Germany 1958-1961: VW Beetle and Opel Rekord dominate

VW Beetle

* See ‘Read more’ for the 1958 Top 10 best-selling models! Thanks to Florian for the data *

In 1958 the VW Beetle stays comfortably on top of the ranking with 186,014 sales and 24.1% share, ahead of the Opel Rekord at 92,410 units and 12%, and the Mercedes W120 and Lloyd Alexander both at 4.6% share. The Fiat 600 and Goggomobil follow.

Opel Rekord

In 1959 the VW Beetle passes the 200,000 sales mark for the first time with 228,234 units sold while the Opel Rekord improves its share to 14.8% thanks to 135,530 sales. Then in 1960 the German market is above 1 million units for the first time at 1,071,000 registrations, with the VW Beetle delivering 297,668 sales for a 27.8% market share…

Finally in 1961, in a market up 2% at 1,095,127 units, the VW Beetle hits what will remain its highest year-end volume at 348,929 sales for a record 31.9% market share.

Full Year 1958 Top 10 Ranking Table and 1959-1961 information below.