Best Selling Cars – Matt's blog

Renault Megane

* See the Top 150 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

The Dutch new car market is stuck in hell this year: down another embarrassing 26% year-on-year in April to 30,538 registrations, which brings the year-to-date total to just 146,063 units, down 30% on 2012. #1 over the Full Year 2012 after leading the sales charts for 7 of the last 8 months of the year, the Renault Megane had had a shaky start of 2013. Up until April when it brilliantly reclaims the Dutch models ranking leadership thanks to 1,694 sales and 5.5% share. The VW Up! remains #2 at 1,498 units and 4.9% but still holds the pole position year-to-date with 6,331 sales and 4.3%. The Ford Focus rounds up the podium at a solid 1,329 units and 4.4%, now also #3 YTD at 3.7%.

Citroen DS5

Leader last month, the VW Golf is down to #4 but remains #2 YTD while the Peugeot 208 is up one spot to #5 which is its best ranking in the Netherlands, also reached in September, October, November and December last year. We have to go down to #36 and the Citroen DS5 to find the next striking move in the ranking: with 241 sales and 0.8% the premium French does better than at home (#55 and 0.5%). A few models make their entrance in the Dutch Top 150: the new gen Kia Carens is #65, the Renault Captur lands directly at #79, the Mercedes CLA-Class is #100 and the Opel Cascada #149.

Previous month: Netherlands March 2013: VW Golf and Up! dominate

One year ago: Netherlands April 2012: VW Polo back in the lead, Up! in Top 5

Full April 2013 Top 150 Ranking Table below.

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Ford Transit Custom

* See the Top 30 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

Sales of new Light Commercial Vehicles are down by 16% year-on-year in March in the Netherlands to 5,118 registrations, which brings the year-to-date total to 16,024 units, down a worrying 19% on 2012. The VW Caddy remains the most popular vehicle in the category but with 544 sales and 10.6% share (vs. 13.3% year-to-date) it is only 21 units above the VW Transporter at 523 and 10.2% (vs. 12.5% year-to-date). The Peugeot Partner is up one spot to round up the podium at #3 with 298 sales and 5.8%.

The best performer this month is the Ford Transit Custom shooting up 8 ranks vs. February to a brilliant 4th position thanks to 288 units sold for a 5.6% market share. It is now #7 year-to-date. The Mercedes Sprinter is down 2 spots to #5 while the Renault Trafic is up 9 to #6, the VW Crafter stable at #7 and the Renault Kangoo up 5 to #9. After breaking into the Top 10 for the first time last month, the Mercedes Citan is down one rank to #11 with a still solid 178 sales and 3.5%.

Previous month: Netherlands LCV February 2013: Mercedes Citan in Top 10

One year ago: Netherlands LCV March 2012: New Opel Combo on the up

Full March 2013 Top 30 Ranking Table below.

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VW Golf

* See the Top 100 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

No light at the end of the tunnel yet for Dutch new car sales, down 31% year-on-year in March to 35,890 registrations which brings the year-to-date total to 115,843 units, down 30% on 2012. This month the VW Golf is the most popular model in the country thanks to 1,774 sales and 4.9% share, ahead of the VW Up! at 1,457 units and 4.1% and the Renault Megane, back in great shape and up 30 spots on February to #3 with 1,254 sales and 3.5%. Year-to-date, the VW Up! reigns supreme at 4,836 units and 4.2% ahead of the Golf at 4,511 and 3.9%.

Other great performers this month include the Opel Corsa up 24 ranks on last month to #5, the Volvo V40 solid at #10, BMW 1 Series up 18 to #18, Mitsubishi Space Star robust at #35 for its second month in market, the Opel Mokka up 5 to #54 and the Skoda Rapid up 60 to #81. Finally the Bratislava sisters (VW Up!, Skoda Citigo and Seat Mii) celebrate a win over the Kolin siblings (Peugeot 107, Citroen C1 and Toyota Aygo) at 2,168 sales and 6% share vs. 1,738 and 4.8%.

Previous month: Netherlands February 2013: Kia Picanto #1 for the first time

One year ago: Netherlands March 2012: VW Up! in Top 10

Full March 2013 Top 100 Ranking Table below.

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Mercedes Citan

* See the Top 30 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

Light Commercial Vehicle sales are down a worrying 21% year-on-year in February to 4,165 registrations, bringing the year-to-date total to 10,918 units, down 20% on 2012. The VW Caddy and Transporter are once again head and shoulders ahead of the competition at 535 sales and 12.8% share and 512 and 12.3% respectively. This is way above their Full Year 2012 levels of 11.6% and 10.6%. Like in 2012, the Mercedes Sprinter rounds up the podium is weaker at 6.1% and 254 units.

Other great performers this month include the Citroen Berlingo up 6 spots on January to #5 with 184 sales and 4.4%, the Mercedes Citan breaking into the Top 10 for the first time at #10 with 154 units and 3.7% and the Ford Transit Custom in 12th place again with 135 sales and 3.2%.

Previous month: Netherlands LCV January 2013: Ford Transit Custom up to #12

One year ago: Netherlands LCV February 2012: Mercedes Sprinter still on podium

Full February 2013 Top 30 Ranking Table below.

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Kia Picanto

* See the Top 150 best-selling models and Top 39 All-brands by clicking on the title! *

Another month to forget in the Netherlands: after dropping by 32% in January, new car sales are down 27% year-on-year in February to 32,151 registrations, bringing the year-to-date total to 80,108 units, down a painful 30% on 2012. The best-seller this month is a surprise: even though it has been gravitating at the good end of the Dutch ranking since the new model was launch, it is the first time the Kia Picanto holds the pole position in the Netherlands. It does so thanks to 1,480 sales and 4.6%, exactly double its 2012 market share. The VW Golf is starting to feel the benefits of the new generation, up 3 spots to #2 at 1,286 units and 4%.

Ford B-Max

Leader last month, the VW Up! is down to a still very impressive third place with 1,281 sales and 4% but retains its crown year-to-date at 3,384 sales and 4.2%. Excellent hold of the Ford Focus at #4 and 3.7% share vs. 2.3% in 2012, while the Renault Clio is up 7 spots on January to a shiny 5th spot at 1,036 units and 3.2%. After dropping out of it for 2 months, the Volvo V40 is brilliantly back within the Dutch Top 10 at #10, the Hyundai i20 is up 47 ranks to #13, the Ford B-Max up 14 to #15 which is to my knowledge the highest monthly ranking it has reached so far anywhere in the world…

Opel Adam

Notice also the Mitsubishi Space Star (aka Mirage) landing directly at #32 with 283 sales and 0.9%, the Dacia Lodgy up 10 to #53, Opel Mokka up 37 to #59 and the Opel Adam making its very first appearance in the Dutch ranking at #65 with 134 units and 0.4%.

Previous month: Netherlands January 2013: VW Up! starts with a bang

One year ago: Netherlands February 2012: Peugeot 107 in command

Full February 2013 Top 150 models and Top 39 All-brands Ranking Tables below.

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Ford Transit Custom

* See the Top 30 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

Like Passenger Cars (-32%), Light Commercial Vehicle sales in the Netherlands are down a painful 29% year-on-year in January to 6,757 registrations. The VW Caddy remains the favourite with 1,061 sales and 15.7% followed by the VW Transporter at 967 units and 14.3%, both well above their FY2012 results respectively of 11.6% and 10.6%.

The Peugeot Partner brilliantly stays on the podium at #3 with 398 sales and 5.9% vs. #6 in 2012 while both the Mercedes Sprinter and VW Crafter are up 8 spots on December to rank #4 and #5 respectively. Outside the Top 10, the Ford Transit Custom takes off and gains 9 ranks on last month to reach the 12th place at 221 units and 3.3%, equal with the other successful newcomer of the last few months: the Mercedes Citan.

Previous post: Netherlands LCV Full Year 2012: VW Caddy #1, Mercedes Sprinter up

One year ago: Netherlands LCV January 2012: Mercedes Sprinter on podium

Passenger Cars post: Netherlands January 2013: VW Up! starts with a bang

Full January 2013 Top 30 Ranking Table below.

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VW Up!

* See the Top 150 best-selling models and Top 40 All-brands by clicking on the title! *

New car sales in the Netherlands are down a painful 32% year-on-year in January to 48,036 registrations. Given January is traditionally the year’s strongest month for the Dutch market, this doesn’t bode well for the rest of 2013… One model that is starting the year with a bang is the VW Up!, leading the sales charts for the second time ever after last September with 2,103 sales and 4.4% share. The Peugeot 107 is also in great shape, up 2 spots on December to #2 at 1,824 units and 3.8%, as is the Renault Twingo up 9 to #3 with 1,697 sales and 3.5%, the Ford Focus up 15 to #4 and the VW Golf up 44 to #5.

BMW 3 Series

As is has been the case all through 2012, the fuel efficient models benefitting from government preferential pricing see their ranking hike up when selected and drop when dumped, and this month it is the case for the Renault Megane, exceptional leader in 2012 but down to a paltry #33 in January. Great performers in the Netherlands this month include the BMW 3 Series up 24 ranks to #9, the Volvo V40 up 4 to #13, BMW 5 Series up 48 to #16, Audi A1 up 75 to #18, Ford B-Max up 19 to #29, Mazda CX-5 up 46 to #48, Dacia Lodgy up 15 to #63 and the Honda CR-V up to #87. Notice also the Opel Mokka stable at #96, the Fiat 500L at #107 and the Skoda Rapid at #128.

Previous post: Netherlands Full Year 2012: Renault Mégane up 164% to #1

Previous month: Netherlands December 2012: Opel Ampera and Citroen DS5 at world best

One year ago: Netherlands January 2012: Peugeot 508 and Lexus CT amaze

Full January 2013 Top 150 models and Top 40 All-brands Ranking Tables below.

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* See the Top 35 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

The new Light Commercial Vehicle market is down 4% year-on-year in the Netherlands to 56,568 registrations, holding a little better than the Passenger Car market down 6%. The Top 2 best-selling models stay unchanged on 2011 but both lose more ground than the market overall, resulting in lower market shares: the VW Caddy leads the way with 6,541 sales and 11.6%, down 14% and followed by the VW Transporter at 6,006 units and 10.6%, down 8%.

VW Caddy

Excellent year for the Mercedes Sprinter, up 20% and 2 spots to climb onto the year-end podium with 4,111 sales and 7.3%. Other great performers this year include the Peugeot Partner up 30% to #6, VW Crafter up 13% to #9, Citroen Berlingo up 17% to #12, Peugeot Expert up 67% to #13, the Opel Combo Van landing directly at #15, Opel Movano up 27% to #17 and Peugeot Boxer up 41% to #18.

Previous month: Netherlands LCV November 2012: Mercedes Citan lands at #11

Previous year: Netherlands LCV Full Year 2011: VW Caddy and Transporter lead

Full Year Top 35 and December Top 30 models Ranking Tables below.

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Renault Mégane

* See the Top 150 best-selling models and Top 40 All-brands by clicking on the title! *

The Dutch new car market is down 6% in 2012 to 502,544 registrations and the Netherlands have become a case study of how government incentives towards low emission models can completely reshape a country’s models ranking. The way this worked is low emission vehicles remained at the same price while ‘polluters’ had a significant CO2 fee added to their normal price. As the models benefitting from this preferential pricing kept changing through the year, the ranking was highly impacted by these changes, with some vehicles achieving world best figures one month and a few units the next.

Case in point: the Renault Mégane, outside the Top 10 for 2 years up until May when it ranked #1, staying there for 6 of the following 7 months and peaking at an out-of-this-world 10% share in November. It finishes the year in pole position with 21,434 sales and 4.3%, up a huge 164% on 2011, making the Netherlands the only country in the world to crown the Mégane.

VW Up!

The VW Polo is down 24% year-on-year and one spot to #2 with 18,785 sales and 3.7% while the Peugeot 107 stays #3 at 15,765 units and 3.1%, down 25%. The Kolin sisters add up to 34,027 sales and 6.8%, down 28%. Exceptional first year for the VW Up!, landing directly at #4 with 12,747 units and 2.5%, even topping the ranking in October. Other great performers in the Dutch Top 10 this year include the Ford Focus up 18% to #6, the Kia Picanto up 23% to #7 and Toyota Yaris up 120% to #9.

Lexus CT200h

Further down, notice the Peugeot 508 up 16% to #13, the Peugeot 208 arriving at #18, the Kia Rio up 226% to #19, BMW 3 Series up 63% to #20, Lexus CT up 43% to #43 and the Audi A5 up 67% to #48. Apart from the VW Up! and Peugeot 208, there are 8 all-new models in the Top 100 this year: the Toyota Prius+ at #46, Volvo V40 at #56, Opel Ampera at #58, Mazda CX-5 at #62, Seat Mii at #81, Skoda Citigo at #86, Citroen DS5 at #98 and Audi Q3 at #99.

Previous post: Netherlands December 2012: Opel Ampera and Citroen DS5 at world best

Previous year: Netherlands Full Year 2011: VW Polo and Renault Twingo on top

Full Year 2012 Top 150 models and Top 40 All-brands Ranking Tables below.

Read more…

Opel Ampera

* See the Top 100 best-selling models by clicking on the title! Thanks Rutger for the explanations *

* See the Full Year 2012 post here *

New car sales in the Netherlands are up 6% year-on-year in December to 18,306 registrations, bringing the Full Year 2012 total to 502,544 units, down 10% on 2011. The Renault Megane continues to evolve at stratospheric heights, boosted by the preferential pricing of its low emission diesel version: it sells 1,739 units for a fantastic 9.5% market share, and is followed this month by the VW Polo at 6.5% and the Toyota Aygo at 4.1%. The Kolin sisters have another great month indeed with the Peugeot 107 at #4 and the Citroen C1 at #11, adding up to 1,801 sales and 9.8% share.

Citroen DS5

Other great performers in December include the Peugeot 208 at #5, Seat Ibiza up 13 spots to #6, Mazda6 up 57 to #13, Fiat Punto up 17 to #15 and the Renault Clio up 39 to #16, most of them because their preferential pricing ended this month. The Opel Ampera is up 11 ranks on November to break into the Dutch Top 20 for the first time in any country in the world at #18 with 240 sales and 1.3% while the Citroen DS5 is up 9 spots to a world-best #22 at 225 units, both models benefitting fully from the preferential pricing for hybrid vehicles. Notice also the Ford B-Max up 11 ranks to break into the Top 50 for the first time at #47 and the Opel Mokka at #94.

Full Year post: Netherlands Full Year 2012: Renault Mégane up 164% to #1

Previous month: Netherlands November 2012: Renault Megane hits 10% market share!

One year ago: Netherlands Full Year 2011: VW Polo and Renault Twingo on top

Full December 2012 Top 100 Ranking Table below.

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