Europe December 2014: Peugeot 308 breaks ranking record again

The Peugeot 308 is up to a best-ever 8th place in December

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The European new car market delivers a 16th consecutive month of year-on-year gains in December at +5% to 997,210 registrations, bringing the final 2014 tally to just below 13 million units, also up 5% on 2013. Brand-wise, below Volkswagen shy at just +2%, Renault overtakes Ford to rank 2nd overall thanks to sales up 8% and a 7.6% market share, almost one percentage point above its 2014 level, while Opel/Vauxhall remains in 4th place. Peugeot (+8%), BMW (+12%) and most of all Mercedes (+17%) also shine whereas Audi drops to #8 and #3 premium at +2%. Skoda (-1%) and Citroen (-4%) disappoint.

The Renault Captur is inside the European Top 10 for the 2nd time ever.

The VW Golf is once again the best-selling nameplate on the continent and has now stabilised at +1% year-on-year to 37,265 sales. The Renault Clio (+8%) and VW Polo (-2%) exchange positions compared to November, with the Ford Fiesta (-10%) only 21 units above the Opel Corsa (+8%). Thanks to sales up 9% in 6th position, the Skoda Octavia overtakes the Nissan Qashqai (+22%) year-to-date to rank #8. The Renault Captur brilliantly lodges its 2nd ever European Top 10 ranking at #9 with 15,359 units (+14%) after the #7 it reached last June.

Mercedes sales are up 17% in December.

But the best performance of the month in the European Top 10 is once again delivered by the Peugeot 308. After breaking the nameplate’s ranking record last month at #9, it does so again in December at #8 with sales up 76% year-on-year to 15,412. This way the 308 outsells the Opel Astra for the third consecutive month, and the Peugeot 208 – kicked out of the Top 10 for the first time since June 2012 – for the 2nd time in a row. This is the highest European ranking hit by a compact Peugeot since the 307 in July 2006.

Previous post: Europe 11 months 2014: Discover the Top 357 models and all brands

Previous month (complete): Europe November 2014: Opel Mokka above Astra for the first time

Previous month (Top 10): Europe November 2014: Peugeot 308 breaks ranking record at #9

One year ago: Europe December 2013: VW Golf up 64%, Skoda Octavia up 53%

Full December 2014 Top 10 models and brands Ranking Tables below.