Europe September 2015: Nissan Qashqai shines in UK-led month

European Nissan Qashqai sales are up 37% year-on-year in September.

* See the Top 10 best-selling brands and models by clicking on the title *

New car sales in Europe gain a very satisfying 10% year-on-year in September to 1.393.695 registrations, pushing the year-to-date total up 9% or almost 890.000 units on 2014 to 10.774.505 deliveries. If the August market was seasonally skewed towards Germany, September is traditionally led by the UK accounting for one-third of the continent sales with a record 462.517 units (+9%). Spain (+23%), Italy (+17%) and France (+9%) lead gains among the Top 5 while Germany (+5%) is shyer. Brand-wise, Volkswagen (+6%) gains less ground than the market but stays way above the competition at 156.000 sales. In fact, none of the Top 5 carmakers gain market share year-on-year, with Ford (+7%), Opel/Vauxhall (+6%), Renault (+3%) and Peugeot (+6%) all outpaced by the market.

Mercedes GLE Coupé – Mercedes sales are up 12% year-on-year in Europe this month.

On the contrary, the entire remainder of the Top 10 over-performs: all three German premium brands are in stellar shape yet in reverse order compared to the year-to-date ranking, as to was also the case last month: BMW leads the way with sales up 13%, followed by Mercedes (+12%) and Audi (+10%). Rounding up the Top 10, Nissan (+24%) and Fiat (+15%) deliver the best performances while below, Jeep (+136%), Smart (+125%), Mazda (+28%) and Mini (+15%) also get noticed.

The Opel Corsa rounds up the European podium in September.

The September European models ranking has a definite UK flavour, with the VW Golf by far the most popular despite gaining just 2%, the Ford Fiesta (-1%) back up four spots on August to reclaim the #2 spot it holds year-to-date, the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa (+10%) up 7 to land on the podium, the Ford Focus at #5 and the Nissan Qashqai up a spectacular 37% on September 2014 to jump to #6, outselling both the Renault Clio and Peugeot 208. The Skoda Octavia remains among the continent’s 10 favourite nameplates (#9) and the Opel/Vauxhall Astra posts a third Top 10 ranking in the past five months.

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Previous month: Europe August 2015: VW Passat at record #4, Skoda Fabia in Top 10

One year ago: Europe September 2014: VW Golf and Polo biggest gainers in Top 10

Full September 2015 Top 10 brands and models below.