recent years and reflects the struggle of car manufacturers to produce and deliver new cars to buyers rather than a lack in demand. In full-year 2021, the German new car market contracted by 10.1% to 2,622,132 passenger cars (PKW) — the lowest total of new passenger vehicle registrations in Germany in a calendar year for decades.

The total number of passenger cars registered for use on public roads in Germany was as follows in recent years:

YearCars% Change
202248,540,8780.6
202148,248,5841.1
202047,715,9771.3
201947,095,7841.3
201846,474,5941.5
201745,803,5601.6
201645,071,2091.5
201544,403,1241.3
201443,851,2301.3
201343,431,1241.2
Source: KBA

Passenger Vehicles Registered in Germany in 2022

A few further salient features from the statistics released by the KBA on the total number of passenger cars registered for use in Germany at the start of 2022 (2021 / 2020):

  • Compact cars, e.g. VW Golf, remained the most common car size with a share of 24.2% (24.7% in 2021 / 25.1% in 2020), followed by small cars, e.g. VW Polo, with 18.2% (15.5% / 18.7%) and mid-size, e.g. VW Passat, with 12.3 (12.7% / 13.2%).
  • The fastest-growing segments were again mobile homes (+13.7%) followed by SUVs (e.g. VW T-Roc) with a 12.2% increase, and cross-country vehicles (Geländewagen, e.g. VW Tiguan) (+5%).
  • Most cars on German roads still used petrol (Benzin) in 2022 with a 63.9% (65.2%) share followed by diesel with a 30.5% (31.2%) share. Battery-electric cars doubled market share to 1.3% of the total number of cars in Germany.
  • The total number of battery-electric cars in Germany increased to 618,460 BEVs (2021: 309,083 +100.1% / 2020: 136,617 and 2019: 83,175). The increase of 309,377 electric cars on German roads is still a good 46,584 below total new electric car registrations in Germany in 2021. The German motor press reported that many electric cars bought with subsidies as high as €9,000 is sold basically undriven after six months in neigboring countries. The ownership period required to qualify for the subsidies have since been increased to a year rather than only six months.
  • The average age of cars in Germany increased to 10.1 years — the average age increased every year since 2010.
  • The number of cars older than 30 years (Oldtimer) increased by 15% 646,403 (2021: 584,509 / 2020: 526,000) cars in Germany at the start of 2022.

Total Cars Registered in Germany by Brand in 2022

The most-common marques of cars registered in Germany on 1 January 2022 according to the KBA were as follows:

Brand20222021% Change% Share
Total / Bestand48,540,87848,248,5840.6100.0
1VW10,178,65510,150,8440.321.0
2Mercedes4,627,9514,596,2710.79.5
3Opel4,168,9584,240,165-1.78.6
4Ford3,482,0973,510,882-0.87.2
5BMW3,396,5133,357,7991.27.0
6Audi3,272,4633,279,655-0.26.7
7Skoda2,515,3552,420,9943.95.2
8Renault1,724,1611,744,098-1.13.6
9Hyundai1,407,3261,348,2904.42.9
10Seat1,387,2891,320,8245.02.9
11Toyota1,294,8941,294,3970.02.7
12Fiat1,269,2921,235,3762.72.6
13Peugeot1,026,1181,055,359-2.82.1
14Mazda845,993856,056-1.21.7
15Nissan818,856837,440-2.21.7
16Kia771,768736,0454.91.6
17Citroen734,818739,180-0.61.5
18Dacia672,841647,0744.01.4
19Mitsubishi526,393517,7441.71.1
20Mini524,495503,7584.11.1
21Volvo522,612512,3342.01.1
22Suzuki521,475518,2020.61.1
23Smart501,105499,3140.41.0
24Honda398,051416,520-4.40.8
25Porsche359,416345,1194.10.7
26Chevrolet161,568179,086-9.80.3
27Jeep146,208136,6457.00.3
28Land Rover119,780117,9541.50.2
29Subaru119,025120,499-1.20.2
30Alfa Romeo105,407109,885-4.10.2
31Jaguar82,62982,2480.50.2
32Tesla66,42234,38993.10.1
33Daihatsu60,09865,450-8.20.1
34Sachsenring39,34238,1733.10.1
35Saab38,45740,205-4.30.1
36Chrysler38,19542,329-9.80.1
37DS33,52734,098-1.70.1
38Lada31,69230,8592.70.1
39Lexus31,41730,4283.30.1
40MG Rover24,14225,423-5.00.0
41Lancia21,93123,880-8.20.0
Others / Sonstige472,143453,2931.0
Source: KBA

Top Car Brands in Germany in 2022

As the average age of cars registered in Germany in 2022 exceeded ten years, it is not surprising that the rank order of the most common car brands in Germany changes only slowly despite different success in the salesroom. The most common brand remained unchanged with the first change at position 16 where the strong-selling Kia passed Citroen.

Volkswagen easily remained the most popular car brand in Germany with 21% of all cars in Germany wearing the VW emblem. However, the increase of 0.3% was below average. Volkswagen had an 18,7% share of the German new car market in 2021 while Volkswagen sold 20.3 of all new electric cars in Germany in 2021.

Mercedes-Benz claimed second place from Opel at the start of 2020 and extended the lead again with its share of cars on German roads increasing by 0.7% to 9.5%

Despite strong sales in 2021, the number of Opels on German roads continued to decline. It saw the biggest drop of any top-ten brand at the start of 2022. Ford also became less common on German road, as did perhaps more surprisingly, Audi. In contrast, the number of BMWs increased.

VW-owned Skoda remained the most popular foreign car brand in Germany with the number of Skodas in Germany increasing by a strong 3.9%. In contrast, fewer Renault cars were in use in Germany in 2022 than a year ago.

Hyundai performed strongly but Seat was the most improved top ten brand. Toyota remained outside the top ten with the number of Toyotas in Germany virtually unchanged from a year ago.

Kia moved ahead of Citroen, while Mini, which was very popular with private buyers in recent years, entered the top 20.

The brands with the highest percentage increases in the number of cars in Germany in 2022 were Tesla, Jeep, and Seat. Although the total number of Teslas in Germany increased by 93% it was only the 32nd most common brand (up from 36th a year ago). If sales doubled again, it could enter the top 30 in 2023.

The worst performing brands overall were marques no longer sold in Germany such as Chrysler, Lancia, Daihatsu, and Chevrolet.

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

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.