Portugal April 2019: Renault (+12.2%), Peugeot (+14.7%), Citroen (+30.2%) stun, Top 5 models all French in market down -1.7%

Citroen sales soar 30.2% year-on-year in April.

New car sales in Portugal edge down -1.7% year-on-year in April to 21.121 units, a much better hold than last month (-10.8%) leading to a year-to-date tally down -4.9% to 80.566. Quite spectacularly, the Top 3 best-selling manufacturers, all French, all post market-defying double-digit gains: Renault (+12.2%) leads ahead of Peugeot (+14.7%) and Citroen (+30.2%) whereas Fiat (-6.6%) loses foot in 4th place. Only Seat (+10.6%) also manages a double-digit gain in the Top 10 while Volkswagen (-35.9%), Toyota (-20.1%) and Opel (-13.4%) skid hard. Below, Porsche (+238.9%), Mitsubishi (+82.1%), Suzuki (+63%), Hyundai (+29.8%), Volvo (+17.3%) and Mini (+17%) advance fast and Tesla is down 7 spots on March to #25.

In the models ranking, the Renault Clio (+5.8%) easily holds onto the top spot and leads a Top Five 100% French with the Renault Captur (+64.5%), Peugeot 208 (-9.8%), Peugeot 2008 (+50.2%) and Citroen C3 (+45.8%) in tow. In fact 8 of the Top 10 best-selling models post double-digit gains with the Mercedes A-Class (+58.4%), Fiat Tipo (+45.5%), 500 (+43.5%), Seat Ibiza (+35.6%) and Renault Megane (+16.8%) all scoring excellent results. The VW T-Cross is up 60 spots on its inaugural month to #55, becoming the most popular recent launch (<12 months) ahead of the Citroen C5 Aircross (#58) up 40 ranks and the Tesla Model 3 (#66) down 45.

Previous month: Portugal March 2019: Citroen (+8.2%) only gainer in Top 12, Fiat 500 (+49.5%) lands on podium in market down -10.8%

One year ago: Portugal April 2018: Renault down 13%, Peugeot up 25% in market up 14.1%

Full April 2019 Top 40 All-brands and Top 255 All-models below.