In 2024, the total number of passenger vehicles registered for use on public roads in Germany increased to over 49 million cars. Volkswagen and Mercedes were the most common brands.
On 1 January 2024, the total number of passenger vehicles (PKW) registered for use on public roads in Germany was 49,098,685 cars — an increase of 0.7%. 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 total number of battery-electric cars in Germany increased by 39% to 1.4 million BEVs. The average age of cars in Germany is 10.3 years.
Latest German Car Sales Statistics: 2023 — Market Overview, Brands, Models, Electric, 2022-2007.
Total Number of Vehicles in Germany in 2024
The total number of motorized vehicles registered on 1 January 2024 for use on public roads in Germany (Fahrzeugbestand) at the KBA increased by 0.9% to a new record 60,680,636 motorized vehicles (+0.9%)(Kraftfahrzeuge / Kfz) excluding a record 8,439,848 trailers (+1.7%)(Kraftfahrzeuganhänger).
By far the largest component of the motorized vehicles was passenger cars (PKW) 49,098,685 (+0.7%) followed by motorcycles at 4,992,579 (+1.6%) and heavy commercial vehicles (trucks / lorries / LKW) at 3,738,475 (2.7%).
Number of Cars on German Roads (2013 – 2024)
The total number of passenger vehicles (PKW) on German roads at the start of 2024 increased by 0.7% to 49,098,685 cars or 335,649 more cars than a year ago. In full-year 2023, the German new car market expanded by 7.3% to 2,844,609 passenger cars (PKW) — the fourth consecutive year of car sales below three million vehicles..
The total number of passenger cars registered for use on public roads in Germany was as follows in recent years:
| Year | Cars (PKW) | % Change |
| 2024 | 49,098,685 | 0.7 |
| 2023 | 48,763,036 | 0.6 |
| 2022 | 48,540,878 | 0.6 |
| 2021 | 48,248,584 | 1.1 |
| 2020 | 47,715,977 | 1.3 |
| 2019 | 47,095,784 | 1.3 |
| 2018 | 46,474,594 | 1.5 |
| 2017 | 45,803,560 | 1.6 |
| 2016 | 45,071,209 | 1.5 |
| 2015 | 44,403,124 | 1.3 |
| 2014 | 43,851,230 | 1.3 |
| 2013 | 43,431,124 | 1.2 |
| Source: KBA |
Passenger Vehicles Registered in Germany in 2024
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 2024:
- Compact cars, e.g. VW Golf, remained the most common car size with a share of 23.2% (-1.4%), followed by small cars, e.g. VW Polo, with 17.7% (-0.8%.
- The fastest-growing segment was SUVs (e.g. VW T-Roc) with an 11.1% increase for a market share of 12.2% (SUVs in Germany exclude cross-country vehicles (Geländewagen, e.g. VW Tiguan).
- The total number of battery-electric cars in Germany increased by 39.1% to 1,408,681 BEVs (2020: 136,617). Hybrids increased by 24.5% to 2,911,262 cars including 921,886 (+6.6%) plug-in hybrids
- However, 44.4 million cars used petrol (-1.1%) or diesel (-2%)
- The number of cars older than 30 years (Oldtimer) increased by 6.7% to 846,562.
- By federal state (Bundesland), the highest number of cars were registered in North-Rhine Westphalia (10,557,227), Bavaria (8,365,523), and Baden-Württemberg (6,924,480).
Total Cars Registered in Germany by Brand in 2024
The most-common marques of cars registered in Germany on 1 January 2024 according to the KBA were as follows:
| Brand | 1.1.2024 | % Share | 1.1.2023 | % Change 23/24 |
| AIWAYS | 749 | 0.0 | 870 | -13.9 |
| ALFA ROMEO | 101,460 | 0.2 | 102,225 | -0.7 |
| ALPINE | 2,215 | 0.0 | 1,943 | +14.0 |
| ASTON MARTIN | 3,915 | 0.0 | 3,749 | +4.4 |
| AUDI | 3,302,138 | 6.7 | 3,264,636 | +1.1 |
| AUSTIN | 9,620 | 0.0 | 9,667 | -0.5 |
| BENTLEY | 6,000 | 0.0 | 5,758 | +4.2 |
| BMW | 3,428,519 | 7.0 | 3,403,625 | +0.7 |
| BYD | 4,317 | 0.0 | 1,278 | +237.8 |
| CADILLAC | 4,485 | 0.0 | 5,226 | -14.2 |
| CHEVROLET | 136,524 | 0.3 | 149,197 | -8.5 |
| CHRYSLER | 31,439 | 0.1 | 34,552 | -9.0 |
| CITROEN | 721,890 | 1.5 | 726,419 | -0.6 |
| DACIA | 760,233 | 1.5 | 713,556 | +6.5 |
| DAF TRUCKS | 86 | 0.0 | 79 | +8.9 |
| DAIHATSU | 52,005 | 0.1 | 56,078 | -7.3 |
| DODGE | 6,760 | 0.0 | 7,360 | -8.2 |
| DS | 33,887 | 0.1 | 34,503 | -1.8 |
| FERRARI | 14,448 | 0.0 | 13,821 | +4.5 |
| FIAT | 1,298,485 | 2.6 | 1,291,008 | +0.6 |
| FISKER | 471 | 0.0 | – | X |
| FORD | 3,402,500 | 6.9 | 3,448,874 | -1.3 |
| GWM | 4,684 | 0.0 | 52 | X |
| HONDA | 368,738 | 0.8 | 383,941 | -4.0 |
| HUMMER | 2,181 | 0.0 | 2,251 | -3.1 |
| HYUNDAI | 1,508,190 | 3.1 | 1,464,159 | +3.0 |
| INEOS | 922 | 0.0 | – | X |
| INFINITI | 4,593 | 0.0 | 4,794 | -4.2 |
| ISUZU | 146 | 0.0 | 145 | +0.7 |
| IVECO | 17,027 | 0.0 | 16,117 | +5.6 |
| JAGUAR | 80,136 | 0.2 | 80,979 | -1.0 |
| JEEP | 159,360 | 0.3 | 155,591 | +2.4 |
| KIA | 850,549 | 1.7 | 813,190 | +4.6 |
| LADA | 31,192 | 0.1 | 31,679 | -1.5 |
| LAMBORGHINI | 4,102 | 0.0 | 3,717 | +10.4 |
| LANCIA | 19,089 | 0.0 | 20,532 | -7.0 |
| LAND ROVER | 122,701 | 0.2 | 120,400 | +1.9 |
| LEVC | 229 | 0.0 | 237 | -3.4 |
| LEXUS | 32,546 | 0.1 | 31,939 | +1.9 |
| LOTUS | 4,838 | 0.0 | 4,633 | +4.4 |
| LUCID | 105 | 0.0 | 12 | X |
| LYNK & CO | 8,848 | 0.0 | 7,604 | +16.4 |
| MAN | 6,958 | 0.0 | 5,148 | +35.2 |
| MASERATI | 10,313 | 0.0 | 9,930 | +3.9 |
| MAXUS | 70 | 0.0 | – | X |
| MAZDA | 837,592 | 1.7 | 834,845 | +0.3 |
| MERCEDES | 4,703,089 | 9.6 | 4,649,807 | +1.1 |
| MG ROEWE | 36,551 | 0.1 | 18,519 | +97.4 |
| MG ROVER | 22,480 | 0.0 | 23,280 | -3.4 |
| MINI | 562,083 | 1.1 | 539,201 | +4.2 |
| MITSUBISHI | 528,906 | 1.1 | 535,401 | -1.2 |
| MORGAN | 3,566 | 0.0 | 3,542 | +0.7 |
| NIO | 1,746 | 0.0 | 504 | +246.4 |
| NISSAN | 793,362 | 1.6 | 804,811 | -1.4 |
| OPEL | 3,999,139 | 8.1 | 4,087,391 | -2.2 |
| PEUGEOT | 973,313 | 2.0 | 1,000,103 | -2.7 |
| POLESTAR | 13,876 | 0.0 | 9,240 | +50.2 |
| PONTIAC | 87 | 0.0 | 100 | -13.0 |
| PORSCHE | 387,229 | 0.8 | 371,173 | +4.3 |
| PROTON | 189 | 0.0 | 234 | -19.2 |
| RENAULT | 1,669,044 | 3.4 | 1,706,277 | -2.2 |
| ROLLS ROYCE | 3,206 | 0.0 | 3,129 | +2.5 |
| SAAB | 35,587 | 0.1 | 37,018 | -3.9 |
| SACHSENRING | 40,826 | 0.1 | 40,138 | +1.7 |
| SEAT | 1,521,103 | 3.1 | 1,447,428 | +5.1 |
| SKODA | 2,646,143 | 5.4 | 2,568,761 | +3.0 |
| SMART | 494,185 | 1.0 | 498,617 | -0.9 |
| SSANGYONG | 23,691 | 0.0 | 22,310 | +6.2 |
| SUBARU | 114,368 | 0.2 | 116,317 | -1.7 |
| SUZUKI | 519,994 | 1.1 | 517,913 | +0.4 |
| TATRA | 167 | 0.0 | – | X |
| TESLA | 164,267 | 0.3 | 118,803 | +38.3 |
| TOYOTA | 1,304,579 | 2.7 | 1,301,745 | +0.2 |
| VOLVO | 534,576 | 1.1 | 525,641 | +1.7 |
| VW | 10,243,121 | 20.9 | 10,197,626 | +0.4 |
| WIESMANN | 887 | 0.0 | 907 | -2.2 |
| OTHERS | 360,070 | 0.7 | 350,781 | |
| TOTAL | 49,098,685 | 100.0 | 48,763,036 | +0.7 |
Top Car Brands in Germany in 2024
As the average age of cars registered in Germany in 2024 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. However, among the top-ten brands, Ford and Hyundai lost one rank position while the nmber of Opel and Renault cars in Germany declined by 2.2%.
Volkswagen easily remained the most popular car brand in Germany with 21% of all cars in Germany wearing the VW emblem. Mercedes-Benz remained the second-most common car brand on German road (since 2020), while Opel remained third despite a 2.2% decline. and extended the lead again with its share of cars on German roads increasing by 0.7% to 9.5%.
BMW moved ahead of Ford, which has been struggling in Germany (and most of Europe) in recent years. Audi remained the sixth most common brand on German roads.
VW-owned Skoda remained the most popular foreign car brand in Germany with the number of Skodas in Germany increasing by a strong 3%. In contrast, fewer Renault cars were in use in Germany in 2024 than a year ago.
VW-owned Seat was the most improved top ten brand and sapped positions with Hyundai, despite the South Korean brand increasing by 3%
Toyota and Fiat remained outside the top ten with the number of cars in Germany only modestly increasing.
The larger brands with the highest percentage increases in the number of cars in Germany in 2024 were Tesla, MG Roewe, and Polestar. Tesla was the 26th most common car brand in use in Germany in 2024.
The worst performing brands overall (with at least 10,000 cars registered) were marques no longer sold in Germany such as Chrysler, Lancia, Daihatsu, and Chevrolet.
