Germany 6 months 2012 Private Sales: What people really buy

[far2000]

Full 6 months 2012 Top 15 Ranking Table below.
Germany Private sales 6 months 2012:
Pos Model 2012 PS PS ratio 2012 Pos
1 VW Golf/Plus/Jetta 43,019 34% 128,034 1
2 VW Polo 26,775 62% 43,116 3
3 VW Tiguan 18,155 63% 28,986 11
4 Mercedes B-Klasse 17,483 59% 29,632 9
5 Mercedes C-Klasse 12,848 34% 37,566 5
6 Skoda Fabia 12,196 52% 23,589 20
7 VW Up! 11,267 56% 20,265 21
8 Skoda Octavia 11,029 43% 25,768 15
9 Opel Astra 10,900 29% 38,112 4
10 BMW 1er 10,146 34% 30,107 7
11 Mercedes A-Klasse 10,139 67% 15,110 30
12 Smart Fortwo 9,666 61% 15,872 28
13 Mercedes E-Klasse 9,496 37% 25,600 16
14 Mini 9,023 46% 19,743 22
15 Toyota Yaris 8,970 72% 12,511 37

 

[martinbo]

Where's the F30 3er in all of that?!? Merc's new A-Klasse is going toe-to-toe with 1er already (look how close) - why aren't we seeing the 3er in there, surely?

 

[K-A]

F30 not selling well in Germany yet either?

Interesting to see the C and E in there without their BMW counterparts.

It's gotta be scary for competitors to think what the new A-Class is gonna do for Mercedes' reputation as a small car manufacturer (legitimize them).

 

[EnI]

@Martin, @K-A ... those are private sales only.

Meaning: bought by individuals directly. Mind many cars in Germany are officially bought & owned by small businesses people own (GmbHs = LTDs). Especially BMW has high percent of such ownerships / sales. Therefore sales of those cars are recorded in the corporate sales records, and not in private sales ones!!!

I'm also not sure if the leases are recorded in private or corporate sales records - since leasing companies are officially the owners (and buyers) of leased cars till the lease expires. If recorded as corporate sales, than all the leased car sales are listed in the other list.

As you can see mainly small cars of non-premium brands are listed on that list above. MB C & E class being an exception - I guess they are very popular among pensioners who buy a car with cash (own, or borrowed from bank) and not via their own companies.

While cars like 3er, A4, A6, 5er, and even VW Passat (all missing on the private sales list!) are popular among younger (business owning) crowd.

I'm not sure where sales to taxi drivers are counted: in private or corporate sales. If in private sales records, then that can also be the reason for B, C & E class positions on that list.

So total sales records consist of private and corporate sales. This list above shows only half of the story since corporate sales records are missing.

But the last large number in each row shows the total sales (private + corporate).

Eg the total sales of 1er & A-class in the first 6 months:
10 BMW 1er 10,146 34% 30,107 7
11 Mercedes A-Klasse 10,139 67% 15,110 30

So 1er was 7th best selling car in Germany in the first half of 2012, while A-class (outgoing old) was in 30th position. With sales half of the 1er's.

Yet almost identical number of both cars was sold to private individual buyers - yet compared to total sales that means 67% of all A-class were bought by individuals, and only 34% of 1er. Due the reasons from the 2nd paragraph of this post.

 

[Human]

Thank goodness it's NOT Korean! Hoera!!!

 

[martinbo]

Hi EnI, yes, thanks - I did pick up that this was for private sales.

However, I still can't believe that the 3er would not feature in this list of the private buyers demographic. There has to be some reporting issue, i.e. private sale data not being available / split from the overall number.

 

[Zafiro]

People shouldnt worry much about F30. In the end I'm sure it will be the best selling 3-series.

 

[mini_cooper4]

Each time I buy/lease or whatever a new car it's registered to my company.
It's cheaper... tax wise