Europe August 2019: Dacia Duster surges to #2 overall, VW T-Roc #4 in WLTP hangover (-8.7%)

The Dacia Duster is up to a record 2nd place overall in Europe in August.

10/10 update: now with Top 55 brands and Top 355 models.

27/09 update: now with final Top 25 brands and Top 100 models.

According to final figures released by JATO Dynamics, the WLTP hangover kicks in for the European new car market logically dropping -8.7% year-on-year in August to 1.070.276 as year-ago volumes were artificially boosted up 30.1% by stock clearances of non WLTP-compliant models. In fact, this fall is quite muted as we have observed in some large markets such as Germany (-0.9%), the UK (-1.6%) and Italy (-3.1%), meaning August 2019 is the 2nd largest result for the month this past decade. Year-to-date, sales are now down -3.2% to 10.80 million. Greece (+24.9%), Hungary (+20.7%), Sweden (+19.6%) and Croatia (+6.7%) are the most dynamic markets, whereas at the other end of the scale we find Iceland (-45.2%), Lithuania (-32.6%), Spain (-30.8%), Romania (-19.4%) and Portugal (-18.3%).

Mercedes is up 10.1% to #3 in Europe in August.

Group-wise, according to ACEA figures the VW Group (-8%) and Renault-Nissan (-28.1%) pay the price for abusing the pre-WLTP game last year, sandwiching PSA (-5.4%) on the podium. Daimler AG (+22.1%) is the clear winner of the month: its lineup being WLTP-ready at the same time last year it does not suffer any hangover this month. Ford Motor (+1.7%), Toyota Motor (+0.2%) and Suzuki (estimated +35%) are the additional Top 10 groups in positive in August, while Hyundai-Kia (-2.4%) and the BMW Group (-5.9%) resist better than the market but FCA (-26.5%) dives.

Skoda is up to 7th place in Europe this month.

In the brands ranking, Volkswagen (-12.9%) drops significantly faster as the market but comfortably remains in the lead with more than double the sales of any other label. The performance of the month goes to Mercedes (+10.1%), the only double-digit gainer in the Top 15 and advancing to the 3rd overall spot while Renault (-38.5%) is in absolute freefall after artificially loading its August 2018 sales, but Ford (+1.7%) manages an uptick at #2 and Audi (-8.9%) almost matches the market at #5, snapping the 7th spot YTD off BMW (-8.1%). Skoda (+6%) is up to #7 just as Peugeot (-2.2%) and Opel (-6.7%) decelerate slower than the market. Dacia (+5.5%) breaks into the European Top 10 brands for the first time in history, landing directly in 9th place overall above Toyota (+0.3%) with just under 51.700 sales. Beyond the Top 10, DR Motor (+1550%), Tesla (+367.3%), Smart (+103.5%), Lancia (+95.7%), DS (+50.5%), Suzuki (+40.5%), Lexus (+17.7%), MG (+12.9%) and Volvo (+6.3%) smile, Alfa Romeo (-63.8%), Nissan (-46.7%), Jaguar (-36.2%), Porsche (-34.9%), Subaru (-33.4%), Fiat (-27.8%), Land Rover (-28.4%) and Jeep (-24.6%) cry.

The VW T-Roc is up to a record #4 in Europe.

Over in the models ranking, below the VW Golf (-23.8%) in very delicate posture, the exploit of the month is delivered by the Dacia Duster (+11.1%) up to an incredible 2nd place overall in Europe for the month thanks to outstanding performances in Italy (#2) and Germany (#10) notably. The Duster thus smashes its previous European ranking record (#7) established just two months ago in June, becomes only the 2nd SUV in history to climb to #2 overall after the VW Tiguan last month and scores the highest ever ranking by any Dacia model in Europe, also being the first Dacia to ever rank on the European podium (previous best: #4 by the Sandero). The Tiguan (-25.1%) follows at #3 while the VW T-Roc (+27.8%) is up 6 spots on July to land at a record 4th place, eclipsing its previous best of #8 hit last January. This means there are 3 SUVs in the European Top 4 for the first time in history.

The Dacia Sandero rounds up the August European Top 5.

With the Sandero (+2%) at #5 thanks to podium finishes in Spain (#1),  Italy (#3) and France (#3), Dacia places two nameplates in the European Top 5 for the first time in history, with the Top 5 entirely composed of VW and Dacia models. The Sandero also outsells the Renault Clio (-35.9%) for the 2nd time in a row and ever, as well as the VW Polo (-21.7%), to become Europe’s best-selling small car for the month. The Opel Corsa (+21.7%) and Skoda Octavia (+0.6%) are also in positive in the Top 10 while the VW T-Cross is up 9 ranks on last month to break into the European Top 20 for the first time at #18.

The Suzuki Vitara scores its first Top 50 finish at… #24.

Notice also the Suzuki Vitara (+111%) scoring its first Top 50 finish at #24, the Toyota Corolla (+679.2%), Smart Fortwo (+148.6%), Toyota RAV4 (+61.7%), Skoda Karoq (+41.3%), Audi A6 (+36.5%), Hyundai Kona (+33%), Mercedes A-Class (+31.6%), Audi Q3 (+25.7%) and Ford Focus (+18.4%) all in outstanding shape in the remainder of the Top 50. The Toyota Corolla (9.146) is the #1 hybrid in Europe above the RAV4 (7.235), C-HR (6.541), Yaris (5.234) and Kia Niro (2.361), the Mitsubishi Outlander (2.405) is the #1 PHEV and the Tesla Model 3 (5.258) the #1 EV, well ahead of the Renault Zoe (2.894), BMW i3 (2.582), VW e-Golf (2.075) and Nissan Leaf (1.968).

Previous month: Europe July 2019: Mercedes (+18.2%), Dacia (+18%), Skoda (+14.8%) headline highest market since 2007 (+1.2%)

One year ago: Europe August 2018: Renault (+72%), Nissan (+49%), VW (+44%) play pre-WLTP sales game

Full August 2019 Top 10 groups, Top 55 brands and Top 355 models below.