Europe November 2018: Audi (-39%), Renault (-27%), Nissan (-26%) pull market down 7.2%, Sandero at record #4

The Dacia Sandero is up to a record 4th place in Europe.

This post has now been updated with the Top 55 brand and Top 50 models.

According to our partner JATO Dynamics, the European new car market (27 countries) drops another 7.2% year-on-year in November to 1.154.817 units, still not rid of post-WLTP lethargy as sales pulled forward to summer to exhaust existing stock of non WLTP-compliant vehicles have depressed continent-wide deliveries since September. The year-to-date volume is now only edging up compared to the same period in 2017 at +0.6% to 14.379.708 units and could tilt the 2018 annual result into negative at the last minute if December figures remain weak. Only 5 markets out of the 30 covered by ACEA, a different body including more countries than JATO, manage a positive result in November: Lithuania (+17.2%), Greece (+5.7%), Latvia (+4.9%), Poland (+2.1%) and Slovakia (+0.6%), with Estonia (-0.1%), Denmark (-0.6%), Croatia (-1.6%) and the UK (-3%) only marginally in positive but other heavy weights such as France (-4.7%), Italy (-6.3%), Germany (-9.9%) and Spain (-12.6%) struggling. The hardest hit are Iceland (-29.7%), Sweden (-20.5%), Austria (-20.1%), Luxembourg (-19.6%) and Slovenia (-17.5%).

Mercedes is the only Top 8 carmaker to post a year-on-year gain in Europe in November.

The Top 4 brands all outpace the market, with Volkswagen (-3.9%) now recovered pulling the VW Group to a more digestible 11.6% year-on-year fall (vs. -21.6% in October and -48.4% in September), Ford (-6.3%), Peugeot (-6.4%) and Mercedes (+0.2%) the only carmaker in the Top 8 to register a year-on-year uptick. Renault (-27.3%) on the other hand is in very bad shape and remains stuck in 5th place vs. #2 YTD where its tally (-2.1%) is now in negative. Toyota (+0.5%) is the only other Top 10 carmaker in positive, with BMW (-0.6%) and Skoda (-3%) gaining share, Opel (-6.9%) matching the market but Fiat (-11.7%) weak again. Outside the Top 10, Mitsubishi (+42.2%), Jaguar (+28.3%), Jeep (+26.1%), Lancia (+14.1%), Volvo (+12.6%) and Dacia (+10.5%) stun with double-digit gains whereas Porsche (-57.3%), Alfa Romeo (-43.5%), Audi (-39.3%) and Nissan (-25.7%) remain in hell.

The new i-Pace helps Jaguar up 28.3% across Europe.

Model-wise, below the VW Golf (-10.8%) and Renault Clio (-9.3%) both in steep decline, the VW Polo (+60.4%) is boosted by the new generation and misses out on the 2nd spot for just over 100 sales. The Dacia Sandero (+22.8%) is up 9 ranks on October to hit a new record at #4, eclipsing the #5 it reached in August 2017. The Ford Fiesta (-17.5%) and Toyota Yaris (+4.5%) are knocked down to #5 and #6 respectively above the Peugeot 208 (-17.3%) and VW Tiguan (-13.5%) while the Ford Focus (-0.1%) is up 6 spots on October to return inside the Top 10 at #6 and the Mercedes A-Class surges 50.5% year-on-year thanks to the new model, cracking the European Top 10 at #10 for only the 2nd time in the nameplate’s history after last September (#6).

Previous month: Europe October 2018: Post-WLTP hangover softens (-7.4%), VW Group (-21.6%) still struggles

One year ago: Europe November 2017: 3008 and 208 lift Peugeot up 20.7%

Full November 2018 Top 55 brands and Top 50 models below.