Europe H1 2023: VW Group (+25.4%) strong, Tesla Model Y dominates

The Tesla Model Y is the most popular vehicle across the continent over H1 2023.

31/07 update: Now with Top 86 All brands and Top 505 All models.

ACEA data shows a European market (EU+EFTA+UK) up 17.6% or almost 1 million units to 6,588,937 over H1. The H1 2022 volume was down -13.7% on the year prior. Battery Electric Vehicle registrations soar 45% over the period to 938,912 and 14.2% share vs. 11.6% a year ago, PHEVs edge up 1.7% to 480,283 and 7.3% share vs. 8.4% over H1 2022, HEVs gain 27.4% to 1,695,061 and 25.7% share vs. 23.8%, petrol is up 15.2% to 2,465,013 and 37.4% share vs. 38.2% last year and diesel retrogrades -2.9% to 842,080 and 12.8% share vs. 15.5% in 2022.

Spain (+24%) is the best performing Top 5 market above Italy (+22.8%), the UK (+18.4%), France (+15.3%) and Germany (+12.8%). Overall, Croatia (+46.2%), Portugal (+45.4%), Belgium (+35.4%), Netherlands (+31.3%) and Greece (+28.4%) fare best. Group-wise, the VW Group (+25.4%) excels in first place whereas Stellantis (+5.3%) is weak. Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi (+21.9%) also impresses but the rest of the Top 8 field all trail the market, with Toyota Group (+12.8%) and BMW Group (+9.7%) faring best.

In the brands lane, Volkswagen (+24.5%) is strong in first place, with Toyota (+13.2%) in 2nd place like last year but faring softer than the market. Audi (+26.6%) is up three spots on last year to land on the third step of the podium, with Peugeot (+7.1%) nudged down to #4 and Mercedes (+13.9%) at #5. BMW (+10.8%) drops two ranks to #6 while Renault (+19.8%) stays at #7. Skoda (+33.4%) advances three spots to #8. Dacia (+30.3%) brilliantly breaks into the Top 10 with almost 300,000 sales. Below, Tesla (+119.5%) and MG (+128%) stand out.

The models charts is completely reshuffled compared to a year ago in H1 2022. The big event is the pole position of the Tesla Model Y (+207.1%), helping the nameplate becoming the best-selling vehicle worldwide over H1 2023. The Dacia Sandero (+27.5%) stays in 2nd place, the only model near the top to hold onto its 2022 position. The VW T-Roc (+29.6%) posts a solid scores and gains two ranks on last year to land on the third step of the podium. It distances the Peugeot 208 (-4.1%) falling from #1 to #4 and just below, the Opel Corsa (+19.7%) down one spot to #5.  

Full H1 2023 Top 10 groups, Top 86 All brands and Top 505 All models vs. H1 2022 figures below.