Portugal November 2012: VW Golf 7 in pole position straight away!
VW Golf 7
* NOW UPDATED with the Top 40 all-brands ranking! *
* See the Top 20 best-selling models by clicking on the title! Many thanks to José *
After falling by 30% in September and 5% in October, the Portuguese new car market is down 25% year-on-year in November to 7,217 registrations. The year-to-date total now stands at 88,945 units, still down a horrid 37% on 2011. Detailed models rankings for Portugal are likely to become rarer now that car magazine Guia de Automóvel has stopped publishing, one of the consequences of the economic crisis that is still hitting the country.
Audi A3
For their last issue they have published a models ranking that thanks to José I am able to share with you here, and it has the particularity of splitting sales of Golf 6 and 7. Surprise: the Golf 7 directly shoots up to pole position for its first month with 281 units sold and 3.9% share! It is ahead of the Renault Megane, still leader year-to-date with 4,246 units and 4.8% (-46%), by just one unit… An oddity: the Peugeot 208, #1 in September, is not in the Top 20 this month!
Renault Clio IV
Another model to make its first appearance in the Portuguese Top 20 this month is the Renault Clio IV at #7 and 171 units, just below its older sister the Clio III at #6 and 175. What is true in Europe currently is especially the case in Portugal: in tough times, premium brands do better – at least with fleet sales. Audi and BMW both place 3 models in the Top 20 again this month: the Audi A3 is up to a fantastic 5th position with 228 sales, followed by the BMW 1 Series at #6 and 203 units, with the 3 Series at #10, A4 at #17, 5 Series at #19 and A1 at #20.
Brand-wise, Volkswagen is ahead in November at 11.8% share ahead of Renault at 10.2% and Peugeot at 9.1% but Renault remains in the top spot year-to-date with 9,510 sales and 10.7% (-38%) with Volkswagen at #2 with 9,137 units and 10.3% (-35%). This month only BMW (+3%), Mercedes (+9%), Skoda (+19%), Land Rover (+9%) and Lancia (+8%) gain ground year-on-year, while year-to-date absolutely no brand in the Top 20 is in positive, with Audi (-8%), BMW (-13%) and Mercedes (-19%) the best performers.
Previous post: Portugal September 2012: Peugeot 208 #1, BMW 1 Series up to #4
Previous historical post: Portugal 1989-2011: More detailed Historical Data now available!
One year ago: Portugal November 2011: VW Passat and Audi A4 shine
Full November Top 20 models and Top 40 brands Ranking Tables below.
Portugal November 2012:
| Pos | Model | Nov | % | Sep | 2012 | % | /11 | Pos | 2011 |
| 1 | VW Golf VII | 281 | 3.9% | - | 291 | 0.3% | new | n/a | - |
| 2 | Renault Megane | 280 | 3.9% | 2 | 4,249 | 4.8% | -46% | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | VW Polo | 259 | 3.6% | 3 | 3,546 | 4.0% | -27% | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Opel Corsa | 236 | 3.3% | 8 | 2,341 | 2.6% | -52% | 6 | 5 |
| 5 | Audi A3 | 228 | 3.2% | 11 | 1,557 | 1.8% | 13% | 12 | 28 |
| 6 | BMW Serie 1 | 203 | 2.8% | 4 | 2,302 | 2.6% | 48% | 8 | n/a |
| 7 | Opel Astra | 195 | 2.7% | 9 | 2,045 | 2.3% | -50% | 9 | 9 |
| 8 | Renault Clio III | 175 | 2.5% | 6 | 3,689 | 4.1% | -32% | 2 | 3 |
| 9 | Renault Clio IV | 171 | 2.4% | - | 321 | 0.4% | new | n/a | - |
| 10 | BMW Serie 3 | 163 | 2.3% | 10 | 1,148 | 1.3% | -31% | 17 | 23 |
| 11 | VW Golf VI | 132 | 1.9% | 7 | 2,391 | 2.7% | -49% | 5 | 6 |
| 12 | Ford Fiesta | 131 | 1.8% | n/a | 1,767 | 2.0% | -60% | 11 | 8 |
| 13 | Citroen C3 | 93 | 1.3% | n/a | 1,479 | 1.7% | -47% | 13 | 11 |
| 14 | Chevrolet Cruze | 93 | 1.3% | 19 | 677 | 0.8% | 10% | n/a | n/a |
| 15 | Fiat Panda | 91 | 1.3% | n/a | 975 | 1.1% | 31% | 20 | n/a |
| 16 | Ford Focus | 90 | 1.3% | 5 | 1,794 | 2.0% | -45% | 10 | 12 |
| 17 | Audi A4 | 90 | 1.3% | 16 | 1,080 | 1.2% | -43% | 19 | 20 |
| 18 | Fiat Punto | 89 | 1.2% | n/a | 2,309 | 2.6% | -43% | 7 | 10 |
| 19 | BMW Serie 5 | 82 | 1.2% | 12 | 1,260 | 1.4% | -28% | 15 | 22 |
| 20 | Audi A1 | 82 | 1.2% | 13 | 1,088 | 1.2% | -4% | 18 | n/a |
Portugal January-November 2012:
| Pos | Model | 2012 | % | /11 | Pos | 2011 |
| 1 | Renault Megane | 4,249 | 4.8% | -46% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Renault Clio III | 3,689 | 4.1% | -32% | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | VW Polo | 3,546 | 4.0% | -27% | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Peugeot 208 (e) | 2,600 | 2.9% | new | 4 | - |
| 5 | VW Golf VI | 2,391 | 2.7% | -49% | 5 | 6 |
| 6 | Opel Corsa | 2,341 | 2.6% | -52% | 6 | 5 |
| 7 | Fiat Punto | 2,309 | 2.6% | -43% | 7 | 10 |
| 8 | BMW Serie 1 | 2,302 | 2.6% | 48% | 8 | n/a |
| 9 | Opel Astra | 2,045 | 2.3% | -50% | 9 | 9 |
| 10 | Ford Focus | 1,794 | 2.0% | -45% | 10 | 12 |
| 11 | Ford Fiesta | 1,767 | 2.0% | -60% | 11 | 8 |
| 12 | Audi A3 | 1,557 | 1.8% | 13% | 12 | 28 |
| 13 | Citroen C3 | 1,479 | 1.7% | -47% | 13 | 11 |
| 14 | Toyota Yaris (e) | 1,400 | 1.6% | -14% | 14 | 30 |
| 15 | BMW Serie 5 | 1,260 | 1.4% | -28% | 15 | 22 |
| 16 | Seat Ibiza (e) | 1,200 | 1.3% | -78% | 16 | 2 |
| 17 | BMW Serie 3 | 1,148 | 1.3% | -31% | 17 | 23 |
| 18 | Audi A1 | 1,088 | 1.2% | -4% | 18 | n/a |
| 19 | Audi A4 | 1,080 | 1.2% | -43% | 19 | 20 |
| 20 | Fiat Panda | 975 | 1.1% | 31% | 20 | n/a |
Portugal November 2012 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | Nov | % | /11 | 2012 | % | /11 | Pos |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 841 | 11.8% | -16% | 9,137 | 10.3% | -35% | 2 |
| 2 | Renault | 728 | 10.2% | -29% | 9,501 | 10.7% | -38% | 1 |
| 3 | Peugeot | 650 | 9.1% | -14% | 7,813 | 8.8% | -35% | 3 |
| 4 | Opel | 530 | 7.4% | -2% | 5,532 | 6.2% | -47% | 6 |
| 5 | BMW | 516 | 7.2% | 3% | 5,968 | 6.7% | -13% | 4 |
| 6 | Audi | 513 | 7.2% | -15% | 5,669 | 6.4% | -8% | 5 |
| 7 | Mercedes | 509 | 7.1% | 9% | 5,145 | 5.8% | -19% | 7 |
| 8 | Ford | 305 | 4.3% | -50% | 4,520 | 5.1% | -54% | 9 |
| 9 | Nissan | 296 | 4.2% | -30% | 3,619 | 4.1% | -40% | 11 |
| 10 | Fiat | 292 | 4.1% | -23% | 4,469 | 5.0% | -32% | 10 |
| 11 | Citroen | 281 | 3.9% | -50% | 4,522 | 5.1% | -47% | 8 |
| 12 | Toyota | 205 | 2.9% | -56% | 3,551 | 4.0% | -29% | 12 |
| 13 | Chevrolet | 187 | 2.6% | -21% | 2,283 | 2.6% | -19% | 14 |
| 14 | Seat | 157 | 2.2% | -51% | 2,450 | 2.8% | -69% | 13 |
| 15 | Volvo | 148 | 2.1% | -22% | 1,762 | 2.0% | -33% | 16 |
| 16 | Skoda | 138 | 1.9% | 19% | 1,749 | 2.0% | -30% | 17 |
| 17 | Dacia | 116 | 1.6% | -18% | 1,005 | 1.1% | -49% | 21 |
| 18 | Kia | 100 | 1.4% | -63% | 1,772 | 2.0% | -28% | 15 |
| 19 | Mini | 92 | 1.3% | -21% | 986 | 1.1% | -36% | 22 |
| 20 | Smart | 91 | 1.3% | -31% | 1,528 | 1.7% | -26% | 18 |
| 21 | Honda | 85 | 1.2% | -43% | 1,387 | 1.6% | -18% | 19 |
| 22 | Hyundai | 85 | 1.2% | -17% | 1,117 | 1.3% | -58% | 20 |
| 23 | Alfa Romeo | 61 | 0.9% | -50% | 868 | 1.0% | -49% | 23 |
| 24 | Land Rover | 53 | 0.7% | 9% | 378 | 0.4% | 133% | 25 |
| 25 | Mitsubishi | 46 | 0.6% | -19% | 840 | 0.9% | -61% | 24 |
| 26 | Lancia | 36 | 0.5% | 8% | 344 | 0.4% | 2% | 27 |
| 27 | Porsche | 24 | 0.3% | -53% | 264 | 0.3% | -17% | 28 |
| 28 | Mazda | 19 | 0.3% | -73% | 359 | 0.4% | -62% | 26 |
| 29 | Suzuki | 9 | 0.1% | -70% | 157 | 0.2% | -71% | 29 |
| 30 | Lexus | 7 | 0.1% | -50% | 81 | 0.1% | -68% | 31 |
| 31 | Jaguar | 5 | 0.1% | -71% | 105 | 0.1% | -9% | 30 |
| 32 | Dodge | 1 | 0.0% | -67% | 29 | 0.0% | -73% | 32 |
| 33 | Saab | 1 | 0.0% | -67% | 13 | 0.0% | -88% | 33 |
| 34 | Ferrari | 0 | 0.0% | -100% | 10 | 0.0% | -47% | 34 |
| 35 | Aston Martin | 0 | 0.0% | 0% | 3 | 0.0% | -82% | 35 |
| 36 | Bentley | 0 | 0.0% | 0% | 3 | 0.0% | 0% | 36 |
| 37 | Subaru | 0 | 0.0% | 0% | 3 | 0.0% | 200% | 37 |
| 38 | Jeep | 0 | 0.0% | -100% | 1 | 0.0% | -86% | 38 |
| 39 | Lamborghini | 0 | 0.0% | 0% | 1 | 0.0% | -67% | 39 |
| 40 | Lotus | 0 | 0.0% | 0% | 1 | 0.0% | 0% | 40 |
Source: ANCAP, Guia de Automovel, www.mtoresmagazine.net. Many thanks to José for sharing the data!
NismoBoy: Volte para Portugal. Somos para vocês o que os EUA são para a Inglaterra. A colônia que deu certo. Vc está indo aos lugares errados e mente quando fala q vê Porsches de 15 em 15 min. Conheço países bem mais ricos que Portugal na Europa e isso não acontece. Só vi isso na California. Get Back, NismoBoy !!!
Infelizmente os Tugas não conseguem passar sem discutir! Portugal é País maravilhoso para viver e nós temos 1 grande parque automóvel! Ao contrario do Brasil onde vivo, q só circulam carroças! E qd Miguel diz que os carros premium são comprados sobretudo por “frotas” é falso! E também não acredito que a média de idade dos carros em circulação seja de 12 anos!!!
A cidade onde nasci – Leiria, tem 1 parque automóvel invejavel! Consegues ver 1 porche de 15 em 15 minutos! Aqui no Brasil passa semanas q não vejo 1!
@Miguel
People like me, who believe in my country, should go away, so that people like you, who don’t like Portugal nor Portuguese people, can stay. Yes, that makes perfect sense. Thank you so much Miguel, i now see the light. Maybe you should run for office.
@Miguel
Your Prime – Minister said that you must emmigrate. Please go and do not come back again!!!!!!!!
@tuga
Is due to people like you that the country is sinking.
@Miguel
Portugal is a great country, with great people, that is going through a very rough patch. If you don’t like it, leave.
Oh, and i’ve said it before, will say it again: As long as you keep making stuff up about my country, i will keep on coming here and call you out on it.
@tuga
Every time you write something here it´s a disaster! Keep away from here. You´re a quite strange person as all the Portuguese!
Please refrain from insulting my country and my people.
Ford doesn’t sell well in Portugal because their current crop of cars are either near replacement/renewal ( Fiesta, Kuga, Mondeo ), or not up to par with the competition and the cars they replaced ( Focus, C Max ). It’s not a Portuguese problem; Their sales are down pretty much everywhere.
@Jose
Ford models are not so cheap as in other countries. The Kuga is so high priced that few can reach. The Focus Tdci diesel is as expensive as a Bmw Serie 1. The Fiesta is not a cheap segment B car. The fine Mondeo is eclipsed by the Serie 3, A4, C Klass…
@Pedro
The majority of the Portuguese companies buy Mercedes, BMW and Audis to their fleet simply because this country is already in the consumer level and people are quite vain and do not know to handle with money, that´s why the country is in an economical and social chaos. People who drive Mercedes, BMW and Audis feel like kings even if they drive those cars with 20 years old!!!! They give more importance to a car than to them place to live! Believe it or not! It´s a quite strange country with quite strange people!!!!!!!!!!
Ford is not as popular in Portugal as Renault, Opel or VW, but the Fiesta usually stands higher in the ranking, maybe people are waiting for the restyled version with the Ecoboost engines.
Why are Ford performing so badly in Portugal? Compared to other European countries, both the Focus and Fiesta are not performing to their full potential. Is Ford dropping the ball in Portugal?
That’s no problem because the companies pay normal money for the cars like private customers.
Where’s Peugeot 208 ??? No Peugeots in November Top 20 ?
BMW Mercedes and Audi sell these numbers due to fleet ( company) sales and the best selling models are al entry – level ones – BMW Serie 1, the cheapest one, Mercedes A Class gasoline and Audi A1!!!! Average age of cars in Portugal are about 12 years old. A recent study shows that 80% of the cars in circulation have more than 10 years old. Only very rich and corrupt people with tricky business have money to buy a BMW serie 7 for instance. Only 1 Serie 7 was sold between March and November 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Those premium sales are mostly thanks to fleet sales, which are still holding sales numbers.