Germany May 2016: VW only brand down in Top 35, Audi up 28%

Volkswagen and Audi are going in opposite directions in Germany.

* See the Top 50 All-brands and Top 307 All-models by clicking on the title *

The German new car market is up an encouraging 12% or 30.000 units year-on-year in May to 286.931 registrations, leading to a year-to-date tally up 7% to 1.394.276 units after five months. Once again market leader Volkswagen frankly underperforms: it is the only brand in the Top 35 that loses ground year-on-year at -1% to 55.472 sales and 17.6%, as the manufacturer remains embroiled in a seemingly never-ending diesel emissions scandal that has triggered numerous political interventions and acute scrutiny on all manufacturers’ emissions levels.

The Skoda Superb is up 92% in Germany in May. 

It is however the only brand in the Volkswagen Group truly affected sales-wise, as Audi is up a flamboyant 27% to return to #2 overall with 26.713 sales and 8.5% share, overtaking Mercedes (+6%). Skoda and Porsche are up 8% and Seat up 6%, all losing share but still in positive. Opel (+26%) leapfrogs past BMW (+15%) and Ford (+14%) to reach 4th place overall. Renault (+38%), Peugeot (+21%), Kia (+24%), Mazda (+26%), Mini (+23%), Suzuki (+23%), Land Rover (+20%) and Honda (+43%) all post fantastic gains while further down Jaguar takes off at +156%.

The Ford Edge has landed in Germany.

Model-wise, despite its drop Volkswagen monopolises the podium with the Golf (-2%), Passat (-4%) and Polo (+12%). The Audi A3 (+33%) and A4 (+45%) round up the Top 5 and both post spectacular gains. Not as spectacular though as the Opel Corsa (+70%) and VW Touran (+71%) inside the Top 10, whereas the Opel Astra posts a rather muted 13% increase. The Skoda Fabia (+32%) breaks into the German Top 10 for the first time since last November and the Seat Leon (+33%) is up 9 spots on April to hit #11, its second best-ever ranking below the #10 it reached last August.

The new generation boosts BMW 7 Series sales up 254% at home.

Further down, the Skoda Superb gains 92% to #33, the BMW X1 is up 67% to #37, the Renault Captur takes off 113% to #40, the Hyundai Tucson holds strong at #41, the Kia Sportage is up 65% to #44 and the Mercedes GLC is up 45% on its predecessor’s score, the GLK, in May 2015. The Peugeot 2008 leaps 72% to become the brand’s best-seller in Germany, the Ford Ecosport is up 4-fold to 1.310 deliveries and the BMW 7 Series up 254% thanks to the new model. Among recent launches, the Renault Talisman is up 76 spots on April to #151 and the Suzuki Baleno up 42 to #158, while we welcome three new nameplates in the charts: the Ford Edge at #194, the Volvo S/V90 at #259 and the Rolls-Royce Dawn at #265.

Previous month: Germany April 2016: Market up 8%, Volkswagen up 3%

One year ago: Germany May 2015: VW monopolises Top 4 for third time ever

Full May 2016 Top 50 All-brands and Top 307 All-models below.