In 2023, Volkswagen continued its reign as Germany’s top carmaker, no surprises there. But here’s the twist: Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW weren’t just sitting idly by. They grabbed more of the market pie for themselves. Now, here’s a cool fact: VW’s siblings, Skoda and Seat, stole the show among imported brands, showing the most improvement in the top ten. On the flip side, Renault, Ford, and Tesla didn’t quite hit the mark, selling fewer cars compared to the previous year.
So, get this: In 2023, Germans were feeling the car-buying vibe, with the market growing by a solid 7.3%! And guess who was leading the pack again? Yep, you guessed it—good ol’ Volkswagen snagged the title for the best-selling car brand once more.
Best-Selling Car Brands in Germany in 2023 (Full Year)
So, here’s the scoop: Wanna know who ruled the German car scene in 2023? Well, according to the folks at KBA who keep track of these things, here are the top 60 car brands that folks were scooping up like hotcakes all year long.
| Brand | Sales 2023 | Sales 2022 | % 22/23 | |
| TOTAL GERMAN CAR MARKET | 2,844,609 | 2,651,357 | +7.3 | |
| 1 | VW | 519,089 | 480,967 | +7.9 |
| 2 | MERCEDES | 277,352 | 243,999 | +13.7 |
| 3 | AUDI | 246,880 | 213,410 | +15.7 |
| 4 | BMW | 233,160 | 209,722 | +11.2 |
| 5 | SKODA | 168,561 | 143,928 | +17.1 |
| 6 | OPEL | 144,901 | 144,588 | +0.2 |
| 7 | SEAT | 132,624 | 111,646 | +18.8 |
| 8 | FORD | 116,578 | 131,256 | -11.2 |
| 9 | HYUNDAI | 106,381 | 105,074 | +1.2 |
| 10 | FIAT | 76,535 | 77,771 | -1.6 |
| 11 | TOYOTA | 75,199 | 78,366 | -4.0 |
| 12 | KIA | 74,589 | 76,139 | -2.0 |
| 13 | DACIA | 68,585 | 60,390 | +13.6 |
| 14 | RENAULT | 68,312 | 79,861 | -14.5 |
| 15 | TESLA | 63,685 | 69,963 | -9.0 |
| 16 | PEUGEOT | 46,836 | 45,220 | +3.6 |
| 17 | MAZDA | 46,413 | 35,008 | +32.6 |
| 18 | MINI | 45,938 | 40,142 | +14.4 |
| 19 | VOLVO | 44,739 | 36,605 | +22.2 |
| 20 | CITROEN | 39,894 | 36,687 | +8.7 |
| 21 | PORSCHE | 32,832 | 29,315 | +12.0 |
| 22 | NISSAN | 31,856 | 26,069 | +22.2 |
| 23 | SUZUKI | 25,121 | 15,583 | +61.2 |
| 24 | MG ROEWE | 21,232 | 15,684 | +35.4 |
| 25 | MITSUBISHI | 19,020 | 34,430 | -44.8 |
| 26 | SMART | 17,418 | 12,190 | +42.9 |
| 27 | JEEP | 15,276 | 17,184 | -11.1 |
| 28 | LAND ROVER | 13,779 | 12,148 | +13.4 |
| 29 | HONDA | 6,519 | 7,709 | -15.4 |
| 30 | POLESTAR | 6,288 | 7,008 | -10.3 |
| 31 | ALFA ROMEO | 6,198 | 3,657 | +69.5 |
| 32 | GWM | 4,660 | +19,316.7 | |
| 33 | SUBARU | 4,596 | 3,725 | +23.4 |
| 34 | BYD | 4,139 | X | |
| 35 | LEXUS | 3,259 | 2,746 | +18.7 |
| 36 | JAGUAR | 3,198 | 3,200 | -0.1 |
| 37 | DS | 2,390 | 3,955 | -39.6 |
| 38 | LYNK & CO | 2,291 | 6,626 | -65.4 |
| 39 | SSANGYONG | 2,223 | +18.1 | |
| 40 | MAN | 1,888 | +26.1 | |
| 41 | FERRARI | 1,652 | +8.6 | |
| 42 | NIO | 1,263 | +153.6 | |
| 43 | MASERATI | 1,047 | -8.8 | |
| 44 | INEOS | 966 | X | |
| 45 | LAMBORGHINI | 949 | -1.4 | |
| 46 | IVECO | 860 | -2.3 | |
| 47 | BENTLEY | 809 | -11.5 | |
| 48 | ASTON MARTIN | 463 | +27.2 | |
| 49 | ALPINE | 405 | +33.7 | |
| 50 | ROLLS ROYCE | 344 | +18.2 | |
| 51 | LOTUS | 321 | +161.0 | |
| 52 | CADILLAC | 307 | -7.3 | |
| 53 | FISKER | 239 | X | |
| 54 | LADA | 149 | -80.3 | |
| 55 | LUCID | 99 | X | |
| 56 | MAXUS | 64 | X | |
| 57 | MORGAN | 60 | -9.1 | |
| 58 | AIWAYS | 50 | X | |
| 59 | LEVC | 4 | -94.2 | |
| 60 | DAF TRUCKS | 3 | X | |
| SONSTIGE / OTHERS | 14,120 | |||
| Source: KBA |
Top-Selling Car Brands in Germany in 2023 (Full Year)
Remember the top four best-selling car brands in Germany last year? Well, surprise, surprise—they’re still rocking the charts in 2023! Volkswagen managed to edge ahead, snatching a bigger slice of the market pie. And get this: VW even topped the electric car charts! But don’t sleep on Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW—they’re making some serious gains too. Looks like the luxury crew’s holding their own.
In 2023, Skoda and Seat, both owned by VW, showed the most improvement among the top brands in Germany. They also stood out as the leading foreign brands. Meanwhile, Opel slipped to sixth place due to steady sales, and Ford dropped to eighth with an 11.2% decrease in German sales. Hyundai held onto its ninth spot despite unchanged sales and remained the top-selling foreign brand without any ties to Germany. Fiat climbed to tenth place, even though its sales volume was lower. Unfortunately, Renault fell out of the top ten, with the weakest performance among the top 20 brands. Interestingly, Renault’s performance in France in 2023 was significantly more positive.
In 2023, Tesla slipped a rank in Germany, selling fewer cars than the previous year. On a brighter note, Suzuki, Smart, and MG showed significant improvement among the top 30 brands. However, Mitsubishi, Honda, and Renault had a tough time in the German market. The KBA expanded its list of individual carmakers in their yearly and monthly stats, making it easier to track new brands, especially as Chinese carmakers gear up to enter the German market.
