Bavarian police say the crash occurred an hour into the New Year on the A7 autobahn near Bad Groenenbach, about 120 kilometres west of Munich.
Police said five of those killed were traveling in a single car. Another victim was in a car that was crushed beneath a truck.
Separately, two drivers were killed when one of them drove in the wrong direction on the A61 highway about 60 kilometres west of Frankfurt early today.
The ADAC auto club said Thursday that the death toll on German roads last year was about 3,280, down 5 percent from 2015.