Simson motorcycles
Simson motorcycles (made in Suhl) with official number plates per 100,000 inhabitants, 1 January, 1.1.2026
The eastern states have 173.6 registered Simson motorcycles per 100,000 inhabitants, 28.0 times the western rate of 6.2. 83% of Germany's 25,974 plated Simsons are registered in the five eastern states; Thuringia (228.1) and Saxony (181.4) lead.
< 39.7 per 100k39.7 per 100k77.4 per 100k115.1 per 100k152.7 per 100k≥ 190.4 per 100k
Inner-German border 1949–1990 ·16 states · 1.1.2026
Former West
6.2 per 100k
excl. Berlin
Former East
173.6 per 100k
excl. Berlin
Berlin
8.7 per 100k
Germany
31.1 per 100k
The East's figure is 28.0× the West's (1.1.2026).
By state
- Thüringen228.1 per 100k
- Sachsen181.4 per 100k
- Sachsen-Anhalt157.8 per 100k
- Brandenburg151.2 per 100k
- Mecklenburg-Vorpommern139.0 per 100k
- Bayern9.8 per 100k
- Niedersachsen9.3 per 100k
- Berlin8.7 per 100k
- Schleswig-Holstein8.6 per 100k
- Baden-Württemberg5.6 per 100k
- Hessen5.5 per 100k
- Rheinland-Pfalz4.6 per 100k
- Nordrhein-Westfalen3.5 per 100k
- Hamburg3.4 per 100k
- Saarland3.0 per 100k
- Bremen2.0 per 100k
1.1.2026
Notes & caveats
- Vehicles are counted where they are registered (owner's address), on 1 January 2026. Cars and motorcycles that are temporarily deregistered (e.g. over winter) are not in the stock.
- Our calculation: vehicles ÷ population on 31.12.2025 × 100,000. East = the five eastern states without Berlin.
- Only motorcycles with official number plates are in KBA's stock. Mopeds on insurance plates (Versicherungskennzeichen), which include most 50 cc Simson models such as the S51 and the Schwalbe, are not counted, so the true number of Simsons on the road is much higher.
- Simson built two-wheelers in Suhl (Thuringia) until 2002, so the count includes some post-1990 machines.
- 11 Simsons are registered under "Sonstige" and are not assigned to a state.
Show the table
| State | Side | 1.1.2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Saarland | west | 3.0 per 100k |
| Berlin | berlin | 8.7 per 100k |
| Brandenburg | east | 151.2 per 100k |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | east | 139.0 per 100k |
| Sachsen | east | 181.4 per 100k |
| Sachsen-Anhalt | east | 157.8 per 100k |
| Thüringen | east | 228.1 per 100k |
| Schleswig-Holstein | west | 8.6 per 100k |
| Hamburg | west | 3.4 per 100k |
| Niedersachsen | west | 9.3 per 100k |
| Bremen | west | 2.0 per 100k |
| Nordrhein-Westfalen | west | 3.5 per 100k |
| Hessen | west | 5.5 per 100k |
| Rheinland-Pfalz | west | 4.6 per 100k |
| Baden-Württemberg | west | 5.6 per 100k |
| Bayern | west | 9.8 per 100k |