Mercedes still Germans’ favourite car

16 February 2005

HAMBURG – Mercedes-Benz remains the most popular car manufacturer in Germany but BMW and Volkswagen are catching up, according to a recent poll.

In a poll of 1,700 motorists conducted by Infratest, 15 percent of the respondents said they would buy a Mercedes if money played no role. The figure was down 5.7 percent compared to a similar poll a year ago.

BMW and Volkswagen shared the second spot with 13 percent, with VW improving by 2.2 percent.

When it comes down to individual cars, the BMW 5-Series takes the top spot with 3.6 per cent of the vote, followed by the Audi A6 and Audi A4.

The Volkswagen Golf saw its popularity slump from 4 percent to 2.8 percent. The VW Touareg was in seventh position with 2 percent, the Porsche 911 in ninth spot with 1.7 percent and the Mercedes SLK sports car 10th with 1.6 percent.

People interviewed said they were influenced by personal experience with product quality, word of mouth and critical reports in the press.

DPA

Subject: German news