Finland June 2020: Volvo XC40 (+73.5%) scores first Top 5 in market down -25.5%

First Top 5 finish in Finland for the Volvo XC40. Picture tekniikanmaailma.fi

The Finnish new car market slices its May loss in two with June sales down -25.5% year-on-year to 7.709 units, leading to a year-to-date tally down -21.9% halfway through the year at 46.244. Volkswagen (-23.3%) and Skoda (-23.3%) topple year-to-date brand leader Toyota (-49%) this month while Volvo (+9.5%) and Kia (+13.1%) sign splendid year-on-year gains to round out the Top 5 as they do YTD. It’s however BMW (+33.9%) that posts the largest gain in the Top 10 whereas Mercedes (-33%) and Ford (-28.8%) both underperform. Further down, Ssangyong (+900%), Fiat (+233.3%), Porsche (+113.3%), Suzuki (+43.4%), Citroen (+21.1%) and Peugeot (+8.4%) also swim upstream with solid upticks.

Model-wise, the Skoda Octavia (-34.3%) rallies back up 5 spots on May to score its first win in a year at 5.4% share, almost two percentage points above the #2, the Ford Focus (-30.7%), also up 5 ranks on last month. The Toyota Yaris (-32.8%) drops one spot to #3, distancing the VW Polo (-24.7%) up 9 to #4 while the Volvo XC40 (+73.5%) surges 16 ranks on May to break into the Finnish Top 5 for the first time at #5, eclipsing its precious best of #7 hit last April and scoring the largest year-on-year gain in the Top 10. The Kia Ceed (+22.3%) also impresses but the Toyota Corolla (-67.4%) and VW Golf (-55.2%) implode. Beyond the Top 10, the Volvo XC60 (+421.9%) is up 5-fold on June 2019 and 20 spots on last month to #11, with the Mercedes GLC (+156%), Kia Stonic (+105.6%), Hyundai i30 (+90.9%), VW T-Cross (+59.3%) and Kia Rio (+29.4%) also posting fantastic gains. The Skoda Kamiq (#16) is the only recent launch to crack the June Finnish Top 30.

Previous month: Finland May 2020: Sales collapse accelerates (-53.7%), Kia (-29.1%), Peugeot (-28.8%) resist, Ford Kuga in Top 10

One year ago: Finland June 2019: Kia (+22.1%), Opel (+18%), headline smallest post-WLTP market decline (-9.1%)

Full June 2020 Top 30 brands and models below.