Poland September 2012: Nissan Qashqai beats records

Nissan Qashqai

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

The Polish car market is now feeling the heat of the European recession, down 13% year-on-year in September to 21,400 registrations, however the year-to-date total is still in positive at 234,699 units, up a shy 1% on 2011. Note from 2012 onwards LCV sales are included in the total which explains the discrepancy with 2011 Polish BSCB articles. The Skoda Octavia celebrates its 43rd consecutive month atop the Polish models ranking (since March 2009!) with 997 sales and 4.7% share, reinforcing its 2012 year-to-date leadership at 12,988 units and 5.5%.

VW Golf

Big event in 2nd place: the Nissan Qahsqai, a full 3 years after its facelift, climbs 3 ranks on August to reach its highest ever position in Poland and thanks to 641 sales it also delivers it strongest ever market share in the country at 3%. Its previous best were #3 and 2.7% last June with the 709 sales record it hit then still standing. Needless to say the Qashqai continues to be one of the biggest success stories of the European car market in the last decade. It is now #5 year-to-date at 5,553 units and 2.4%.

Hyundai i20

The VW Golf is in great shape this month: up 3 spots on August to land #3, its highest Polish ranking so far in 2012 and its first time at that level since October 2010, potentially due to the current generation now in run-out mode. The Toyota Yaris is down 2 to #4 while the Ford Focus is up 6 to #5. The Kia Sportage impresses at #10 (+4), as does the Kia Cee’d at #12 (+13), the Hyundai i30 at #13 and the Hyundai i20 up a huge 28 ranks to #14. Notice also the Peugeot 208 and VW Tiguan both up 8 to #18 and #24 respectively, the VW Jetta up 12 to #29 and the Skoda Citigo within the Top 30 for the 2nd month in a row at #30.

The Skoda Fabia has dropped to never-seen-before lows in Poland at #9 and 1.9% share, potentially in anticipation of the imminent launch of the Skoda Rapid. Further down, the Volvo XC60 is up 39 spots to #40, the Mercedes A-Class up 66 to #42, the VW Up! 8 to #51, the BMW 3 Series at #58 vs. #93 year-to-date, the Mazda CX-5 up 17 to #71, the Dacia Lodgy up 1o to #80 and the Volvo V40 up 67 to #88 with 65 sales and 0.3% share.

Previous month: Poland August 2012: Toyota Yaris at its highest in over 2 years

One year ago: Poland September 2011: Skoda Octavia and Ford Focus strong

Full September 2012 Top 150 Ranking Table below.