2025 (Q1): The German new car market contracted but BEV sales increased with Volkswagen and Mercedes the best-selling brands in Germany.
New passenger vehicle registrations in Germany during the first quarter of 2025 were 4.3% lower with 664,571 cars registered for use on German roads for the first time — around 30,000 fewer than at the start of 2025. Electric car sales increased by 35.5% to 112,968 BEVs for a market share of 16.8%. The Volkswagen Golf was the top-selling car model in Germany thus far in 2025 and the VW ID7 the best-selling electric car model.
Latest German Car Sales Statistics: 2025 (Q1): Brands, Models, Electric Cars; 2024: Market Overview, Brands, Models, Electric Cars; 2023-2007.
40 Best-Selling Car Brands in Germany in 2025 (Q1)
The 40 largest car brands in Germany during the first three months of 2025 according to the KBA were:
| Brand | Sales 2025 (Q1) | % Share | % Change | |
| TOTAL | 664,571 | 100.0 | -4.3 | |
| 1 | VW | 138,353 | 20.8 | +6.4 |
| 2 | MERCEDES | 60,576 | 9.1 | -4.0 |
| 3 | BMW | 54,164 | 8.2 | +1.1 |
| 4 | SKODA | 50,114 | 7.5 | +2.6 |
| 5 | AUDI | 48,144 | 7.2 | +2.6 |
| 6 | SEAT | 43,844 | 6.6 | +21.5 |
| 7 | FORD | 25,818 | 3.9 | +0.5 |
| 8 | OPEL | 24,156 | 3.6 | -35.0 |
| 9 | HYUNDAI | 20,341 | 3.1 | -11.1 |
| 10 | TOYOTA | 18,448 | 2.8 | -16.0 |
| 11 | DACIA | 17,463 | 2.6 | -5.9 |
| 12 | VOLVO | 16,235 | 2.4 | +5.6 |
| 13 | PEUGEOT | 15,561 | 2.3 | +4.2 |
| 14 | RENAULT | 13,903 | 2.1 | +44.7 |
| 15 | KIA | 13,887 | 2.1 | -19.2 |
| 16 | CITROEN | 11,652 | 1.8 | -26.3 |
| 17 | MAZDA | 10,620 | 1.6 | -9.9 |
| 18 | FIAT | 10,286 | 1.5 | -36.2 |
| 19 | NISSAN | 9,377 | 1.4 | +1.8 |
| 20 | PORSCHE | 7,961 | 1.2 | -34.6 |
| 21 | MINI | 6,703 | 1.0 | -18.0 |
| 22 | SUZUKI | 6,096 | 0.9 | -10.5 |
| 23 | MG ROEWE | 5,498 | 0.8 | +23.8 |
| 24 | MITSUBISHI | 5,119 | 0.8 | -50.3 |
| 25 | TESLA | 4,935 | 0.7 | -62.2 |
| 26 | LAND ROVER | 3,334 | 0.5 | +1.7 |
| 27 | JEEP | 3,319 | 0.5 | +5.4 |
| 28 | HONDA | 1,987 | 0.3 | +11.1 |
| 29 | ALFA ROMEO | 1,934 | 0.3 | +19.8 |
| 30 | BYD | 1,225 | 0.2 | +211.7 |
| 31 | DS | 1,147 | 0.2 | +69.2 |
| 32 | SUBARU | 1,081 | 0.2 | -8.5 |
| 33 | LEXUS | 1,080 | 0.2 | +13.0 |
| 34 | SMART | 1,011 | 0.2 | -74.0 |
| 35 | POLESTAR | 855 | 0.1 | +35.5 |
| 36 | SSANGYONG | 807 | 0.1 | +52.6 |
| 37 | LEAPMOTOR | 673 | 0.1 | X |
| 38 | GWM | 574 | 0.1 | +2.0 |
| 39 | FERRARI | 459 | 0.1 | -17.4 |
| 40 | XPENG | 432 | 0.1 | X |
Top-Selling Car Brands in Germany in 2025 (Q1)
Volkswagen easily maintained its traditional role as the leading car brand in Germany in the first three months of 2025. VW increased its market share to over a fifth of the German new car market. Volkswagen was also the best-selling electric car brand in Germany thus far in 2025.
In contrast, Mercedes-Benz was the only top brand in Germany with lower sales volumes. BMW increased sales moderately.
VW-owned Skoda, Audi, and Seat increased sales with sales of Seat up by a fifth — the best performance by a top ten brand.
Ford sales were slightly better but Opel again struggled with sales down by over a third. Hyundai, Toyota, and Dacia all had weaker sales in Germany thus far in 2025.
The worst performing top-40 brands were the all-electric car brands Smart and Tesla. Electric car sales in Germany increased by over a third during the first quarter of 2025. The German car-buying public clearly has no desire for the large cars offered by Smart. Tesla sales suffered both from delays in the updated Model Y but probably even more from the support of Elon Musk for far-right politicians ahead of the German elections in February 2025.
New Chinese car brands on the top 40 were Leapmotor and Xpeng while BYD was the most improved brand overall.
More German Car Sales Statistics
- → Latest German Car Sales Statistics
- 2025: Q1: Brands, Models, Electric Cars;
- 2025: Total Number of Registered Cars and Most Common Car Models in Germany;
- 2025 (Outlook) Germany: Car Sales, Production, and Market Forecasts
- 2024: German New Car Market Overview
- 2024: Best-Selling Car Brands in Germany
- 2024: Top 50 Car Models in Germany
- 2024: Best-Selling Electric Car Brands and Models in Germany
Latest German Car Sales Statistics: 2024: Market Overview, Brands, Models, Electric Cars; 2023-2007.
