Europe November 2019: VW Group (+13.4%) pulls market up 4.5%

Audi (+39.4%) recovers from dismal post-WLTP year-ago volumes.

15/01/20 update: Now with the Top 350 All models.

08/01/20 update: Now with the Top 100 models and Top 55 brands.

According to ACEA, the European new car market continues to benefit from weak year-ago volumes impacted by the WLTP transition and register a third consecutive year-on-year gain in November at +4.5% to 1.210.860 units, the 2nd largest result for the month in the past 11 years below 2017. The year-to-date tally is now only down a smidgen (-0.3%) vs. its 2018 volume at 14.542.126. Germany (+9.7%) performs best among the top markets and is the only one outpacing the continent, distancing Spain (+2.3%), Italy (+2.2%), France (+0.7%) and the UK (-1.3%). Romania (+57.7%), Hungary (+25%), Sweden (+18.2%), Ireland (+17.7%), Netherlands (+13.1%) and Luxembourg (+12%) all manage double-digit gains, whereas Norway (-18.5%), Iceland (-11.1%), Slovakia (-3.9%) and Latvia (-3.4%) all skid significantly.

The new CX-30 lifts Mazda up 27.9% in November…

The groups ranking gives a clear reading as to who is responsible for the European market uptick this month: the VW Group up 13.4%. It is indeed recovering from dismal sales a year ago when it struggled to make its lineup WLTP-compliant, and although an SUV push is also helping, this month’s performance doesn’t really reflect the current health of the German manufacturer. Already fully WLTP-compliant well before the September 1 deadline last year, the PSA Group (-7.9%) only edges down but is again torpedoed by horrendous Opel/Vauxhall results (-22.1%), however remaining #2 above Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi (+1.7%) which drastically slows its growth. Daimler AG (+7%) leapfrogs past the BMW Group (-0.1%) and Hyundai-Kia (+6.9%) to #4 but remains #6 YTD, with Toyota Motor (+6.7%) and Ford (+3.4%) posting the largest gains in the remainder of the Top 10.

…while the new UX propels Lexus up 23.1%.

Brand-wise (JATO Dyamics figures), Volkswagen (+10.8%) and Renault (+12.5%) cement their domination with the largest gains in the Top 8 but this is mainly due to paltry year-ago volumes, and if VW is up 7.3% on November 2017, showing it has completely recovered from WLTP disruption, Renault remains down -18.2 vs. two years ago. Ford (+4.6%) is back on the podium above Mercedes (+3.7%), Peugeot (-1.2%) and BMW (+2.7%) while at the tail end of the Top 10, Audi (+41.3) and Toyota (+6%) surge ahead. Below, Smart (+58.5%), DS (+41.3%), Lexus (+24.5%), Seat (+12.1%), Mazda (+9.6%) and Hyundai (+6.9%) are very strong while Tesla (+350%) is back inside the Top 30 as the end of quarter approaches and Porsche (+290.4%) recuperates from catastrophic year-ago volumes.

The Ford Kuga signs its first Top 10 and Top 5 finishes in November.

In the models ranking, the VW Golf (-9.6%), Tiguan (+35.4%), Renault Clio (-8%) and VW Polo (-18%) lead the way, replicating the YTD Top 4 albeit in a slightly different order. The “hero” of the month is the Ford Kuga (+69.1%) up to an extravagant 5th place (previous record: #15 in March 2018) filling up on “polluting” variants registrations notably in Germany before tougher CO2 emissions come into place in January. The Renault Captur (+42.9%) is also in exceptional form as the new generation gets distributed to dealerships across the continent. The Mercedes A-Class (-4.6%) is back inside the Top 10 for the 2nd time in the past 3 months despite slowing down year-on-year, with the Audi A4 (+172.4%), BMW 3 Series (+65.7%), Mercedes B-Class (+55.4%), Smart Fortwo (+53.3%) and Toyota RAV4 (+52.3%) also very dynamic. The VW T-Cross (#20) leads recent launches above the Tesla Model 3 (#51), Skoda Scala (#68), Mazda CX-30 (#94) and Skoda Kamiq (#101).

Previous month: Europe October 2019: VW Group (+31%), Renault (+15.2%) return to normal in market up 8.6%

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

Full November 2019 Top 10 groups, Top 55 brands and Top 350 models below.