Netherlands February 2015: Kia Picanto & Suzuki Alto shoot to top

The Kia Picanto is the best-selling nameplate in the Netherlands in February and year-to-date.

* See the Top 250 All-models and Top 38 All-brands by clicking on the title *

Now in its third year, 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, new car sales in the Netherlands are up year-on-year for the 2nd straight months after a string of 7 months in a row in red at +2% in February to 33,944 registrations, which brings the year-to-date total to 81,596 units, up 5% on 2014. Volkswagen pays the price of a bumper month in January (19.2% share): it sinks to #5 overall this month with just 7.4% of the market, down 24% on February 2014, but remains #1 year-to-date at 14.3%. Renault leads the way in February thanks to sales up 52% above Peugeot (+18%) and Toyota (+69%). Other great gainers this month include Jeep (+600%), Porsche (+96%), Mini (+76%), Nissan (+40%) and Mitsubishi (+28%).

Suzuki Alto

The February Dutch models ranking is faithful to its traditional volatility with a completely new Top 5 compared to January: the Kia Picanto shoots up 5 spots to pole position with a massive 1,998 sales and 5.9% earning it the top spot year-to-date also, the Suzuki Alto is up 30 ranks to #2 and 4.6%, the Toyota Aygo up 5 to #3, Toyota Yaris up 5 to #4 and Renault Twingo up 6 to #5, kicking down the Renault Clio and Peugeot 108 two ranks to #6 and #7 respectively. Leader in 2014 but #4 so far in 2015, the VW Golf is down to #8 in February. Finally, notice the Seat Mii up 16 spots to #13, the Citroen C4 Cactus and Mitsubishi Space Star both holding up well at #16 and #18 respectively, the Peugeot 2008 up to #19 and the Suzuki Celerio up to a best-ever #34.

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

One year ago: Netherlands February 2014: Suzuki Alto leads wild ranking

Full February 2015 Top 250 All-models and Top 38 All-brands below.