In Germany, the picture was quite different in 2011.  Overall, looking at new car registration figures from the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA or German Federal Motor and Transport Authority) and manufacturer-provided sales data covering Audi, BMW, Citroën, Fiat, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Opel, Peugeot, Porsche, Renault, Seat, Škoda, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo, diesel sales were 48.71% of total new car sales.

Complete charts with data by manufacturer and segment may be found on page two of this article.

Looking at specific categories, such as compact cars or SUVs, is even more interesting.

In compact car sales, the Volkswagen Golf/Jetta line was the diesel market leader with 105,786 units sold.  Percentage wise, the Peugeot 308 (not sold in the U.S.) led with 60.24% of buyers choosing the oil burner.  The Škoda Octavia was close behind, with 59.05% of buyers going diesel.     43.65% of buyers opted for diesel in this segment overall.

In the smaller mid-sized segment, the Volkswagen Passat (the European model, which differs from the U.S.-specific Passat) led in volume in diesel sales with 86,291 sold. In terms of the diesel take rate, the low-volume Volvo V50 led the way, with 95% of buyers going diesel.  The overall take rate for this group, which includes the Audi A4/A5, BMW 3er, and Peugeot 508, was an impressive 74.58%.

In the larger mid-sized segment, the BMW 5 Series was the diesel take-rate leader at 89.86%.  It was also the volume leader in a group that includes the Audi A6 and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.  This category’s overall take rate was 85.83%.

For large luxury sedans, the BMW 7er was the diesel volume leader with 4,242 units sold.  The Volkswagen Phaeton (not currently available in the U.S.) was the take-rate leader, with 89..03% of buyers choosing compression ignition.  The overall diesel take rate for luxury sedans was 67.22%.

Finally, in the SUV category, the Volkswagen Tiguan (not available as a diesel in the U.S.) led the pack with 31,271 units sold.  Two low-volume Land Rovers, the Discovery and Freelander, led in diesel take rate with 99.7% and 99.54% respectively.  All three Mercedes-Benz SUVs (the GLK, ML-Class, and R-Class, as well as two BMW SUVs (the BMW X3 and X5), also had take rates in the 90s, as did the Ford Kuga and the Volvo XC60.

Click here to continue to Page 2 – Charts and Data By Manufacturer and Segment