Europe January 2023: Market up 10.7%, Dacia (+40.2%) #6, outsells Renault for 1st time, places Sandero at #1

The Dacia Sandero is the #1 model in Europe in January.

1/03 update: Now with Top 73 all brands, Top 418 all models and Top 20 BEVs.

24/02 update: Now with Top 25 models ranking.

According to preliminary data by ACEA, the European new car market (EU+EFTA+UK) continues on its upward trend in January with a 10.7% year-on-year improvement to 911,064 sales. Among the Top 5 markets, Spain (+51.4%) fares best above Italy (+19%) and the UK (+14.7%), while France (+8.8%) and Germany (-2.6%) are below the average growth rate. Greece (+90.7%), Portugal (+48.4%), Romania (+31.4%), Poland (+21%) and Austria (+20.7%) also post spectacular gains. At the opposite end of the spectrum Norway (-76.6%), Sweden (-26.6%) and Iceland (-17.2%) fall hard. JATO Dynamics says SUV sales are up 14% year-on-year to 464,900 units, crossing the 50% share barrier for the first time at 51.3%.

We now have access to volumes and market shares by propulsion. As far as BEV are concerned, no surprise we have Norway in the lead with 66.5% share above Sweden at 28.8%, Iceland at 26.8% and Finland at 26%. Northern Europe is clearly ahead of the curve at the moment as below we have Denmark (21.2%). Then Luxembourg (18.1%), Switzerland (17.3%), Netherlands (15.5%) and Portugal (15.4%). Among the Top 5 the UK and France are both at 13.1%, Germany at 10.1% Spain at a meagre 4.8% and Italy at 2.6%. Other poor performing countries include Slovakia at 1.6%, the lowest BEV share in all of Europe, Bulgaria at 2.3%, Czech Republic at 2.5%, Greece at 2.6%, Poland at 3.1% and Estonia at 3.3%.

The Volkswagen Group (+11.9%) outpaces the market slightly to easily stay atop the group charts above Stellantis (-0.2%) disappointingly stable. Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi soars 21.3% to consolidate its third position while Hyundai-Kia (+0.7%) is very shy in context and the Toyota Group (+11.4%) roughly matches the Europe-wide growth rate. Below, the BMW Group (-10.8%), Ford (-2%) and Daimler (-7.4%) struggle. Mazda (+42.1%) makes a rare appearance in the Top 10.

Brand-wise, Volkswagen (+17.4%) is just under the 100,000 sales milestone ahead of Toyota (+19.7%) and Skoda (+17.5%) at #3, its highest since April 2022 when it also ranked #3. In fact the entire Top 6 brands outpace the market with Mercedes (+13.5%) at #4 and Audi (+11.2%) at #5. Dacia (+40.7%) shoots up to a record #6, outselling sister brand Renault (+11%) for the first time in European history. Below, Tesla (+1031.6%!), MG (+159.9%), Mazda (+44%), Nissan (+25%) and Suzuki (+21.4%) shine.

For the fourth time ever after July 2021, August 2021 and January 2022, the Dacia Sandero (+18.7%) is the best-selling vehicle across all of Europe by a significant 3,000-unit margin. The VW T-Roc (+29.9%) follows ahead of the Toyota Yaris (+56%). In 4th place we have the Toyota Yaris Cross (+27%) up 11 spots on December and smashing its previous ranking record of #8 hit a year ago in January 2022. This is the Yaris Cross’s second ever Top 10 finish in Europe. The VW Tiguan (+35.9%) rounds out the Top 5 ahead of the Renault Clio (+10%). Confirming Dacia’s health this month, the Duster (+29.2%) climbs to #7, its highest ranking since last July. Leader over the Full Year 2022, the Peugeot 208 (-18%) is in difficulty at #8 yet up 9 spots on December.

Previous post: Europe 2022: Peugeot 208 ends VW Golf’s 14-year domination, market down -4.1%

One year ago: Europe January 2022: Toyota (+10.3%), Kia (+36.2%) defy market down -2.4%, Sandero #1, Yaris Cross in Top 10

Full January 2023 Top 10 groups, Top 73 all brands, Top 418 all models and Top 20 BEVs below.