Germany Full Year 2011: VW Golf, Passat and Polo on podium December 2011: VW Up! already at #22

VW Up!

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December sales in Germany are up 6% at 244,501 units, bringing the 2011 final total to 3,173,634 registrations, up 9% on 2010. In December the main event is the 22nd place of the VW Up! with 3,058 sales and 1.3% share for its first true full month of sales in the country, instantly reaching a level that the Audi A1 took a full year to get to for example – albeit not in the same price range. It will be fascinating to follow the Up!’s sales throughout 2012 as this is a category VW has struggled with in the past with the Lupo and Fox.

VW Passat

Over the full year, the VW Golf leads for the 31st consecutive time with sales down 1% to 193,286 units and 6.1% share. For the first time ever in Germany, Volkswagen monopolises the year-end podium with the Passat up 56% to 103,507 sales and 3.3% at #2 and the Polo down 6% to 90,720 units and 2.9% at #3.

BMW 5 Series

The Opel Astra (+19%) and Mercedes C-Class (+11%) both lose one spot to #4 and #5 in spite of growing sales, the Opel Corsa is up 2 ranks to #6 and passed the Polo twice in the monthly ranking this year, the Ford Focus is up 14% to #9 and the BMW 5 Series up a very healthy 30% and 6 spots to #10. It is only the second time since the launch of the 5 Series nameplate in 1972 and the first time since 1990 that it manages to rank within the German year-end Top 10!

Audi A6

The Audi A6/A7 has a fantastic year, up 45% to #19, and even manages to be the brand’s best-seller for a couple of months. However it is the first time since 2000 that there is no Audi in the Top 10 and only the 2nd time in 26 years… Foreign models-wise, the Skoda Fabia (#17) and Octavia (#18) are in the lead again but Skoda being 100% owned by VW, the first ‘true’ import is the Hyundai i30 at #26 (+7%) followed by the Nissan Qashqai at #27 (+35%) and Renault Megane at #32 (+4%).

Notice also the BMW X1 up 26% to #25, the Audi A1 landing at #31 for its first full year of sales at 28,932 units and 0.9%, breaking into the Top 20 in November, the Ford C-Max up 175% to #34, Dacia Duster up 99% to #36, VW Sharan up 187% to #41, BMW X3 up 100% to #45, and the Peugeot 508 the best-performing all-new model at #94.

Mercedes CLS

In the luxury segment, the Mercedes CLS multiplies its sales by 5 to 6,248 units at #114, the Porsche Panamera is up 27% to #151, the VW Phaeton up 47% to #164, BMW 6 series up 130% to #185, Mercedes SLS AMG up 40% to #209, Ferrari 458 Italia up 55% to #250 and Rolls Royce as a whole is up 66%.

Previous month: Germany November 2011: Audi A1 inside the Top 20 for the first time

Previous year: Germany Full Year 2010: VW Golf leads ahead of VW Polo and Opel Astra

Full Year 2011 Top 50 brands and Top 300 models below.

Full December 2011 Top 50 models below.