Germany Passenger Car Sales : 2023

Hands up all those who thought VW would be the biggest selling brand in Germany? Well done. It's been the best selling brand in the country since its inception. Mercedes-Benz is well back in second while Audi is now comfortably ahead of BMW. The latter stated it was not pushing volume anymore so no surprise there.

Registrations were up 7% for the year but surprisingly subdued in December, down 23%. It has been said the abrupt ending of an electric car incentive scheme in late December was a major factor. Seeing as applications already submitted would be honoured and also the lateness of the cut off I can't see that having much impact in 2023. I wonder what the real reason was.  

Tesla now has a plant in Germany but it still isn't in the top ten. Was part of Elon's plan to win German buyers over? If so, it may need more time to work as the locals are notorious for supporting their car industry and brands owned locally. The removal of the BEV incentive scheme won't be helpful in 2024 either.   

The top four in the list below had their best market share since 2016. All of them increased their market share individually (green shading). It's as predictable as Bayern München winning the Bundesliga. Especially now they've got 'Arry. 

Cupra is strangely still included in the SEAT total by the KBA so I separate them as best I can. I have exact 2022 figures but not 2023 so the latter are estimates that are close to reality. There are also many marques not included by KBA which make up the large 'Other' figure. Mclaren is an obvious example. 

Data source: KBA.