Germany: 1931-2023 Historical Data now available

VW Beetle

The direct links to 52 Historical Posts covering 1931-2023 are below.

22/10/2021 update: Now with All-brands data spanning 1931 to 1938.

Historical Data for Germany running from 1931 onwards is now available. From 1979 onwards there is a Top 100 models ranking. And from 2005 to 2013 you can now see the split sales of the VW Golf and Golf Plus, a very rare piece of info you won’t find anywhere else… You won’t find more detailed German data on any other website! This is the result of 3 full months of work and the generosity of Florian.

The West German market was dominated by the VW Beetle from 1946 to 1973, passing the 100,000 annual units for the first time in 1954, the 200,000 in 1959 and hitting its best-ever volume in 1961 at 348,929 units sold for a record 31.9% market share that year.

Mercedes W123

In 1974, the Mercedes Strich 8 took advantage of a wobbly passing of relay between the VW Beetle and Golf to finish the year in pole position with 140,127 sales. Then from 1975 to 1979 the new VW Golf established its leadership, peaking at 257,673 units in 1979, before Mercedes hit again in 1980, placing the W123 atop the German ranking with 202,253 sales.

VW Golf III

Since 1981, eight generations of VW Golf have dominated the German models ranking. The second and third generation have been the most successful, with the Golf II peaking at 378,856 sales in 1987 and the Golf III establishing an all-time record of 414,132 units sold in a single year, 1992. The fifth gen was the weakest then, dropping to 148,879 sales and 4.3% share in 2006 before the 8th gen did even worse at 2.9% in 2023.

Trabant

There is much less info available for East Germany, only that the legendary Trabant and Wartburg dominated the roads for the good part of the 41 years of existence of the country.

Opel Rekord

Witness also the success of the Opel Rekord, the 2nd car to pass the 100,000 annual sales mark in Germany in 1959, the Opel Kadett, launched in 1962 and peaking at 261,308 sales for its very last year of existence in 1991, the VW Passat, the only other VW to pass the 200,000 annual sales mark (in 1991), Ford 17M, Audi 80, Opel Astra, the only nameplate to go beyond 300,000 sales in Germany for its first year in 1992, the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C Class, Audi A4 and many more…

Wartburg

Germany Historical Data 1931-2021:

East Germany:

East Germany 1958-1990: Trabant and Wartburg omnipresent

West Germany:

Germany 1931-1938: Opel ultra dominant with the 1.2 Liter, P4 and Kadett

Germany 1946-1949: Volkswagen brings the car to the people

Germany 1950: VW Beetle, Bus and Fiat Topolino on top

Germany 1951-1954: VW Beetle first model over 100,000 sales

Germany 1955-1957: VW Beetle and BMW Isetta popular

Germany 1958-1961: VW Beetle and Opel Rekord dominate

Germany 1962-1963: VW Beetle and Opel Rekord on top, Opel Kadett lands

Germany 1964-1966: VW 1500 and Ford 17/20M shine

Germany 1967-1970: VW Beetle and Opel Kadett on top

Germany 1971-1973: Last years of reign for the VW Beetle, Opel #1

Germany 1974: Mercedes ‘Strich 8′ surprise best-seller

Germany 1975: VW Golf takes the lead

Germany 1976-1979: VW Golf establishes leadership

Germany 1980: Mercedes W123 passes VW Golf!

Germany 1981-1983: VW Golf reclaims top spot

Germany 1984-1987: New gen takes VW Golf sales to record levels

Germany 1988: VW Golf and Opel Kadett sovereign

Germany 1989: VW Golf leads, VW Passat on podium

West Germany 1990: VW Golf and Opel Kadett dominate, Opel Vectra up

Germany: