Europe 2005: VW Golf keeps Opel Astra at bay, or does it?

VW Golf

* See the Top 50 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

2005 is a difficult year to cover as different sources give a different best-seller in Europe… According to JATO, the VW Golf manages to keeps the title of best-selling car in Europe one more time in spite of sales down 14% to 476,901, its lowest volume in 20 years. In 2nd place, the Opel Astra delivers 466,841 sales and grabs the monthly top spot in Europe for the first time in 6 years, twice: in September (43,026 sales) and November (34,006 sales).

Opel Astra

However, later (and more accurate?) figures show the Opel Astra #1 in Europe for the first time with 489,529 sales, up 23% on 2003. Based on this result the Astra finally achieves what it has been designed for: beating the Golf 14 long years since the nameplate first launched in 1991… Fortunately the rest of the ranking is consistent and the Ford Focus rounds up a podium 100% made of compact cars for the first time ever in Europe, up 4% and 3 spots to 449,942 sales.

Ford Focus

The Peugeot 206 and 307 are both down 2 spots to #4 and #5 respectively, followed by the Renault Megane and Clio. The VW Passat is up 6 ranks to #12 overall but ranked #5 in December, and the Fiat Punto, helped by the Grande Punto launch, reappears in the Top 10 in December. The Peugeot 407 lands in the Top 20 at #20 with 207,018 sales for its first full year, the Skoda Octavia is up 10 spots to #23, the Audi A3 up 7 to #24, the Mercedes A-Class up 10 to #28 and the Renault Modus ranks #31.

Previous year: Europe 2004: VW Golf, Peugeot 206 and 307 on podium

Next year: Europe 2006: Opel Astra triumphs, Focus and Clio close behind

Full Year 2005 Top 50, July to December Top 10 Ranking Tables and every model’s sales below.