33% of Germans say the brand of car someone owns says a lot about them, peaking among younger consumers, showing the importance of car brands in self-expression. To connect, car brands need to understand and address these self-expressive needs. For instance, Gen Z and Millennials want to portray success, women aged 16-34 value style, and men aged 35-54 want to look tech savvy. Building a strong overarching brand identity, along with distinct identities for specific product lines, can help brands appeal to different target groups.
New car registrations remain sluggish, with little hope for improvement in 2025. Rising car prices have made cars unaffordable for many. Many consumers are likely to adapt a cautious approach and seek greater value for money. The growing presence of emerging brands, combined with fragmented brand usage, pose further challenges for car brands.
A strong brand identity and reputation are crucial. To turn engaged audiences into loyal fans and advocates go beyond traditional engagement methods such as comments or polls on social media by making customers feel valued for their feedback or offering them a sense of exclusivity through brand events. Additionally, brands can target female consumers by forming emotional connections and piquing their interest in cars.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Brand usage
- Brand perception, including attributes such as high quality, standing out, and being desirable
- Car brand and self-expression, including what consumers want to convey through their dream car
- Engagement with car brands, through channels like social media, gaming and online forums
- Awareness of emerging car brands, including brands such as BYD, Leapmotor
In a slow, yet increasingly competitive market, brand building is more important than ever to deepen connections, build trust and stand out.
Venkatesh Modi, Research Analyst, Germany
Market Definitions
The Report examines the German market for passenger cars.
The terms ‘vehicle’, ‘automobile’ and ‘car’ are used interchangeably throughout the Report.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Opportunities
- Outlook
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OPPORTUNITIES
- Empower consumers to express themselves through brands
- Fulfil consumers’ self-expression needs
- Cars are a form of self-expression
- Brands are enabling consumers to reflect their identities
- Strengthen connections with engaged audiences
- Deepen brand engagement to navigate tough times
- Ways to deepen engagement
- Boost engagement with female consumers
- Don’t overlook female consumers
- Ford looks to connect with women
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THE CONSUMER
- Brand usage
- The German car market is fragmented
- Graph 1: brand usage, 2025
- Brand usage differs by age and income
- Graph 2: bubble chart of brand usage, by age and net monthly household income, 2025
- Brand perception
- Many perceive German car brands as high-quality and desirable
- Graph 3: attributes associated with different car brands, 2025
- Enhance quality perceptions to boost desirability
- Few consumers see car brands as sustainable
- Graph 4: consumers associating different car brands with ‘sustainable’, 2025
- Take a proactive approach to sustainability to stand out
- Those aged 16-24 more likely view BMW as a ‘stand out’ brand
- Graph 5: consumers associating BMW with ‘stand out’, by age, 2025
- Value-for-money brands: help Gen Z express themselves on a budget
- Graph 6: consumers associating Opel and Skoda with ‘desirable’, by generation, 2025
- How political involvement can harm a brand: lessons from Tesla
- Graph 7: consumers associating Tesla with ‘high quality’ and ‘sustainable’, 2024-25
- Car brand and self-expression
- The young are more likely to view car brands as a means of self-expression
- Graph 8: agreement/disagreement with the statement “The brand of car someone owns says a lot about them”, by generation, 2025
- Consumers seek to express different traits through their cars
- Graph 9: image to convey through dream car, 2025
- Style and elegance take the front seat
- Leverage fashion to connect with style-seeking young female consumers
- What consumers want to express varies with age and income
- Graph 10: bubble chart of attributes consumers want to convey through their dream car, by average age and net annual household income, 2025
- Make brands synonymous with success to build aspiration
- Graph 11: consumers who want to convey ‘success’ through their dream car, by generation, 2025
- Brands forming associations with success
- BMW presents the i7 as a symbol of success
- Men aged 35-54 want to appear tech-savvy
- Showcase how the brand enhances a tech-savvy image
- Engagement with car brands
- While many talk about cars, few engage with them across channels
- Graph 12: behaviours towards car brands, 2025
- Men aged 16-34 show higher engagement with car related topics
- Graph 13: consumer agreement with statements, by age and gender, 2025
- Empower engaged audiences to share their voice
- Leverage car launch events to give consumers a sense of exclusivity
- Graph 14: agreement/disagreement with statement “I would attend events organised by a car brand”, by age and gender, 2025
- Blend physical and digital experiences for car launches
- Create fun and engaging in-game experiences
- Graph 15: agreement/disagreement with the statement “Video games can help people learn about car brands”, by age and gender, 2025
- BMW lets gamers customise car in Fortnite
- Co-branded merchandise can benefit both car and gaming brands
- Blend with consumer interests and leverage communities
- Jeep partners with North Face
- Mercedes backs the gaming community
- Increase engagement with female consumers
- Awareness of emerging car brands
- MG Motors and BYD lead in brand awareness
- Graph 16: awareness of emerging car brands, 2025
- BYD increases awareness by sponsoring Euro 2024
- Emerging brands have higher awareness among men than women
- Graph 17: consumers who have heard of or have any knowledge of following brands, by gender, 2025
- Under-45s are more knowledgeable about newer car brands
- Graph 18: consumers who have heard of or have any knowledge of following brands, by age, 2025
- Leapmotor encourages consumers to ‘Take a leap’ with its launch campaign
- Emerging brands find it difficult to take off
- Graph 19: new car registrations between January and May 2025
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ADVERTISING AND MARKETING ACTIVITY
- Advertising spend
- Advertising spend on cars remains steady
- Graph 20: total ad spend for the passenger car category, 2022-25
- Spending reflects a fragmented market
- Graph 21: ad spend of passenger car category, by advertiser share, 2022-25
- TV remains an important channel
- Graph 22: passenger car ad spend, by format, 2022-25
- Digital advertising
- Volkswagen Group tops digital ad spend, with BYD entering the top 10
- Graph 23: digital ad spend for cars and trucks, by advertiser, 12 months to May 2025
- BYD focuses on Facebook and YouTube to increase awareness
- Graph 24: digital ad spend of advertisers, by device & formats, 12 months to May 2025
- BYD consistently showcases its leadership in electric mobility
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MARKET DRIVERS
- Consumers remain cautious
- Graph 25: financial consumer confidence, 2022-25
- Amid uncertainty, some will stick to what they know while others may switch
- Graph 26: top five important factors when deciding which brand of car to purchase, 2023
- Global trade uncertainties could impact some consumers’ trust in brands
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APPENDIX
- Report scope and definitions
- Market definition
- Generations
- Abbreviations
- Methodology – consumer research
- Consumer research methodology
- A note on language
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