Best Selling Cars – Matt's blog

Peugeot 208

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

New car sales in Europe slow down their decline in October at -5% year-on-year to 1,002,167 registrations, boosted by solid performance from the UK (+12%) and Germany (+0.5%). The year-to-date total now stands at 10,743,205 units, down 7% on 2011. While the transition into the 7th generation of the model is a little wobbly in some smaller countries (namely Switzerland and Austria), the VW Golf holds onto its European pole position in October with a comfortable margin at 33,156 sales, down 10% year-on-year. The Golf has now been #1 in Europe for 31 consecutive months (since April 2010) and for 48 of the last 50 months… The Ford Fiesta, the only other model to have managed to rank #1 on the continent in the last 4 years (in March 2009 and 2010), is #2 in October at 26,145 units (-1%) and year-to-date at 264,122 (-12%).

Fiat Panda

The Peugeot 208 is back up 2 spots on September to take the third spot for the 2nd time in the last 3 months with 23,352 sales, its strongest monthly result so far. The last time a Peugeot ranked #1 in Europe was in March 2008 when the 207 sold a huge 46,500 units. The 208 manages to stay above the Renault Clio, but just: at 23,308 units the Clio is only 2% down year-on-year at up 3 ranks on last month to #4. Energised by a record performance in Italy where it lodged a 10%+ market share for the first time since 1989, the Fiat Panda reappears in the European Top 10 for the first time since last May with 17,377 sales.

Audi A3. Audi sales are up 10% year-on-year in Europe in October.

Brand-wise, Volkswagen continues to dominate the European ranking head and shoulders, posting smaller declines than the market both in October at 133,319 sales (-0.5%) and year-to-date at 1,381,193 (-3%). Ford is #2 at -7%, Renault is back up to #3 after a disastrous month of September (#7) but is still down a dangerous 24% year-on-year. Opel/Vauxhall is down to #5 while the only two brands in progression among the Top 10 are premium ones: Audi is up 10% at #6 and Mercedes is up 4% at #10, with BMW not doing too badly either at #8, down a mere 1% year-on-year.

Previous month: Europe September 2012: Toyota Yaris in Top 10, market down 11%

Previous full ranking: Europe 7 months 2012: Now available with Top 325 models!

One year ago: Europe October 2011: VW Polo back to 2nd place

Full October 2012 Top 10 models and brands Ranking Tables below.

Read more…

The 200,000th Citroen DS3 in Poissy, France November 2012

* See the full article by clicking on the title! *

Citroen achieved a significant milestone on Wednesday, with 200,000th DS3 rolling off the firm’s production line in Poissy, France. Launched in March 2010, the DS3 hit Russia later that year, Argentina in 2011, Brazil in the first half of 2012 and China in the 2nd half of this year. The DS3 is the first model of the new ‘DS’ premium series Citroen has devised to try and boost its bottom line and is only available in 3-door format whereas the C3, on which it is based, comes only as a 5-door. The DS4 and DS5 have followed since.

Citroen DS3 WRC

The DS3′s highest ranking in the world has been achieved, not surprisingly, in France where it has broken into the monthly Top 10 once at #10 in October 2010 with a record 3,962 sales and 2.3% share. For its first full year of sales it ranked #17 there in 2011 with 33,015 units and 1.5% and is #20 so far in 2012 with 21,262 sales and 1.3%.

Citroen DS3

Another country where the DS3 has done remarkably well is the UK. It finished 2011 at #51 there and is up to a fantastic #34 spot year-to-date in 2012 with 13,428 sales, becoming Citroen’s best-seller in the country ahead of the C1 (#42) and C3 (#71). In Europe as a whole, the DS3 ranked #75 in 2010 with 53,190 sales and #60 in 2011 at 72,870 units, up 37% year-on-year. Over the first 7 months of 2012 it is #67 with 40,384 sales.

See the full article below.

Read more…

* Click on title to see the Golf’s sales in Germany since 1974 and in Europe since 1983 *

By the end of 2012, the VW Golf will have been #1 in Europe for 24 of the last 30 years, and #1 in Germany for the last 32 years in a row…

Today, the seventh generation of Volkswagen’s most important model arrives in German dealerships, with other European countries following in the coming weeks. And two days ago, the German manufacturer announced it has already received more than 40,000 pre-orders.

See the Golf’s sales in Germany since 1974 and in Europe since 1983 below (57 articles!) 

Read more…

The VW Golf III sold 43,838 units in March 1993 in Germany alone, a record.

* See the direct links to these 8 Historical Data posts by clicking on the title! *

Looking to buy a new car? Find out about budget car insurance here.

Thanks to STAC and a thorough exploration of my personal (handwritten) archives I can now share with you more detail about some of the biggest European car markets in the nineties. For Germany, I now have a monthly Top 15 models ranking for the whole of 1993, there is now a full Top 50 for 1996 in the UK, for Italy I have a Top 50 for 1993, 1994 and 1996 and a monthly Top 15 for 1993 and for Spain there is now a full Top 50 for 1993, 1994 and 1996 which were missing years on BSCB… (Note: The budget car insurance link is brought to you by expressinsurance.co.uk)

What I learnt:

The VW Golf III grabbed a huge 14.5% of the German market in January 1993 and sold 43,838 units in March, its highest monthly volume in Germany ever. Note that at the time, Golf III sales were separated from the Golf II (Cabriolet) and Vento sedan, unlike today where all generations, the Golf Plus and Jetta are counted together, making this 1993 record even more impressive.

The Renault 19 was a regular Top 10 ranker in Germany in 1992-1993

The Renault 19 ranked #6 in March 1993 in Germany with 12,385 sales and 3.4% share, the ranking, volume and market share records at the time for any foreign model in the country. This record would last for 16 years until a scrappage scheme-boosted Fiat Panda reached #4 and 12,457 sales in March 2009, while the ‘half-German’ record of #2 at a5,453 units and 3.9% share was hit by the Skoda Fabia in March 2009 also.

Did you know the Fiat Uno survived as the Innocenti Mille in Italy up until November 1997?

In Italy a couple of lesser-known models by now-defunct brand Innocenti found their way into the annual Top 50 over that period: the Innocenti Elba, a rebadged Fiat Uno station wagon, ranks #43 in 1993 with 7,164 sales while the Innocenti Mille, a rebadged Fiat Uno hatchback (itself discontinued in 1995) ranks #45 in 1996 with 7,979 units. Both models were imported from Brazil. The Innocenti brand would be killed off with the Mille in November 1997.

The Hyundai Accent was the best-selling Asian model in Spain in 1996, beating all the Japanese

Last interesting bit of trivia: in 1996 and for the first time in Spain, the best-selling Asian model is not Japanese but Korean: it’s the Hyundai Accent ranking #29 with 8,319 sales. It is one of 4 Koreans (vs. 6 Japanese) in the Top 50: the Daewoo Nexia is #33, the Daewoo Aranos (aka Espero) is #37 and the Hyundai Lantra is #48. The #1 Japanese that year is the Honda Civic at #31.

The direct links to Germany, UK, Italy and Spain Historical Data are below.

Read more…

Mercedes will need the A-Class to reclaim the world #1 premium brand spot it lost in 2005

* See the full article by clicking on the title! *

Launched in mid-September across Western Europe, the new generation Mercedes A-Class already has over 70,000 orders despite being €7,000 more expensive than the similarly sized VW Golf, making it the brand’s most successful launch to date. Its dealer premiere across the continent attracted a huge 700,000 visitors…

A-Class competitor the new generation BMW 1 Series sold 150,000 units in 12 months.

This coincides with Mercedes’s new worldwide sales record in September at 123,358 units, topping the previous September 2011 record by 2%. Year-to-date, Mercedes sold 964,926 vehicles, up 5% on 2011 and here too a new record. However meanwhile both BMW at 1.110 million (+9%) and Audi at 1.097 million (+13%) have done even better, keeping Mercedes stuck in third place of the worldwide premium race…

Toyota Yaris

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

This is it. With 4 of the Top 5 European markets in significant decline in September (Germany -11%, France -18%, Italy -26% and Spain -40%), the overall new car market in Europe is now officially in recession, down 11% year-on-year this month, its biggest yoy drop so far in 2012… 1,132,908 new vehicles found a buyer in September vs. 1,275,922 on year ago, bringing the year-to-date total to 9,749,100 units, down 7% on 2011.

Prospective Golf buyers are holding off until the 7th gen becomes available in November (L’Argus)

The VW Golf holds onto its pole position with a comfortable margin but is falling faster than the market, with the 6th generation of the model on its last lap. It sold 38,669 units this month and 340,448 year-to-date (-10%), still around 100,000 above the Ford Fiesta, #2 both in September and year-to-date at -13% each time. Helped by a buoyant English market (+8%), the Opel Corsa is up one spot on August to #3 and the Ford Focus is back within the Top 10 at #4 with 24,061 sales (-24%).

Peugeot 208 

The Peugeot 208 celebrates its third consecutive month in the European Top 5 at #5 and 23,225 units, while the VW Polo is down a surprising 35% year-on-year and 5 ranks on August to #7. The main event this month is the 10th position of the Toyota Yaris, up an astounding 69% year-on-year in September to 17,933 sales and 29% year-to-date to 134,066. It’s only the 2nd time ever the Yaris manages to rank within the Top 10 most popular cars in Europe and also the 2nd time in the last 6 months with last March.

With the Nissan Qashqai ranking #9 this month, it’s only the second time in car history in Europe after last March that two Japanese models – coincidentally (?) both built locally in the UK for the Qashqai and France for the Yaris – manage to rank within the European Top 10 at the same time…

Previous month: Europe August 2012: Peugeot 208 on podium, Audi #2 brand!

Previous full ranking: Europe 7 months 2012: Now available with Top 325 models!

One year ago: Europe September 2011: Nissan Qashqai in Top 10

Full September 2012 Top 10 Ranking Table below.

Read more…

* See the entire article by clicking on the title! *

Interviewed by Reuters yesterday at the Paris Auto Show, Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said that in the face of the significant sales decline in Europe, the group is refocusing its production towards export markets outside the continent. The fall stands at -7% year-to-date and is projected to reach -8% over the Full Year 2012. He sees no respite to the decline in 2013 and even 3 or 4 further years of stagnation in Europe.

However in spite of this context, Ghosn sees “zero chance” for a government-led restructuring of Europe’s auto industry, similar to the restructuring of the US industry during the global financial crisis. This restructuring was triggered by the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler. ”Each company will have to deal with their own problems” he said. Europe still accounts for half of Renault’s sales but just last month Brazil became Renault’s #1 market in the world.

See the entire article by clicking on ‘Read more’ below.

Read more…

208 Rolls Royce Ghost were sold in Europe so far in 2012. Picture by gstaranto, all rights reserved.

* See the Top 325 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

Thanks to Lancia Lover from www.autoweek.nl I can share with you today and for the first time since last April a Top 325 (nearly all) models ranking for Europe over the first 7 months of 2012! Outside the familiar Top 10, the Fiat Panda is up 2 spots compared to the 4 months 2012 ranking to #11 thanks to its outstanding performance in Italy, but is still a good 13,000 units away from a spot in the Top 10 most popular cars in Europe. The Skoda Octavia is stable at #12 while the BMW 3 Series is up 5 ranks to #14 and the VW Tiguan up one to a best-ever #17 vs. #35 in 2011!

VW Up! Picture by L’Argus, all rights reserved.

The Mercedes B-Class is up 6 spots to #30, the Nissan Juke up one to a record #34 and the Opel Zafira up 4 to #39 thanks to the new Zafira Tourer. We welcome two newcomers in the European year-to-date Top 50: the Peugeot 208 is up 62 ranks to #44 with 59,607 sales, making its first appearance in the Europe Top 5 in July before breaking onto the podium in August, and the VW Up! lands at #45 with 59,328 units. Further down, notice the Kia Cee’d up 14 spots to #59, the Audi Q3 up 6 to #63 and the Mercedes M-Class up 15 to #108.

Peugeot 4008

Among other new models for 2012, the Mazda CX-5 and VW Beetle new generation are both up 22 ranks to #136 and #142 respectively, the Dacia Lodgy is up 92 to #163 with 9,200 sales, the Skoda Citigo is up 67 to #168, the Seat Mii up 64 to #185, the Kia Optima up 42 to #233, the Peugeot 4008 up 30 to #251 and the Toyota GT86 up 70 to #257.

Opel Ampera

The Toyota Prius has now a little more room to breathe in the hybrid/electric cars ranking, pointing its bonnet at #138 with 13,552 sales while the Lexus CT is down from #140 over 4 months 2012 to #155 now at 10,520 units. The Opel Ampera is up 7 spots to #221 ahead of the Nissan Leaf down 4 to #231 but passing the Honda Insight, down 18 to #236 while the Toyota Prius+ makes its first appearance in the European ranking at #243 with 1,640 sales, followed by the Honda CR-Z down 14 to #250. Note overall European sales of Chevrolet Volt are unavailable at this stage.

Volvo V40

A few other models show themselves for the first time: the Volvo V40 lands directly at #246 with 1,588 sales, the Chevrolet Camaro ranks #248 with 1,586 units, the Lexus GS is #258 with 1,187 sales, the Lancia Flavia is #286, the Ford B-Max is #298, the Peugeot 301 #314, the Citroen C-Elysee #316, the Dacia Dokker #319 and the Renault Zoe #324 with 11 units sold.

Mercedes CLS in Monaco, August 2012

The second half of the ranking still features a good number of luxury cars totally unaffected by the gloomy European sales context. The Porsche Cayenne is up to #143, the Mercedes CLS at #177, the Porsche Panamera at #201, the Bentley Continental GT/GTC is #261, the Ferrari 458 Italia #262, the Mercedes SLS AMG #271, the Audi R8 #277, the Aston Martin V8/V12 Vantage #283, the Ferrari California #284, the Maserati GranTurismo #290, the Rolls Royce Ghost #299 and the Lamborghini Aventador at #304.

Previous post: Europe August 2012: Peugeot 208 on podium, Audi #2 brand!

Previous detailed YTD post: Europe April 2012: Now available with Top 322 All-models ranking!

Full 7 months 2012 Top 325 Ranking Table below.

Read more…

Renault Twizy

* See the Renault Twizy’s detailed sales figures by clicking on the title! *

Around a month ago I wrote about the Renault Twizy and its sales performance in Europe where it launched 6 months ago. Being categorised as a quadricycle it doesn’t appear in traditional models rankings but Renault publishes sales figures for the Twizy every month. Peaking at 2,113 sales in April, the Twizy had sold 1,583 units in June in the whole of Europe by the time I wrote my last article about it on BSCB.

Since then, it has been a rough summer for the electric Renault, with European sales down to 749 in July and 654 in August. However these two months are traditionally slow in the continent as they coincide with the Summer school holidays so let’s wait until September figures are released to potentially start getting alarmed. The split by country has evolved quite significantly over the period, with Germany now far above the other markets with 240 sales in August, followed by France at 106, Spain at 80 and Switzerland up to #4 biggest Twizy country with 56 units sold…

Previous Twizy post: Europe: Has Renault nailed the electric car with the Twizy?

Detailed Twizy European sales figures by country below.

Read more…

Ferrari F12 berlinetta (Click on picture to enlarge)

* See more pictures by clicking on the title! *

On September 1, Ferrari started European deliveries of the ‘most powerful Ferrari yet’ – the F12 berlinetta which goes from 0 to 200 km/h in 8.5 sec and delivers Formula 1-like 740 hp. Only 3 weeks later, Ferrari says it has already sold out its first year of production which is 800 units. So if you were planning to get yourself the €274,000 / US$350,000 jewel, you’ll have to wait until September 2013 at the earliest. Tough, I know.

Ferrari F12 berlinetta (Click on picture to enlarge)

In 2011, Ferrari reached its highest annual volume ever at 7,195 sales to the network or 7,044 to end consumers, both up 9% on 2011. North America remained Ferrari’s #1 market with 1,866 vehicles sold to end consumers (+12%). In Europe, a total of 3,162 vehicles were sold (+4%), with the best performing countries being the Czech Republic (+24%), Russia (+16%), the UK (+16%), Germany (+13%) and France (+9%) while Italy was down 15%. In China, sales were up 75% to 449 vehicles.

More 2011 sales details and photos below.

Read more…