Croatia March 2020: Fiat (+37.8%), Jeep (+100%) survive market down -46%

The Jeep Renegade is up to a record 11th place in Croatia in March.

Croatia was weighted down by two emergency situations in March. On March 17, Croatian Prime Minister Plenković announced the closure of most public venues and shops, severely curtailing car showroom activity, in order to limit the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Then on March 22, the country’s capital Zagreb was hit by its largest earthquake in 140 years. People were told to keep their distance in order to avoid infections, just as the army was clearing the streets of debris.

In this extraordinary context, Croatian new car sales collapse in March at -46% year-on-year to 2.724 units, leading to a year-to-date tally down -17.4% to 10.029. Volkswagen (-42%) reclaims the brands top spot off Skoda (-31.6%), with both carmakers losing less ground than the market. That’s not the case for Renault (-68.9%), Suzuki (-59%) and Dacia (-49.1%) rounding out the Top 5. Kia (-22.5%), Peugeot (-33.2%), Toyota (-33.3%) and Hyundai (-39.7%) also resist somewhat in the remainder of the Top 10. Below, Jeep (+100%), Mini (+100%) and Fiat (+37.8%) stand out with splendid year-on-year gains.

Over in the models ranking, the Skoda Octavia (-58.1%) 3peats at #1 with 4.8% share ahead of the VW T-Cross and Golf (-59.6%). The Dacia Duster (-58.8%) is up 7 spots on February to #4, distancing the Suzuki Vitara (-65.2%), Dacia Sandero (-39.3%) and VW T-Roc (-61.8%). The Fiat 500 (-9.1%) posts the best hold of any model in the Top 10. The Jeep Renegade surges to #11, a new ranking record and its 2nd ever Top 20 finish after February 2019 (#19), the Fiat Panda (+940%) soars to #13, the Suzuki Ignis (+10.6%) to #14 and the Skoda Karoq (+10.8%) to #20. Below the VW T-Cross, the Skoda Kamiq (#12) and Scala (#17) also make it inside the Top 20 as recent launches.

Previous month: Croatia February 2020: Skoda (+62.7%) places Octavia at #1, Kamiq and Scala in Top 10 and Kodiaq in Top 20

One year ago: Croatia March 2019: Dacia (+57.1%), VW (+15.3%) defy market down -19.9%

Full March 2020 Top 32 All-brands and Top 20 models below.