Europe January 2026: Renault Clio and VW T-Roc best-sellers, registrations off -3.6%

20% of the Renault Clio’s January volume is the new generation.

947,482 new cars found a buyer in Europe (EU+EFTA+UK) in January, a -3.6% year-on-year contraction. ACEA has the market down -3.5% to 961,382. This is the first time sales are down year-on-year across the continent since last June. BEV sales defy the negative market and are up 13.9% to 189,062 or 19.7% share vs. 16.7% a year ago in January 2025. The biggest markets for BEVs are Germany at 42,692 (+23.8%), France at 30,307 (+52.1%), the UK at 29,654 (+0.1%), Belgium at 12,131 (-11.5%) and Denmark at 10,618 (+52.7%).

The VW Group (-4.2%) matches the market to 253,000 units while Stellantis (+5.7%) posts an encouraging lift to 162,000 sales. The Renault Group (-14.4%) and Toyota Group (-9.6%) are in difficulty but not as much as Hyundai-Kia (-19.4%). Note the Toyota Group is above Hyundai-Kia across Europe, something we believe hasn’t happened since 2024.

The VW T-Roc ranks #2 in Europe in January.

Brand-wise, Volkswagen (-11.3%) and Toyota (-7.8%) struggle, with the former below 100,000 monthly sales for the first time since last August. Skoda (+9.7%) is very solid at #3, distancing BMW (-8.8%) and Peugeot (-5.4%). Mercedes (-0.2%) is stable in 6th place above Renault (+5.2%) up year-on-year but down four spots on December to #7. Below Audi (-0.8%), Kia (-18.6%) and Hyundai (-20.2%) round out the Top 10 in paltry fashion. In contrast Fiat (+24.4%), Opel (+13.2%) and Citroen (+12.9%) all post fantastic results. Dacia (-34.9%) endures the biggest loss in the Top 35, a very rare event for the low cost brand. Meanwhile BYD (+172.6%) continues to surge at #20, with fellow Chinese Leapmotor (+408.9%), Jaecoo (+365.3%) and Omoda (+196.7%) all sporting surreal gains.

The models charts is at its most fragmented ever, with the top 6 all fitting within 640 sales. The Renault Clio (+12.2%) ends the month in pole position, 50% coming from France and 20% being the new 6th generation. This is the Clio’s 5th victory in the past 10 months. 54 units below is the VW T-Roc (-5.8%), limiting its fall thanks to the new model. The Peugeot 208 (-13.8%) rallies back up 13 spots on December to #3 with 44% of its volume from France. The VW Golf (-18.2%) freefalls but is up two ranks on last month to #4, Germany accounting for 45% of its January total. The Fiat Panda (-0.4%) surges to 5th place, its highest ranking since October 2021 when it also placed #5. 94% of its January volume comes from Italy. The VW Tiguan (-18.6%) sinks at #6 with the rest of the Top 10 in negative. Leader over the Full Year 2025, the Dacia Sandero (-44.7%) collapses to #13 in a month to forget for Dacia.

Previous post: Europe Full Year 2025: BEV sales up 29.7% to 19.5% share, Dacia Sandero and Renault Clio dominate

One year ago: Europe January 2025: Volkswagen up 16.4%, Tesla down -45.5%

Full January 2026 Top 12 OEMs, Top 84 All brands and Top 576 All models below.