2007 (Full Year) Europe: Top-Selling Cars Brands

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Europe’s top-selling automobile brands in 2007 were car manufacturers Volkswagen, Opel, Ford, Renault, Peugeot, and Fiat. Car sales in the European Union and EFTA were relatively flat.

Volkswagen easily remained the top car manufacturer and best-selling car brand in the European Union and EFTA countries during 2007
Analogue Kid / Wikimedia Commons

Volkswagen easily remained the top car manufacturer and best-selling car brand in the European Union and EFTA countries during 2007. The European car market was weak with only a 1.1% increase of new passenger car registrations compared to 2006. Europe’s favorite car was the Peugeot 207.

Best-Selling European Car Manufacturers in 2007

2007 saw no major changes in the relative positions of Europe’s top automobile manufacturers regarding new passenger car registrations in the European Union and EFTA countries. The Volkswagen Group (VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Bentley, Bugatti & Lamborghini) easily maintained its position and top-selling car manufacturer despite a small decline in market share to 19.7% (20.2% in 2006). The PSA Group (Peugeot & Citroen) was the second largest automobile manufacturer in Europe followed by Ford, General Motors (GM) and Renault.

Honda saw the biggest percentage increase in sales while Fiat and Suzuki also did well. In contrast, Mazda, Nissan, Hyundai, and Renault struggled.

According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) car sales by manufacturers with more than 1% market share in 2007 were:

Manufacturer … % Market Share …No of Cars Sold … % Change in Volume from 2006 … (Top Brands if Different from Manufacturer Name)

  1. Volkswagen … 19.7 … 3,150,933 … -1.1 … (Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat)
  2. PSA … 12.8 … 2,050,708 … +0.6 … (Peugeot, Citroen)
  3. Ford … 10.5 … 1,667,915 … +1.7 … (Ford, Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar)
  4. GM … 10.2 … 1,635,040 … +1.6 … (Opel/Vauxhall, Chevrolet, Saab)
  5. Renault … 8.7 … 1,380,952 … -4.4 … (Renault, Dacia)
  6. Fiat … 7.8 … 1,249,092 … +7.1 … (Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia)
  7. Toyota … 5.8 … 929,585 … +2.5 … (Toyota, Lexus)
  8. BMW … 5.3 … 848,080 … +6.7 … (BMW, Mini)
  9. Daimler … 5.2 … 826,150 … -0.2 … (Mercedes, Smart)
  10. Honda … 2.0 … 313,898 … +12.0
  11. Nissan … 1.9 … 310,698 … -5.6
  12. Hyundai … 1.9 … 308,687 … -5.4
  13. Suzuki … 1.8 … 287,793 … +9.3
  14. Kia … 1.6 … 252,590 … +5.0
  15. Mazda … 1.5 … 240,354 … -6.0

Best-Selling Car Brands in Europe in 2007

Despite a small decline in market share, largely due to the weakness of the German car market, Volkswagen easily remained the top-selling car brand in Europe. GM’s Opel/Vauxhall brand maintained its second position while Ford leaped over Renault to regain third position in Europe.

European car sales by brand with more than 2% market share in 2007:

Car Brand … % Market Share …No of Cars Sold … % Change in Volume from 2006

  1. Volkswagen … 10.2 … 1,630,638 … -3.4
  2. Opel/Vauxhall … 8.4 … 1,344,402 … +0.8
  3. Ford … 8.0 … 1,276,651 … +0.5
  4. Renault … 7.6 … 1,208,118 … -7.5
  5. Peugeot … 6.9 … 1,107,251 … -1.2
  6. Fiat … 6.1 … 976,981 … +8.6
  7. Citroen … 5.9 … 943,457 … +2.9
  8. Toyota … 5.6 … 890,126 … +2.6
  9. Mercedes … 4.6 … 729,950 … +0.6
  10. BMW … 4.4 … 703,201 … +3.3
  11. Audi … 4.1 … 660,151 … +3.0
  12. Skoda … 2.9 … 468,628 … +1.3
  13. Seat … 2.4 … 386,981 … -0.5
  14. Honda … 2.0 … 313,898 … +12.0

Europe’s favorite car models in 2007 according to Jato were the Peugeot 207, which just edged out the VW Golf and Ford Focus.

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About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience in online writing. His best-selling cars website has been reporting car sales statistics since 2008 with classic car auction prices focusing on the most expensive automobiles sold at public auctions in the past decade. He also owns the travel websites European-Traveler.com and Lake Geneva Switzerland. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Finance from the University of London.