Germany October 2013: Audi A3 and Skoda Octavia impress again

The Audi A3 ranks on the German podium for only the second time ever this month.

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Would Germany, still by far Western Europe’s largest car market, have turned the corner also? October sales are up 2% year-on-year to 265,441 registrations, reducing the year-to-date fall to 5% at 2,482,460 units. The VW Golf delivers its strongest market share at home in 2 years (since September 2011!) and by far the highest for the 7th generation at 9.4% thanks to 24,826 sales, that’s almost 4 times the score of the #2, the VW Passat at 6,694 units and 2.5%. Keep in mind Golf figures include the Golf Plus and Jetta. For only the second time in the nameplate’s 17 year career after last August, the Audi A3 climbs onto the German podium this month at #3 with 6,401 sales and 2.4%, potentially due to the arrival of the sedan version in dealerships and reinforcing its 5th place year-to-date vs. #18 in 2012!

The Skoda Octavia lodges its 2nd best-ever ranking in Germany at #7.

The other great performer inside the German Top 10 this month is the Skoda Octavia, a nameplate coincidentally launched the same year as the A3 in 1996… After hitting a record 5th position in September, it is down only 2 spots to register its 2nd best-ever ranking in Germany at #7 with 5,442 units and 2.1%. This is only the 4th time in 17 years the Octavia breaks into the German Top 10 after September 2012 (#9), March 2013 (#9) and September 2013 (#5)… This could be the start of a new era for the Octavia with regular Top 10 rankings, something a foreign brand had not managed since the Renault 19 in the early nineties. Although one might argue whether Skoda is a foreign brand, being 100% owned by Volkswagen and all…

The Mercedes GLA-Class makes its very first appearance in the German sales charts…

Below a Top 7 dominated by the VAG Group (6 of 7 models!), other great performers this month include the Ford Focus up 8 spots to #9, VW Touran up 5 to #10, Nissan Qashqai up 5 to #24 vs. #31 year-to-date, Toyota Auris up 10 to #32, Opel Insignia up 26 to #39, Dacia Logan up 23 to #88 and the Nissan Note up 29 to #95. As far as recent launches go, notice the Renault Captur up 24 to #65, Peugeot 2008 up 8 to #71, Suzuki SX4 (aka S-Cross) up to #101, BMW 4 Series up 33 to #118 and the BMW i3 up 57 to #160. Finally, we welcome 2 all-new models in the ranking this month: the Mercedes GLA-Class at #198 with 96 sales and the Maserati Ghibli at #242 and 27 units.

Previous month: Germany September 2013: Skoda Octavia up to all-time high #5

One year ago: Germany October 2012: VW Up! at volume, share and ranking best

Full October 2013 Top 300 models and Top 50 brands Ranking Tables below.