Europe First Half 2019: Dacia, Mitsubishi, Tesla can’t help market down -3.1%

The Duster (+20.8%) helps Dacia up 12.8% across Europe in H1 2019.

07/08/2019 update: Now with the Top 55 brands and Top 385 models.

New car sales in Europe edge down -3.1% to 8.426.190 units over the First Half of 2019 according to ACEA data which includes the European Union and EFTA (30 markets), after declining for 5 out of 6 months. The bad news is H2 will be even more challenging as pre-WLTP games artificially sent the market rocketing up in July and August last year and will make for daunting comparison bases. Among the main 5 markets, only Germany (+0.5%) manages to eek out a positive result, with France (-2.2%) losing less ground than Europe overall but the UK (-3.4%), Italy (-3.4%) and Spain (-4.3%) losing more. Out of the 27 market studied by JATO, only 9 score a year-on-year gain over the period: Romania (+19%), Greece (+5.2%), Hungary (+4.4%), Luxembourg (+2.1%), Norway )(+1.5%), Denmark (+1.3%), Slovakia (+0.6%) and Germany. The worst performers are Sweden (-25.6%), Lithuania (-17.1%), Finland (-13.4%), Czech Republic (-10.6%) and the Netherlands (-10.3%).

Tesla Model 3 deliveries have well and truly kicked off in Europe in 2019.

According to ACEA data, only the last two of the Top 10 groups manage a gain over the period: Toyota Motor (+0.3%) and Geely Group/Volvo (+2.4%). The rest all lose ground, with the Volkswagen Group (-4.1%) skidding faster than the market above the PSA Group (-1.2%), Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi (-5.5%), Hyundai-Kia (-0.3%) and FCA (-9.5%). The BMW Group (-1.2%) and Daimler AG (-1.5%) resist well but Ford Motor (-7.8%) dives. Brand-wise (JATO data), the Top 6 most popular are in negative with Volkswagen (-5%) here too falling faster than the market but Renault (-1.4%) and Peugeot (-1.7%) gaining share on the podium. In the Top 10, only Toyota (+0.4%) and BMW (+0.3%) very timidly edge up, with Skoda (-1.1%) and Mercedes (-2.5%) also relatively solid. Below, Alpine (+301.4%), Tesla (+246.3%), DR Motor (+170.7%), Mahindra (+127.3%), Lamborghini (+52.6%), MG (+46.7%), Mitsubishi (+15.4%), Dacia (+12.8%), Lexus (+10.8%), Bentley (+9.4%), Ferrari (+8.2%), Citroen (+5.7%) and Seat (+5.1%) are among brands managing much more sizeable gains. At the other end of the scale, Alfa Romeo (-42%), Nissan (-23.5%), Porsche (-19.5%), Fiat (-14.4%) and Honda (-13.6%) struggle.

The Ford Focus storms back into the European Top 5 for the first time in a decade.

Model-wise, the VW Golf (-14%) remains in the top spot despite a heavy loss due either to the end of its current generation’s life or internal cannibalisation by the T-Roc (up 63.2% to #16), or both. The Renault Clio (+1.8%) keeps getting closer (3.169 sales in May, 1.597 in June) and will benefit from the arrival of the 5th generation across the continent in H2… Meanwhile the VW Polo (-10%) is hurt by the arrival of the T-Cross (#103) and the Tiguan (-5.7%) falls faster than the market but steps up one spot to #4. Thanks to the new generation, the Ford Focus (+9.3%) is the biggest gainer in the Top 12 and shoots up 6 spots vs. H1 2018 to land at an outstanding 5th place. If maintained until the end of the year, this would be the Focus’s highest European ranking in over a decade – since 2008 (#3).

Can the Renault Clio V threaten an ageing VW Golf for European supremacy in H2?

The Dacia Sandero (+7%) also breaks into the European Top 10, up 5 spots to #8, and could be headed towards its very first annual Top 10 finish. The Opel Corsa (+4.4%) also impresses given its age and its imminent replacement, while the Renault Captur (+0.6%) manages to stay inside the Top 10 with less than 1.000 units more than the Skoda Octavia (-2.2%). The Ford Fiesta (-19.7%) is the biggest loser in the Top 10. Below, the Dacia Duster (+20.8%) leaps up 5 spots to #13 and could well finish the year inside the Top 10 – something it has achieved both in May (#10) and June (#7). Notice also the excellent performances of the Hyundai Kona (+76.8%), BMW X3 (+51.9%), Mercedes A-Class (+43.2%), Skoda Karoq (+36.3%), Opel Grandland X (+34%), Audi Q3 (+31.1%), Seat Arona (+29.7%) and Ateca (+28.3%). Among recent launches, the Toyota Corolla (+506.6%) is up to #51, the Volvo XC40 (+165.5%) up to #73, the Tesla Model 3 lands at #78, and the Citroen C5 Aircross at #84.

Previous post: Europe June 2019: Seat, Dacia, Toyota defy market diving -7.9%, Sandero and Duster in Top 7 for the first time

One year ago: Europe First Half 2018: Tiguan and Captur up, largest market this century

Full H1 2019 Top 10 groups, Top 55 brands and Top 385 models vs. H1 2018 figures below.