Finland January 2019: Skoda Octavia leads, Ford Focus and Volvo XC60 up in market down 13.7%

Volvo XC60 sales in Finland are up 47.2% in January.

Finnish new car sales start 2019 on the wrong foot with January deliveries down a harsh 13.7% year-on-year to just 11.636 units. Toyota (-17.7%) rallies back up from #6 in December to the brands’ pole position it held over the FY2018 even though it falls faster than the market, but Skoda (+8.1%) is less than 40 sales below at 13.5% share vs. 9.8% over FY2018. Volvo (+13.7%) posts the best performance in the Top 13 by far, hitting 10.3% share vs. just 7.7% over FY2018. Volkswagen (-21.3%) is hit hard and drops 3 spots on last month to #4, ahead of Ford (-9.7%), Kia (-7.8%), Opel (-13%) and Mercedes (-1%) all down but resisting better than the market. BMW (-41.6%) and Nissan (-32.1%) are annihilated while further down Renault (+338.3%), Mitsubishi (+167.2%), Alfa Romeo (+150%) and Jaguar (+31.8%) all stun with fantastic gains. 

Model-wise, the Skoda Octavia (-5.2%) takes the lead for the 5th time in the past year, reaching 6.4% share vs. 4.2% over the FY2018 and distancing two very dynamic nameplates: the Ford Focus (+51.3%) and Volvo XC60 (+47.2%). The rest of the Top 6 is in negative: the Toyota Auris (-10.2%), Nissan Qashqai (-19%) and Toyota Yaris (-12.8%) recede but the Renault Clio (+624.9%), VW T-Roc (+556.5%), Skoda Karoq (+536.7%), Mercedes A-Class (+122.8%), Volvo V60 (+73%), Toyota C-HR (+69.2%), Skoda Rapid (+66.2%), Kia Cee’d (+52.7%), Mercedes C-Class (+42.6%) and Toyota RAV4 (+28.2%) also shine in the Top 30 while the Volvo XC40 celebrates one year in market by snapping its first ever monthly Finnish Top 30 at #26.

Previous post: Finland Full Year 2018: Nissan Qashqai outpaces Skoda Octavia to sign second ever win

One year ago: Finland January 2018: Toyota soars 29% in market up 6.5%

Full January 2019 Top 34 All-brands and Top 35 models below.