Denmark Top 50 Models: 2025

Data Source: Mobility Denmark. Photos Škoda & VW. 

Denmark Car/LCV Sales : 2025

Registrations were up 5% in 2025. It's a good result although the 210,000 sales were 8% down on the previous ten year average.

VW is on top, as was the case in 2024. In fact, they have been there since 2011 apart from 2023 when Tesla made a cameo appearance in that spot. VW's market share is the highest since last century when my records run out. 

Škoda moved from 9th in 2024 to 2nd this year, the Elroq helping as the best selling model in the country. Cupra is up from 16th to 8th but Tesla has dropped from 3rd to 10th. 

I was intrigued by the Navor brand, one I have not heard of before. It is a DongFeng, the E5 plug in hybrid SUV (picture above), which offers relatively reasonable value in a market known for expensive cars due to the steep import duty imposed

By brand. 

By model. 

Data source: Mobility Denmark. Photos: Navor (above) & VW (ID.4 below) Denmark.

Denmark Top 50 Models : 2023-24

With electric cars taking over in Denmark in 2024, it created some dramatic changes. Models have been rapidly increasing or seemingly popping out of nowhere. The Tesla Y was so dominant in 2023 but with all the competition arriving and increasing their sales, it hit the Y and it couldn't maintain the volume. The Tesla 3 did better but not enough to compensate. 

One car that caught me by surprise was the Ford Explorer (picture below). It's electric and something different. The Nissan Ariya (picture above) replaces the leaf and is going well. 

Data Source: Bilstatistik.

Denmark Passenger Car Sales : 2024

Over half the cars sold in 2024 were electric. It is predicted by Mobility Denmark that in 2025, the figure could reach as high as 75%. Government incentives are encouraging buyers in that direction as is usually the case with success in this area. Total registrations were the same in 2024 as 2023. 

VW was the leading brand from 2011 to 2022 but it was unceremoniously bumped off its perch by Tesla which increased massively in 2023 to easily take the top spot. In 2024, VW has returned serve with strong growth while Tesla has lost 28% in market share. 

Audi dropped two places to fifth, with Toyota and Mercedes-Benz the beneficiaries. BMW has been falling in recent years but made a comeback this year. Renault surged into the top ten and Nissan improved by 33%. 

Recent moves in the EU to nullify subsidised cars from China gaining an unfair advantage will surely have an influence on future purchasing. That will be dependent of course on how pricing is affected as some brands may absorb some or maybe all of the increased cost. Time will tell.

Data Source: Bilstatistik.

Denmark Top 50 Car/LCV Sales : 2023

The Tesla Y moved from 15th to the top spot. It really is pushing harder than ever to maximise factory capacity even if that requires dropping prices. At a time when the competitors are regularly putting theirs up, this will give them pause for thought. Apparently, Tesla's margins allow for this and they will still be in clover so to speak.

Four of the top six models are US brands which is impressive although that's it for the top fifty, bar one down at 45th. The rest are Euro models with an interspersing of Asian ones. Light commericals are included so the odd van appears. 

Data source: Bilimp.

Denmark Passenger Car / LCV Sales : 2023

In the most expensive place in Europe to buy a car, December registrations were +26% and YTD +13%. Positive numbers but that doesn't explain Tesla's meteoric rise. It sold over seven times the number of cars it delivered in all of the previous year. 

VW's share dropped from 11.7% to 9.9% while the top three from last year all suffered as a result. Audi had a jump in fortunes but most of the competition wilted under Tesla's surge. 

The 'Diff' column shows market share change. Data source: Bilimp.

Denmark Top 50 Sales By Model : 2022

The list below is colour coded to match where a car is historically associated, rather than which company now owns it or where it is made. Small cars do well here due to a policy of extremely high tax on cars. The Citroën C3 (above) is typical of the sort of car that is bought, although it wasn't able to match the VW ID.4/5 this year (picture below the chart)

Denmark Sales : 2022

Registrations for December were -14% and for the year -20% so a low return. That was the lowest since 2009. The '+/- diff' column below is for market share change. 

VW remains top and after slipping below 10% share of the market, it recovered very well. Toyota will need to be patient if it has aspirations of top spot as VW is well ahead. Mercedes is a surprise third but its nemesis BMW has dropped back.  

Data source: Bilimp.

Denmark Top 50 Sales By Model : 2021

With sales down 6%  for the year, there is a slightly subdued feeling to the figures. The data below includes light commercial vehicles too so some vans appear on the list below. I colour coded the list to show where brands historically originated.  

Ford did alright except for passenger cars, the Fiesta and Focus models both dropped out of the top 50 from fairly strong positions. Despite electric propulsion being promoted in Denmark, the Tesla 3 managed to fall heavily. That would have been in part due to the Y model arriving, which finished in 54th place. 

Data source: Bilimp.

Denmark Sales : 2021

Caution: Always watch where you are going

Registrations for December were -22% and -6% for the full 12 months. Looking at the data, the '+/-' column below is comparing market share variance for 2021 with 2020. 

VW maintains its lead without a problem, although with a sizably reduced margin. Toyota moved up a place but BMW has taken a giant leap up to 4th from 10th. Clearly no chip shortage yet with this company. Renault did its usual sales collapse and Tesla did its impression of a cork in a choppy sea, all over the place. JLR is a tiny operation here yet managed to shrink that still further in a most effective manner. Something about rock bottom and digging comes to mind.  

Point of interest: In December, electric cars made up a quarter of all registrations and when adding that to hybrids, close to 60%. With some living in high rise apartments, charging at home isn't an option so there needs to be enough public charging points for the increased demand.    

Data source: Bilimp.

Denmark Premium Comparison : 2018-20

Mercedes is well on top here, with 29% of the premium segment. Audi took a knock, dropping from 25.2% to just under 20%. JLR also went the wrong way, from 1.5 to 1.0%. Porsche took off form next to nothing so the market was fluid to say the least. Stock availability may have been a factor. Lexus looks like it is finally going beyond the odd import and taking in the market seriously. 

Data source: Bilimp.

Denmark Top 50 Sales : 2020

The Ford Kuga did really well in 2020

There was quite a bit of fluctuation for the year, as models moved around freely. The Ford Kuga was up over 600%, the Tesla 3 75% and the Opel Corsa 51% to give a few examples.

Data source: Bilimp.

Denmark Car Sales : 2020

Kia was on the up in Denmark during 2020

Registrations were up 47% in December and down just 12% for YTD. The market is surprisingly buoyant all things considered. However, a new tax scheme was made public in early December, which spiked sales for the last month of the year. Tesla made a move up with Mitsubishi and MINI. 

VW held the top spot by some margin but the chasing pack reduced the gap. Ford did exceptionally well, with Hyundai and Kia not far behind in terms of increased registrations. 

Data source: Bilimp.

Denmark Pick Up Sales : 2015-19

Somewhere in rural Denmark...

Vehicles are very expensive in Denmark and pick-up trucks would be very pricey. I assume cashed up farmers would be the most likely candidates. I don't get many visits from Denmark but if anyone knows anything about this, please leave a message.

The leading model has become the Ford Ranger, jumping two placings in the process. The Hilux was finally pushed into second spot while the VW Amarok was third. Mercedes-Benz' tried its luck and its effort here wasn't bad. However, as far as pick-up trucks are concerned, it is now beating a hasty retreat out of this sector. Ram has done well here, which surprised me.

	Denmark Pick-Up Sales
	Make	Model	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
	Ford	Ranger	188	183	151	119	83
	Toyota	Hilux	172	200	255	210	205
	VW	Amarok	158	153	167	96	120
	Nissan	Navara	145	198	241	254	77
	Mercedes	X-Class	82	70	-	-	-
	Isuzu	D-Max	77	72	56	72	50
	RAM	P/U	39	29	21	21	13
	Mitsubishi	Triton	29	43	57	90	73
	Fiat	Fullback	25	43	20	35	-
	Ford	F-Series	5	4	-	1	3
	GMC	Sierra	4	2	-	-	-
	Chevrolet	Silverado	2	4	2	-	2

For more on pick-ups, try these if you wish.

2019: Australia/New Zealand/South Africa 

2015-19: Belgium Denmark France Iceland Italy Sweden United Kingdom

Argentina Brazil Indonesia Thailand

2015: World Top 50

Denmark Car Sales By Brand : 1985-89

The Opel Kadet was part of the successful GM range at the time

I am unsure why car sales fell so much in in Denmark during the late 1980's  but I assume it was because of government intervention in the form of taxes. This would have helped the balance of payments which is something that Denmark always has to wrestle with. If I am correct, then the high taxation of cars worked.

GM Opel led for the period but had its lead slashed as it suffered worse than some of its competitors. Toyota closed in on top spot and in the process passed Ford. For some reason Peugeot managed to do well in this time and Citroën didn't do too badly either. BMW was badly affected but Audi and Mercedes fared much better.

Not having a car industry of its own, there is more acceptance of Japanese brands, although some took hefty sales hits. No European brands in the top four was unusual for a nation in Europe.

	Rk	Make	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
	1	Opel	28,268	27,072	17,969	11,943	10,863
	2	Toyota	19,759	20,653	14,808	10,172	10,749
	3	Ford	21,576	20,313	13,861	10,709	8,628
	4	Mazda	14,128	17,281	11,543	9,251	6,719
	5	Peugeot	3,143	4,884	5,905	6,743	6,656
	6	VW	10,511	12,580	8,239	6,015	5,736
	7	Citroën	6,671	8,124	7,804	5,236	4,765
	8	Fiat	7,461	8,184	7,060	4,643	4,131
	9	Nissan	7,914	9,826	6,371	4,621	3,613
	10	Volvo	6,328	6,477	4,429	2,639	2,466
	11	Škoda	4,001	3,627	3,067	1,849	2,334
	12	Lada	3,617	4,308	3,977	2,658	1,902
	13	Mitsubishi	2,768	4,060	2,428	1,477	1,366
	14	BMW	3,650	3,510	1,971	1,651	1,333
	15	Renault	1,255	853	427	549	1,168
	16	Honda	1,863	3,283	2,611	1,619	1,023
	17	Audi	916	963	1,308	1,133	979
	18	Mercedes	1,132	1,573	1,623	1,201	946
	19	Daihatsu	2,816	3,340	2,146	1,283	857
	20	Saab	1,774	1,651	1,000	636	848
	21	Suzuki	508	325	171	366	304
	22	Alfa Romeo	458	529	698	399	197
	23	Subaru	307	838	363	364	190
	24	Rover	302	308	705	279	170
	25	FSO	1,814	1,221	624	206	147
	26	Wartburg	1,192	763	782	297	125
	27	Seat	682	1,101	1,030	345
	28	Yugo	1,738	1,281	838	193
	29	Dacia	745	319	139
		Other	177	139	200	126	220
		Total	157,474	169,386	124,097	88,603	78,435

For the next in the series, please click on the dates: 1990-94.