Citroën in Germany: historic performance for C3 and C4 in january 2026

Citroën redefines the standards of the German automotive market in early 2026

The German automotive market remains, without any doubt, the largest and most influential in Europe due to its sheer volume and specific structure. Characterized by a unique complexity, it differs radically from the French market through the massive dominance of corporate and professional fleet sales, leaving a historically small share for private buyers. In this highly competitive environment, where national manufacturers often reign supreme, Citroën has achieved an outstanding performance for the month of January 2026. Against all odds, the brand with the "double chevron" managed to secure the first place in private sales within the Stellantis group, thus asserting a renewed attractiveness among a German customer base known for its loyalty to local brands.

Notable resilience in a German market facing a significant decline

The automotive landscape across the Rhine began the year under considerable pressure, showing an overall decline in registrations of 6.6%, representing a total of 193,981 units. This gloomy atmosphere is even more striking when isolating the private sales segment, which literally contracted by 21.8% compared to the previous year, settling at only 58,582 units. With a private buyer penetration rate limited to 30.2% of the total market, Germany confirms its status as a fleet-driven market. Yet, amidst these falling indicators, Citroën shows insolent health: in the global market, the brand recorded an increase of 4.3% with 3,502 units sold, bringing its market share to 1.8%. However, it is in the strategic private sales channel that Citroën creates a surprise by ranking its models at the forefront of the Stellantis group, demonstrating a product relevance that now resonates with German consumer expectations.

The C3 and C3 Aircross duo: the spearhead of Stellantis in Germany

The most spectacular performance of this month of January is undoubtedly signed by the duo formed by the C3 and the C3 Aircross. In Germany, statistical methodology groups these two models under a single entity, a common practice also found among other manufacturers such as Mercedes for its GLA and EQA models. This strategic pair rose to 16th place in the general private sales rankings, a meteoric rise considering their 49th position held last December. With 797 units delivered to private customers, these models represent 46.8% of the brand's sales mix on this channel. This result propels the C3/C3 Aircross duo to the rank of the best-selling vehicle by the Stellantis group among German private individuals, perfectly illustrating the success of the common platform strategy and the versatility offered by these compact models.

The Citroën C4 prevails over the Opel Astra on its own home turf

Beyond the success of the city cars, the performance of the Citroën C4 deserves special attention as it disrupts the established order within the compact sedan category. In a market where the Opel Astra traditionally plays at home, the C4 has managed to establish itself as the leading Stellantis compact sedan among private buyers. With 141 units sold on this channel, or 29% of its total sales, the chevron-branded sedan outperforms not only the Peugeot 308, which shows 90 units (21.1% of its mix), but especially the Astra. The latter, despite its historical roots, only attracted 120 private buyers, representing a low rate of 6.9% of its total registrations in January. This symbolic victory for the C4 highlights its ability to seduce through its comfort and distinctive design, even when facing rivals benefiting from an extremely strong local brand image.

A promising outlook for the brand's future in Europe

In conclusion, although the first place occupied by the Citroën C3 relies on the statistical accumulation with the Aircross version — two vehicles sharing an identical technical base and comfort philosophy — this performance remains exceptional. It highlights a private sales mix that is significantly more robust than the average of a German market structurally oriented towards businesses. The results achieved by the range, and particularly by the C4, testify to a major strategic breakthrough: successfully beating the Opel Astra on its own land to become the benchmark sedan for Stellantis among the general public is a significant achievement. This success in January 2026 validates Citroën's bold choices and strengthens the brand's position as a credible and desirable alternative in the most demanding automotive market on the European continent.