Germany January 2020: Porsche (+52.7%), Mitsubishi (+28.5%), Seat (+26.7%) defy market down -7.3%

167 Porsche Taycan found a new German home in January.

13/02 update: Now with Top 50 private sales models.

New car sales in Germany skid down -7.3% year-on-year in January to 246.300 units, with business fleet sales (-5.1%) resisting better than the market at 168.469 and a whopping 68.4% share vs. 66.8% a year ago whereas private sales tank -12% to just 77.831 units and 31.6% share vs. 33.2% in January 2019. If petrol sales sink -17% to 126.840 and 51.5% share vs. 57.5% a year ago and diesel sales drop -12% to 80.257 and 32.6% share vs. 34.3%, EV registrations shoot up 61% to 7.492 and 3% share vs. 1.7% in January 2019 and hybrid sales surge 103% to 30.805 and 12.5% share vs. 5.7% a year ago, including PHEVs up 307% to 3.5% of the German market.

Brand leader Volkswagen (-4.1%) gains share year-on-year to 19,8%, with Mercedes (+2.9%), Audi (+1.2%) and BMW (+6.5%) in tow, all managing market-defying upticks. Ford (-17.7%) has cleared all polluting Kugas at the end of last year and accordingly falls off a cliff, as does Opel (-24.3%) at #7. Note Skoda (-2.5%) has now slipped into the habit of outselling Opel, a feat it had only managed once in history (July 2018) halfway through 2019, but then repeated last August, and is now on a streak of 4 consecutive months, having beating Opel continuously since last October…

The Mercedes CLA smashes its German ranking record at #22.

Seat (+26.7%) sports the largest gain in the Top 15 thanks mainly to its perennial strongholds the Leon (+63%) and Ibiza (+27.7%). Further down, notice Lexus (+116%), Jaguar (+63.4%), Porsche (+52.7%) and Mitsubishi (+28.5%) posting fantastic gains whereas Suzuki (-56%), Dacia (-42.3%), Mazda (-36.9%), Toyota (-17.5%) and Peugeot (-15.8%) fall apart. As a result the VW Group (+0.8%) edges up to a splendid 39.7% share, to be compared with 36.4% over the FY2019. Among smaller brands, Tesla (+167.9%), Ferrari (+79.6%), DS (+64.9%) and Bentley (+56.7%) stand out.

Model-wise, Volkswagen monopolises the podium for the first time since last August with the Golf (-15.3%), Tiguan (+9.9%) and renewed Passat (+72%). The Ford Focus (+41.9%) and Audi A4 (+28.7%) round out the Top 5 in spectacular fashion, with the BMW 3 Series (+92.1%), Mercedes GLC (+22%) and Ford Fiesta (+18.6%) also very impressive inside the Top 10. In contrast, the VW Polo (-35.1%) and T-Roc (-18.6%) struggle mightily. Notice also the Mercedes CLA (+93.7%) up 44 to #22 which is a new ranking record for the nameplate (previous best #29 in August 2015 and 2016). The Audi Q3 (+372.9%), Mercedes B-Class (+175.5%) and Renault Zoe (+125%) also lodge spectacular gains.

The Mazda CX-30 is up to #15 with German private buyers this month.

The Skoda Kamiq (#46) is the best-selling recent launch above the Mazda CX-30 (#64), Toyota Corolla (#70), Skoda Scala (#72) and Ford Puma (#96) just as the Porsche Taycan is up 439% on its inaugural month to 167 sales vs. 257 for the Tesla Model 3. Volkswagen also monopolises the Private Sales podium, but this time with the Golf, Polo and Tiguan. The Ford Focus and VW T-Roc round out the Top 5, with the VW T-Cross ranking #7 vs. #21 over FY2019 and the VW Caddy at #9 vs. #48. The Mazda CX-30 soars to a fantastic 15th place with private German buyers, with the Mercedes CLA (#18), Skoda Kamiq (#20), Renault Zoe (#24) and Opel Corsa (#30) also scoring strong results.

Previous post: Germany Full Year 2019: Golf down to lowest ever share, VW places 5 nameplates in Top 6 in strongest market since 2009 (+5%)

One year ago: Germany January 2019: Audi (+3.7%) now recovered, Ford, Dacia, Hyundai strong in market down -1.3%

Full January 2020 Top 50 brands, Top 295 All-models and Top 50 Private Sales models below.