Germany First Half 2018: VW Tiguan #2, VW Group monopolises Top 6

The VW Tiguan is up 16% to step up to 2nd place overall below the VW Golf.

Now updated with Private Sales models data.

* See the Top 50 All-brands, Top 350 All-models and Top 50 private sales by clicking on the title *

The German new car market is headed towards its biggest year so far this decade with deliveries up 2.9% over the First Half of 2018 to 1.839.031 units. It’s a very healthy gain with private sales vastly outpacing the overall market at +12.7% to 696.993 units and 37.9% share vs. 34.6% over the same period a year ago. Brand leader Volkswagen triples its home market growth at +9% to 19.7% share, almost one percentage point above its year-ago level (18.6%). In contrast, its nearest follower, Mercedes, skids down 3% to 8.8% and Audi is down 2% to round up the podium. Going against the premiumisation trend of the last few years (/decade), Ford rallies back up 6% to overtake BMW (-1%) for the 4th place overall. Opel (-7%) and Renault (-3%) suffer but Seat (+16%), Hyundai (+11%) and Skoda (+8%) excel. Outside the Top 10, Dacia (+25%) is very impressive, gaining 3 spots to #13, passing Peugeot (+13%), Mazda (-1%) and Nissan (-17%). Further down, Lamborghini (+30%), DS (+29%), Jeep (+19%), Smart (+18%), Ferrari (+14%), Iveco (+13%) and Honda (+10%) are the only carmakers delivering a double-digit gain.

Along with the Audi A4, the Skoda Octavia makes it 6 VW Group nameplates in the Top 6.

In the models ranking, unsurprisingly it looks like a 38th consecutive win is in store for the VW Golf up 4% to remain at 6.4% share. The VW Tiguan gains 16% thanks to the addition of the AllSpace 7-seat variant to step up to 2nd place which, if sustained until the end of the year, would be a new record for the nameplate. Counter-intuitively, the VW Passat about to be facelifted is up 3% to also overtake the VW Polo, down a worrying 9% despite the arrival of a brand-new generation. With the Audi A4 (+9%) in 5th place and the Skoda Octavia (+12%) in 6th, the Volkswagen Group monopolises the Top 6 in a historical first. It even trusted the entire Top 8 in May for the first time in German history. Propelled up 36% by heavy discounts on the outgoing generation, the Ford Focus posts the largest gain in the Top 30 and slices its ranking in two to #7. The VW Touran (+4%) and Audi A3 (+2%) replace the Opel Astra (-24%) and Mercedes E-Class (-3%) in the Top 10.

The VW T-Roc lands directly in 30th place and is the most popular newcomer in Germany.

Further down the ranking, the Opel Crossland X (+468%), Skoda Kodiaq (+134%), Dacia Duster (+80%), Opel Insignia (+425), Hyundai i20 (+33%), Mercedes GLC (+26%), Ford Kuga (+20%), Toyota Yaris (+20%) and BMW 5 Series (+19%) lodge the largest gains in the remainder of the Top 50. The most popular recent launch (<12 months) is the VW T-Roc landing directly at #30 and breaking into the Top 20 for the first time in June. It is followed by the Skoda Karoq (#58), Seat Arona (#64) both of which broke into the Top 50 in June, the Hyundai Kona (#99), Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (#100), Kia Stonic (#109), BMW X2 (#139), Volvo XC40 (#189) and Jaguar E-Pace (#197), making the 9 best-selling newcomers and all newcomers ranking inside the Top 200 solely SUV nameplates.

The Dacia Sandero remains the most popular foreigner with private buyers at #6.

Over in a very vigorous private sales channel, the podium is identical to the FY2017 order with the VW Golf surging 36% to go from 26% Private Sales Ratio (PSR) to 33.9%, the VW Tiguan soaring 25% from 47.7% to 51.1% PSR but the VW Polo down 2% but improving its PSR from 52.8% to 56.6%. The Skoda Octavia scores the most impressive uplift in the Top 10 with Private volumes up 70%, a PSR going from 26% to 39.6% and a ranking going from #19 a year ago to #4. The Skoda Fabia (+7%) remains in 5th place meaning the VW Group monopolises the Top 5. The Dacia Sandero (+12%) matches the channel’s growth and remains the most popular foreigner with German private buyers at #6 but is now also the best-selling non-VW Group model. The Ford Kuga (+27%) and VW Touran (+54%) also shine in the Top 10 while the Fiat Ducato (+6%) makes it two foreigners in the Top 9. Dacia could be even headed towards 2 nameplates in the German Top 10 by the time 2018 comes to an end with the Duster up 81% and a staggering 15 spots to #12. The VW T-Roc lands at #13, much stronger than in the overall market, similarly the Skoda Karoq is at #27 and the Seat Arona at #34.

Previous post: Germany June 2018: 8 VW Group nameplates in Top 9, market up 2.9%

One year ago: Germany First Half 2017: Mercedes up, Volkswagen down but trusts Top 4

Full H1 2018 Top 50 All-brands, Top 350 All-models and Top 50 private sales vs. Full H1 2017 figures below.