Munich - German cars remain the most reliable with Audi leading in three categories while Japanese cars continued their slide downward, according to the latest breakdown report released by the German automobile association ADAC.

French car makers were making headway in terms of reliability with Citroen Xsara/C4 Picasso heading the list in the people-carrier category.

A Japanese car featured only in the segment for small cars with the Toyota Aygo second-placed behind the Audi A2. In the compact car category, the Audi A3 topped the list followed by the Mercedes B-Class and the Mercedes A-Class.

The Mercedes C-Class heads the list in the medium-sized class followed by the Audi A4 and BMW 3-Series. In the premium class the Audi A6 was most reliable followed by the BMW 5-Series. A BMW X3 also headed the list in the segment Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs).

Summing up its report on breakdown reports on German roads for 2008, the ADAC said that there had been fewer breakdowns than in previous years but this could also be attributed to motorists who travelled less because of high fuel prices. Most breakdowns were caused by battery failure and problems with the electrical system.