Europe October 2023: Dacia (+33.3%) smiles, VW (-3.5%) cries, market up 14.1%

Dacia scores the largest year-on-year gain in the Top 15

2/12 update: Now with Top 93 All brands and Top 475 All models.

Preliminary data by ACEA shows a European market (EU+EFTA+UK) up a solid 14.1% year-on-year in October to 1,039,253 units. This is however still down -14.5% on the 1.214.989 sales from pre-pandemic October 2019. According to JATO Dynamics, sales of BEVs surge 30% year-on-year to 157,957 for the month to reach 15.2% market share. Year-to-date volumes are up 16.7% or over 1.5 million to 10,722.930. BEV sales are up 30.1% year-on-year to 158,439 and 15.2% share. This ratio is at 17.1% in Germany, 16.7% in France, 15.6% in the UK, 6.5% in Spain and 4.1% in Italy. France (+21.9%) is the most dynamic Top 5 market in October followed by Italy (+20%), Spain (+18.1%), the UK (+14.3%) and Germany (+4.9%). Other great performers include Greece (+44.8%), Cyprus (+41.4%), Poland (+27.8%), Belgium (+26.6%) and Croatia (+22.7%).

In the groups ranking, both the VW Group (+10.4%) and Stellantis (+10.8%) trail the market but still climb by double-digits. Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi rallies back up 21.2% ahead of Hyundai-Kia (+9.3%), the BMW Group (+17%) and Toyota Group (+10%). SAIC Motor (+59.7%) makes its first appearance in the Top 10 thanks to MG. Brand-wise according to JATO Dynamics, Volkswagen (-3.5%) endures the only year-on-year drop in the Top 10 while Toyota (+8.8%) is catching up but remains below the market growth rate. Audi (+20.3%), BMW (+19.8%) and Renault (+19.3%) shine below with Skoda (+24.9%) and most strikingly Dacia (+33.3%) also strong in the remainder of the Top 10. Further down, Tesla (+204.3%), Suzuki (+63.8%), MG (+61.7%), Jeep (+59.9%) and Cupra (+41.2%) stand out.

Over in the models charts, the Dacia Sandero (+38.3%) climbs back up four spots on September to clinch to the top spot for the 4th time this year after January, April and May. It however remains #2 year-to-date below the Tesla Model Y (+297.3%) down to #23 this month but now assured to end the year at #1. The Renault Clio (+17%) edges up one rank on last month to #2, its highest European ranking since the pole position it held back in November 2021. The Toyota Yaris Cross (+27.5%) surges 15 spots on September to score its first ever European podium finish at #3 while at #4 the Peugeot 2008 (+22.7%) is at its highest since January 2022 (#3). The Fiat 500 (-4.1%) rounds out the Top 5 above a strong Citroen C3 (+19.1%) whereas the Peugeot 208 (-15.1%) is in difficulty at #7. The VW Polo (+77.2%) and Ford Puma (+26.2%) also shine in the remainder of the Top 10.

Previous month: Europe September 2023: MG, Jeep euphoric in market up 11.1%

One year ago: Europe October 2022: Audi, Toyota, VW shine in market up 14.1%

Full Europe 2023 Top 10 groups, Top 93 All brands and Top 475 All models below.