Portugal January-February 2020: Renault Clio #1, Nissan Micra hits record heights

The Nissan Micra is up to #4 in Portugal in February.

In January, the Portuguese new car market drops – 8% year-on-year to 14.423 units. Peugeot (-10%) takes the brands lead despite falling faster than the market, distancing Mercedes (+10.3%), Renault (stable) and BMW (+12.5%), the two German premium marques scoring particularly impressive gains. Nissan (+26.7%) and Seat (+9.3%) also impress in the remainder of the Top 10 whereas Opel (-39.8%) and Citroen (-21.9%) implode. Further down, Porsche (+850%), Tesla (+120%), DS (+68.6%), Skoda (+36%), Mitsubishi (+34%), Hyundai (+30%), Audi (+26.6%), Honda (+13.9%) and Dacia (+12.7%) also shine.

Model-wise, the Mercedes A-Class (-6%) reclaims the top spot for an incredible 5th time in the past 7 months ahead of the Renault Clio (-6.6%), Peugeot 2008 (-10.8%) and 208 (-28%) while the BMW 1 Series (+110.5%) surges to 5th overall. The Nissan Juke (+968.2%), Mercedes CLA (+114.1%), Seat Arona (+111.3%), Renault Zoe (+87%), Peugeot 3008 (+61.3%), Hyundai Kauai (+26.9%), Nissan Micra (+25.2%) and Dacia Sandero (+15.9%) also impress in the remainder of the Top 20.

The Renault Clio reclaims the lead of the Portuguese models ranking in February.

In February, the market bounces back up 7.4% to 20.263 units, tilting the year-to-date tally into positive territory at +0.4% to 34.696. Renault (+11.7%) reclaims the brands lead it held over FY2019, both in February and YTD, outstripping Peugeot (+3.3%) while Citroen (+2.6%) is up two spots on January to ensure the Portuguese podium is 100% French for the month. Mercedes (+10%) falls two ranks to #4 but posts a sturdy gain and it’s Nissan (+89.3%) that posts the largest improvement in the Top 10 and 13. Seat (+11.2%) and BMW (+8.9%) also outpace the market in the remainder of the Top 10, while below Porsche (+294.1%), Mitsubishi (+106%), DS (+100%), Lexus (+100%), Jaguar (+37.5%), Land Rover (+29.4%), Toyota (+27.3%), Ford (+17%), Hyundai (+13.1%) and Audi (+11.6%) score the most spectacular gains.

In the models ranking, the Renault Clio (+51.1%) spectacularly reclaims the pole position with 7.1% share ahead of the Peugeot 208 (+17.3%), both nameplates now benefitting fulling from their new generation. The Citroen C3 (+9.1%) advances to #3 while the Nissan Micra (+63.2%) is up 5 spots on January to a fantastic 4th place, its highest in at least 8 years. Leader last month, the Mercedes A-Class (-11.1%) falls to #5 but still sports an outstanding 2nd spot YTD. The Mitsubishi Space Star (+232.6%), Nissan Qashqai (+83.4%), Opel Astra (+66%), Fiat 500 (+65.8%), Ford Focus (+44%), Seat Arona (+40.5%), Opel Corsa (+38.6%), Seat Leon (+35.2%) and Toyota Yaris (+27.1%) also make themselves noticed in the Top 20.

Previous post: Portugal Full Year 2019: Renault Clio resists Mercedes A-Class and Fiat Tipo assaults

One year ago: Portugal January-February 2020: Mercedes A-Class and Nissan Leaf post outstanding starts

Full January and February Top 35 All-brands and Top 245 All-models below.