Europe June 2020: France (+1.2%) helps limit fall to -24.1%, Volvo & Porsche up, Renault Clio triumphs, Peugeot 2008 scores first ever Top 10

The Peugeot 2008 secures its first ever Top 10 finish in Europe.

31/07 update: Now with Top 56 All-brands and Top 352 All-models.

30/07 update: Now with Top 100 models.

29/07 update: Now with Top 10 models, Top 10 EV, hybrid and PHEV models.

It should come as no surprise if you have followed our COVID-19 Live Dashboard closely over the past couple of weeks: the European new car market is down -24.1% year-on-year in June to 1.131.843 units (EU+EFTA+UK). That’s much better than March (-51.9%), April (-78.2%) or May (-56.8%) and clearly indicates new car sales on the continent are on the mend. However this overall declines hides many disparities between countries. Thanks to efficient government incentives, France (+1.2%) is the only European market to have managed a spectacular return to positive in June and distances Germany to #1 market in Europe for the first time in over 30 years: since January 1990.

Major 5 European markets January-June 2020. Source UNRAE

Belgium (-1.8%), the Czech Republic (-5.2%) and Slovenia (-5.8%) the only ones keeping their loss to the single-digits. For their part Luxembourg (-10.5%), Denmark (-13.4%), Switzerland (-13.8%), Austria (-18%0 and Cyprus (-19.9%) hold back their decline to below -20%. Among major markets, Italy (-23.3%) fares much better than Germany (-32.2%), the UK (-34.9%) and Spain (-36.7%). Portugal (-56.2%) is the only European country still losing more than half its sales vs. June 2019, with Croatia (-49.4%), Lithuania (-40.8%), Iceland (-39.4%), the Netherlands (-39.2%) and Greece (-37.2%) also struggling.

Volvo is the only Top 25 brand to gain ground year-on-year in June.

Among the Top 5 most popular carmaker groups in Europe in June, only Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi (-18.6%) manages to outpace the market – and quite significantly. In contrast, the VW Group (-25.9%), BMW Group (-26.3%), Hyundai-Kia (-26.7%) and PSA Group (-29.6%) all lose share vs. June 2019. But it’s the Toyota Group (-13.5%) that fares best among major groups, with Daimler AG (-19.2%) also resisting very well. Geely Group (+0.2%), in essence Volvo, edges up which is a phenomenal performance in the current context.

Porsche European sales are up 9.1% year-on-year in June.

Brand-wise, Volkswagen (-28.2%) struggles with the steepest year-on-year fall in the Top 12 and sees its advantage over #2 Renault (-15.1%) thaw to just 11.384 units. Reversely, Mercedes (-11%), Skoda (-11.9%), Toyota (-15.2%), Peugeot (-16.5%) and Dacia (-19.4%) all vastly outpace the market in the remainder of the Top 10. Naughty kids: Audi (-27%), BMW (-26.3%) and Ford (-24.6%) but naughtiest of all is Opel/Vauxhall (-48%) losing almost half its June 2019 volume as the Adam, Karl and Mokka got discontinued in the interval. Below, Porsche (+9.1%) and Volvo (+2.8%) secure the only year-on-year gain in the Top 30, with Lexus (-1.6%) drastically containing its fall and Great Wall (+2150%), MG (+112%), Mahindra (+20.4%), Bentley (+10.7%) and Ferrari (+6.3%) standing out further down.

It’s a European triumph for the Renault Clio in June.

This month the European models ranking definitely has a French accent due to the over-performing of this market. The Renault Clio (+3.2%) bucks the negative trend to lodge a third win in the past 5 months, and this time it is actually a triumph with a 12.645-unit advantage over the VW Golf (-34.9%). It is now the 7th time in the nameplate’s 30-year history that the Clio is #1 across Europe after September 1991, April, June and October 2006 and February and May 2020. The Clio is the overall best-seller in France, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Slovenia and Croatia, with the 5th generation accounting for 79% of its June European sales whereas the Golf is still handicapped by a slow expansion of its 8th generation which only accounts for 28% of its total. The Renault Captur (-20.9%) is also boosted by the new model to become the best-selling SUV across Europe in June, cracking the podium for the third time ever after December 2017 and June 2019.

The Renault Captur scores a third ever European podium finish.

The Dacia Sandero (-10.6%) remains at #4, meaning the Renault Group places 3 models in the June Top 4, and the Toyota Yaris (-1%) soars 8 spots on May to land at #5, its highest European ranking since October 2018 even though the new generation only represents 6% of its June total. In the remainder of the Top 10, the Peugeot 208 (-8.2%), Ford Focus (-10.4%), Dacia Duster (-19.7%) and VW Tiguan (-22.3%) all outpace the market but the hero of the month is the Peugeot 2008 (+10.2%) scoring the only double-digit gain atop the charts and breaking into the European Top 10 for the very first time at #10 (previous best #12 achieved just last month), even though the EV variant is still gearing up. The Renault Zoe (+118%), Volvo XC40 (+55.9%), Mercedes GLC (+14.7%), Hyundai Kona (+14.5%), Renault Twingo (+8.5%) and VW T-Cross (+0.9%) sign the only additional gains in the Top 50.

First appearance of the Mazda MX-30 in the European charts.

Among recent launches (<12 months), the Ford Puma (#27) breaks into the European Top 30 for the first time, with the Skoda Kamiq (#47) remaining in the Top 50. They distance the Mazda CX-30 (#95), Audi Q3 Sportback (#99), Kia Xceed (#107) and the new Land Rover Defender up 78 spots on May to #156. We welcome the Honda E at #252, the Mazda MX-30 at #296 and the Polestar 2 at #303. The Renault Zoe is the #1 EV above the Tesla Model 3, VW Golf and a surging Peugeot 208 (up 4 to #4), the Toyota C-HR, Corolla, Yaris and RAV4 are the best-selling hybrids while in the PHEV charts the Ford Kuga and Mitsubishi Outlander are followed by the Volvo XC40, XC60 and V60.

Previous month: Europe May 2020: UK weakens market recovery to -56.9%, Mercedes, Volvo, Tesla and DS stand out, Clio #1

One year ago: Europe June 2019: Seat, Dacia, Toyota defy market diving -7.9%, Sandero and Duster in Top 7 for 1st time

Full June 2020 Top 10 groups, Top 56 All-brands, Top 352 All-models, EV, hybrid and PHEV models below.