The number of newly registered cars in Germany decreased by 0.2 percent to 3.44 million in 2018, the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) announced on Friday.

Germany's largest carmaker Volkswagen maintained its leadership position in the domestic market by chalking up a 1.5 percent increase in new car registrations. In 2018, the company boasted a domestic market share of 18.7 percent.

The highest growth rates in Germany were registered by new Smart (11.9 percent), Mini (8.1 percent) and Ford (2.3 percent) vehicles.

In 2018, the number of newly registered Audi cars decreased by 9.9 percent year-on-year. Just like several other German carmakers, Audi has been severely hit by the emissions scandal involving diesel vehicles.

The share of diesel-powered cars in circulation in Germany dropped by 6.5 percent to 32.3 percent in 2018. According to KBA, the share of gasoline-powered cars increased to 62.4 percent in 2018, a gain of 4.7 percentage points compared to the previous year.

In 2018, the car industry's worst month was September, when registrations decreased by nearly a third compared to September 2017. Hit hardest were Audi and Porsche, which registered the strongest declines over three quarters.