Europe October 2014: Now with Top 345 models & Top 54 brands

December 5, 2014
Matt Gasnier

The VW Golf Sportsvan is only 428 sales off a European Top 20 ranking in October.

* See the Top 345 models and Top 54 brands by clicking on the title *

After the Top 10 rankings for October, as is the tradition on BSCB we now have access to much more detailed brands and models rankings for the European continent (28 countries, listed at the end of the data tables). As a reminder, overall sales are up 7% year-on-year in October to 1.12 million units. We have already covered the main events in the Top 10, being the VW Polo up an impressive 27% on October 2013, the Opel Corsa up 24% thanks to runout rebates and the Peugeot 308 missing out on a Top 10 ranking for just 117 units instead of the 239 originally reported. This month we inaugurate a new format where we highlight 3 main events happening outside the monthly Top 10 in the models ranking.

1. VW Golf Sportsvan smashes Golf Plus scores, segment #1

For its 5th full month of sales, the VW Golf Sportsvan is up 14 spots on September to break its ranking record at #22 with a best-ever 12,203 units, only 428 sales off the Top 20. These score are spectacular and way above what the Golf Plus managed during its 10 year-career. The Golf Plus peaked at an annual #36 ranking in 2006 with 128,137 sales, but never threatened the Renault Scénic or even Citroen Xsara Picasso then C4 Picasso for the supremacy in the compact MPV segment in Europe. In October, the Golf Sportsvan outsells all its competitors in the compact MPV segment for the 2nd month running, and by far: the Scénic ranks #34, the C4 Picasso #37, the Ford C-Max #52, the Peugeot 3008 #56, the Mercedes B-Class #70 and the BMW 2 Series #103 although Active Tourer sales are not separated from the coupé yet. The annualised sales rate for the Golf Sportsvan in October is 135,000 sales, better than any Golf Plus year since the launch of the nameplate in 2005. Lastly it is very important to note that the Golf Sportsvan success has not impacted Golf sales negatively so far (+5%) however the Touran is hit hard (-34%).

VW Golf Plus annual sales in Europe:

(2014: 10 months Golf Plus+Sportsvan)

Year	Ranking	Sales
2005	47	106,075
2006	36	128,137
2007	46	102,453
2008	52	89,459
2009	40	105,689
2010	49	84,290
2011	50	84,263
2012	62	68,453
2013	64	61,712
2014	74	49,079

The Mercedes C-Class leads its segment again in October

2. Mercedes C-Class above the BMW 3 Series for the 2nd straight month

Thanks to the new model which has won outstanding praise from the specialised press worldwide, the Mercedes C-Class manages to outsell its direct competitor the BMW 3 Series for the 2nd month in a row. It leads its segment at a shiny 16th place with 13,678 sales, up 39% on October 2013 after ranking #13 in September (+23%). The BMW 3 Series suffers as a result at -20% to #18 and 12,931 units after ranking #15 last month (-30%), and also is disadvantaged by a sales transfer to the 4 Series which replaces its coupe/cabriolet variant. The 4 Series has been a very successful launch at #73 in October (5,066 sales) and #82 so far in 2014 (44,537 units). The Audi A4 is out of the race at #30 even though its sales are up 3% YOY, with the new generation due next year. Year-to-date however the BMW 3 Series keeps the lead at #13 with 146,280 deliveries (-16%) vs. #26 and 108,812 units (+7%) for the C-Class and #29 and 105,985 (-3%) for the A4. How far up can the C-Class go in 2015? Depending of how it is affected by the A4 relaunch, it could well break into the FY2015 overall Top 15. If that happens, it would only be the third time it does so since the Mercedes 200/300 Series was relaunched as the C-Class in 1993: it ranked #13 in 2001, #14 in 1994 and #16 in 1995, 2002, 2008, 2011 and 2012.

The Porsche Macan is now Porsche’s European best-seller year-to-date.

3. Porsche Macan is still the brand’s best-seller

The Porsche Macan has now enjoyed 7 full months of European sales, so the honeymoon period is coming to an end. And far from decelerating, the Macan lodges its 2nd highest volume in October at 1,836 sales, ranking #135. This means it is still the brand’s best-seller on the continent ahead of the Cayenne at #156 with 1,339 units (-13%), the 911 at #172 and 996 sales (-5%), the Panamera at #210 and 448 deliveries (-33%) and the Boxster at #216 and 400 sales (+8%). Year-to-date, even though it was not selling for 3 of the 10 months of 2014 so far, the Macan passes the 911 to now also lead all Porsche nameplates at #157 with 12,070 units vs. #161 and 11,298 for the 911. This is an earth-shattering change for Porsche which sees its sales go up 37% YOY in October and 20% YTD solely on the back of the Macan.

The Citroen C4 Cactus outsells the C4 Europe-wide for the 2nd month running.

Finally a quick review of how the latest newcomers/relaunches in the European ranking are faring this month. The Peugeot 108 is stable at #63 with 5,896 units, the Citroen C4 Cactus is up 22 spots on September to break into the European Top 70 for the first time at #69 and 5,520 sales, outselling its stablemate the C4 for the 2nd month running, the BMW X5 is up 214% YOY to #111, the Nissan X-Trail up 414% to #116, the Nissan Pulsar up 15 spots to #140, the Jeep Renegade up 78 to #153 and the Lexus NX up 61 to #159.

Previous October post: Europe October 2014: VW Polo up 28%, Peugeot 308 just off Top 10