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.
Germany 1958:
| Pos | Model | 1958 | % |
| 1 | VW Beetle | 186,014 | 24.1% |
| 2 | Opel Rekord | 92,410 | 12.0% |
| 3 | Mercedes W120/W121 | 35,915 | 4.6% |
| 4 | Lloyd Alexander | 35,256 | 4.6% |
| 5 | Fiat 600 / NSU-Fiat Jagst | 34,641 | 4.5% |
| 6 | Goggomobil | 28,134 | 3.6% |
| 7 | Ford 17M | 26,651 | 3.4% |
| 8 | DKW 3=6 / Auto Union 1000 | 25,715 | 3.3% |
| 9 | BMW Isetta | 19,151 | 2.5% |
| 10 | Ford 12M | 18,063 | 2.3% |
| BMW 600 | 15,857 | 2.1% | |
| Fiat 500 | 13,159 | 1.7% | |
| Mercedes W105/W128/W180 | 11,866 | 1.5% | |
| Renault 4CV/Dauphine | 11,738 | 1.5% | |
| Borgward Isabella | 9,100 | 1.2% | |
| Fiat 1100 / NSU-Fiat Neckar | 9,050 | 1.2% | |
| Opel Kapitän | 8,864 | 1.1% | |
| NSU Prinz | 7,031 | 0.9% | |
| VW Karmann Ghia | 4,944 | 0.6% | |
| Zundapp Janus | 4,761 | 0.6% | |
| Goliath Hansa 1100 | 4,399 | 0.6% | |
| Goggomobil T600/T700 | 4,089 | 0.5% | |
| Messerschmitt Kabinenroller | 1,500 | 0.2% | |
| Ford 15M | 1,320 | 0.2% | |
| Citroen DS/ID | 1,234 | 0.2% | |
| BMW 501/502 | 1,117 | 0.1% | |
| Porsche 356 | 993 | 0.1% | |
| Simca Aronde | 934 | 0.1% | |
| Citroen 2CV | 758 | 0.1% | |
| Simca Vedette | 653 | 0.1% | |
| Heinkel Kabine | 601 | 0.1% | |
| Mercedes 300/SL | 442 | 0.1% | |
| Fiat 1200 | 357 | 0.0% | |
| Fiat 1400 | 255 | 0.0% | |
| Renault Fregate | 119 | 0.0% | |
| Borgward Hansa 2400 | 87 | 0.0% | |
| Lloyd LP 250/400 | 78 | 0.0% |
Germany 1959:
| Pos | Model | 1959 | % |
| 1 | VW Beetle | 228,234 | 24.9% |
| 2 | Opel Rekord | 135,530 | 14.8% |
| 3 | Ford 12M | 36,353 | 4.0% |
| 4 | Renault Dauphine | 32,825 | 3.6% |
| BMW Isetta | 16,564 | 1.8% | |
| Opel Kapitän | 10,680 | 1.2% | |
| BMW 600 | 9,750 | 1.1% | |
| Citroen DS/ID | 2,883 | 0.3% | |
| Citroen 2CV | 1,090 | 0.1% |
Germany 1960:
| Pos | Model | 1960 | % |
| 1 | VW Beetle | 297,668 | 27.8% |
| Opel Kapitän | 19,879 | 1.9% | |
| Mercedes 220 | 16,190 | 1.5% | |
| BMW Isetta | 9,434 | 0.9% | |
| Citroen DS/ID | 3,982 | 0.4% | |
| Citroen 2CV | 2,705 | 0.3% | |
| BMW 600 | 531 | 0.0% |
Germany 1961:
| Pos | Model | 1961 | % |
| 1 | VW Beetle | 348,929 | 31.9% |
| Fiat 500 | 16,979 | 1.6% | |
| BMW Isetta | 6,384 | 0.6% | |
| Peugeot 404 | 4,445 | 0.4% | |
| Peugeot 403 | 3,077 | 0.3% | |
| Citroen 2CV | 3,000 | 0.3% | |
| NSU-Fiat Weinsberg | 1,238 | 0.1% | |
| Steyr-Puch 500 | 438 | 0.0% | |
| Bianchini 500 | 296 | 0.0% |
Many thanks to Florian for sharing the data!
