Netherlands January 2015: VW Up, Polo and Golf on top

The VW Up is the best-selling nameplate in the Netherlands in January.

* See the Top 40 All-brands and Top 268 All-models by clicking on the title *

After 7 consecutive months of year-on-year decline, the Dutch new car market is up an encouraging 8% in January to 47,946 registrations. It’s a bumper month for Volkswagen: thanks to sales up 41% to 9,197 units, the German brand holds a massive 19.2% market share, more than double any other marque in the country in January. Renault is up 28% to #2 ahead of Peugeot (+4%), Toyota (+5%) and Ford (-10%). BMW is up 24% to 8th place vs. #12 in 2014, Mitsubishi triples its sales compared to a year ago, Nissan is up 50%, Smart up 1259% and Tesla up 1471%.

The Peugeot 108 is up to #5 in the Netherlands this month.

Entering its third year as such now, it is important to keep in mind the Dutch market is skewed by preferential pricing attributed to the most eco-friendly variants of some models. This pricing impacts not just the car but also the overall amount of tax the car buyer is paying and can mean a model goes from no sale one month to #1 the next as one variant entered the preferential pricing list. In this context, Volkswagen justifies its bumper month by placing 3 models on the podium: the Up triumphs for the first time sine May 2013 with 2,979 sales and 6.2% share above the Polo at 5.3% and the Golf at 4.5%.

Renault Twingo

The Renault Clio holds the same market share as over the Full year 2014 (3.8%) but that earns it a 4th spot in January vs. #2 in 2014, the Peugeot 108 shoots back up to a best-ever #5, a ranking it also held last October, the Renault Captur is up to #7, the Toyota Aygo up to #8 and the Toyota Yaris up 17 spots on December to #9. Other great performers in the Netherlands in January include the Renault Twingo up to #11, the Citroen C4 Cactus up to a record #13 (vs. #20 at home in France), the VW Passat up to #15 and the Mini up to #20. Reversely, #1 during 6 of the last 7 months of 2014, the Peugeot 308 tumbles down to #27 this month.

Previous post: Netherlands Full Year 2014: VW Golf #1 for third time ever

One year ago: Netherlands January 2014: VW Golf #1, Renault Captur in Top 10

Full January 2015 Top 40 All-brands and Top 268 All-models below.