Netherlands February 2020: Kia and Niro score first ever wins, Opel Ampera-e in Top 10

The Kia Niro is the #1 car in the Netherlands in February. Picture autoblog.nl

Dutch new car sales go against the European grain in February, edging up 0.3% to 29.868 units which reduces the year-to-date tally drop to -4% at 73.898 units. The hero of the month is Kia (+32.4%) taking control of the brands ranking for the first time in Dutch history at 8.8% share, toppling Volkswagen (-22.6%) at 8.3% while Opel (-13.7%) leaps up 5 spots on January to #3. According to our records, Kia’s previous ranking record in the Netherlands was #2 in February 2014 and February 2016. Toyota (+39.2%), BMW (+33.2%), Renault (+7.3%) and Mercedes (+6.9%) also impress with solid gains in the remainder of the Top 10, while further down Porsche (+323.7%), Mitsubishi (+86.2%), Jaguar (+75.7%), DS (+38.2%), Fiat (+30%), Land Rover (+20%) and Suzuki (+18.6%) stand out. Tesla (-68.3%) completely implodes.

Model-wise, the Kia Niro (+95.9%) almost doubles its sales year-on-year to snap the overall pole position for the first time in Dutch history, its previous best being #2 last October. The Renault Clio (+57.3%) is also very strong at #2, overtaking the Ford Focus (-23.8%) with the VW Golf (+15.7%) and Kia Picanto (-19.7%) rounding out the Top 5. The Opel Ampera-e (+1247.9%) gets a second life at #8, its first ever Top 10 finish in the Netherlands. In fact, the Ampera-e had never broken into the Dutch Top 90 until last November (#73), then ranking #33 in December and #47 in January.

Previous month: Netherlands January 2020: Volkswagen places 6 models in Top 12 in market down -7.1%

One year ago: Netherlands February 2019: Ford Focus #1, VW T-Roc on podium, Tesla Model 3 at #15

Full February 2020 Top 40 All-brands and Top 255 All-models below.