In 2011, the Volkswagen Group remained the strongest new passenger vehicle manufacturer in Europe. VW followed by Ford and Renault were the best-selling car brands.
The Volkswagen Group increased its market share of the European car market in 2011. The VW Group sold almost twice as many cars in Europe as second-placed PSA. Europe’s best-selling car brand remained Volkswagen, which accounted for more than 12% of the new passenger vehicle registrations in Europe in 2011. Ford replaced Renault as the second strongest car marque.
The West European car market contracted by 1.4% in 2011 to 13,573,550 new car registrations in 2011.
Best-Selling Car Manufacturers and Brands in Europe in 2011
The top-selling car manufacturing groups and marques in Europe in 2011 were as follows according to car sales statistics released by ACEA on January 17, 2012:
| % Market Share in 2011 | % Market Share in 2010 | Cars Sold in 2011 | Cars Sold in 2010 | % Change | |
| ALL BRANDS** | 13,573,550 | 13,768,401 | -1.4 | ||
| VW Group | 23.3 | 21.3 | 3,167,098 | 2,938,515 | +7.8 |
| VOLKSWAGEN | 12.4 | 11.2 | 1,684,150 | 1,544,529 | +9.0 |
| AUDI | 5.0 | 4.5 | 680,262 | 623,506 | +9.1 |
| SEAT | 2.3 | 2.2 | 305,730 | 302,083 | +1.2 |
| SKODA | 3.6 | 3.4 | 494,760 | 466,426 | +6.1 |
| Others (1) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2,196 | 1,971 | +11.4 |
| PSA Group | 12.4 | 13.4 | 1,682,429 | 1,844,158 | -8.8 |
| PEUGEOT | 6.7 | 7.3 | 911,703 | 1,006,120 | -9.4 |
| CITROEN | 5.7 | 6.1 | 770,726 | 838,038 | -8.0 |
| RENAULT Group | 9.6 | 10.3 | 1,296,978 | 1,411,937 | -8.1 |
| RENAULT | 7.7 | 8.3 | 1,044,920 | 1,147,697 | -9.0 |
| DACIA | 1.9 | 1.9 | 252,058 | 264,240 | -4.6 |
| GM Group | 8.6 | 8.6 | 1,165,570 | 1,187,797 | -1.9 |
| OPEL/VAUXHALL | 7.3 | 7.3 | 989,261 | 1,007,427 | -1.8 |
| CHEVROLET | 1.3 | 1.3 | 175,683 | 179,074 | -1.9 |
| GM (US) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 626 | 1,296 | -51.7 |
| FORD | 7.9 | 8.1 | 1,077,759 | 1,109,377 | -2.9 |
| FIAT Group | 7.0 | 7.8 | 947,786 | 1,077,228 | -12.0 |
| FIAT | 5.0 | 6.0 | 682,140 | 824,237 | -17.2 |
| LANCIA/CHRYSLER | 0.8 | 0.8 | 103,151 | 109,863 | -6.1 |
| ALFA ROMEO | 1.0 | 0.8 | 130,535 | 109,994 | +18.7 |
| JEEP | 0.2 | 0.1 | 23,745 | 14,678 | +61.8 |
| Others (2) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 8,215 | 18,456 | -55.5 |
| BMW Group | 6.0 | 5.5 | 810,199 | 751,983 | +7.7 |
| BMW | 4.7 | 4.4 | 641,737 | 610,570 | +5.1 |
| MINI | 1.2 | 1.0 | 168,462 | 141,413 | +19.1 |
| DAIMLER | 4.9 | 4.9 | 671,480 | 669,092 | +0.4 |
| MERCEDES | 4.4 | 4.3 | 591,750 | 586,146 | +1.0 |
| SMART | 0.6 | 0.6 | 79,730 | 82,946 | -3.9 |
| TOYOTA Group | 4.1 | 4.3 | 554,222 | 591,613 | -6.3 |
| TOYOTA | 3.9 | 4.2 | 527,206 | 573,958 | -8.1 |
| LEXUS | 0.2 | 0.1 | 27,016 | 17,655 | +53.0 |
| NISSAN | 3.4 | 2.9 | 458,033 | 402,926 | +13.7 |
| HYUNDAI | 2.9 | 2.6 | 398,129 | 357,105 | +11.5 |
| KIA | 2.2 | 1.9 | 293,960 | 262,854 | +11.8 |
| VOLVO CAR CORP. | 1.9 | 1.7 | 254,732 | 230,345 | +10.6 |
| SUZUKI | 1.3 | 1.4 | 177,996 | 194,675 | -8.6 |
| HONDA | 1.1 | 1.4 | 149,684 | 187,328 | -20.1 |
| MAZDA | 1.0 | 1.3 | 137,447 | 182,722 | -24.8 |
| MITSUBISHI | 0.8 | 0.8 | 114,553 | 107,399 | +6.7 |
| JAGUAR LAND ROVER Group | 0.7 | 0.7 | 97,780 | 94,035 | +4.0 |
| LAND ROVER | 0.6 | 0.5 | 74,706 | 66,983 | +11.5 |
| JAGUAR | 0.2 | 0.2 | 23,074 | 27,052 | -14.7 |
| OTHERS | 0.9 | 1.2 | 117,716 | 167,312 | -29.6 |
Source: ACEA
*ACEA new passenger vehicle registrations in Europe include the countries of the European Union (except the small Malta and Cyprus markets) and EFTA.
Volkswagen Best-Selling Car Manufacturer and Brand in Europe in 2011
The Volkswagen Group continued its dominance of the European new car market in 2011 by increasing market share by 2% to just less than a quarter of the total West European car market. Volkswagen Group sales improved by 8% to just over 3 million cars sold in Europe in 2011. All the major brands in the VW Group (Volkswagen, Audi, Seat & Skoda) improved sales significantly.
Volkswagen remained the best-selling car brand in Europe and increased market share to 12.4% of the new passenger vehicle registrations. The VW Golf also remained Europe’s favorite car model.
Most Car Manufacturers Struggled in Europe in 2011
Although the French PSA and Renault car manufacturing groups maintained their second and third places, both groups saw significantly weaker car sales in Europe in 2011. All four French brands (Peugeot, Citroen, Renault, Dacia) saw weaker sales and a loss in market share particularly to Volkswagen, which sold more cars than the two French manufacturing groups combined. Renault slipped to third strongest brand in Europe.
The GM Group (Opel / Vauxhall & Chevrolet) had a slightly weaker year with sales down just less than 2% for both marques. Ford also had weaker sales with a drop of 3% in new passenger vehicle registrations in Europe but Ford outsold Renault to become the second strongest selling car marque in Europe in 2011.
Fiat suffered from weakness in the Italian and other south European markets in 2011 and saw group sales down by 12%. The Fiat brand suffered even more while Alfa Romeo and Jeep (first time part of the Fiat statistics) showed strong growth but from a low base.
The German luxury car manufacturer BMW saw solid growth for both the BMW and Mini brands. In contrast, Mercedes-Benz sales were flat with Smart sales contracting.
South Korean brands Hyundai and Kia saw solid growth with sales improving by almost 12%. Volvo saw a similar surge in sales.
Japanese manufacturers had a mixed year with many struggling with supplies following natural disasters in particularly Japan and Thailand. Sales were down for Toyota, Suzuki, Honda, and Mazda while Nissan continued to improve, as did Mazda. Lexus saw an increase in sales of over 50% – Lexus also did very well in Japan in 2011.
Top 20 Best-Selling Car Brands in Europe in 2011
In 2011, the top 20 best-selling car brands in Western Europe according to ACEA figures were:
| Rank in 2011 | Rank in 2010 | Car Brand | Car Sales in 2011 | % Change |
| 1 | 1 | VOLKSWAGEN | 1,684,150 | +9.0 |
| 2 | 3 | FORD | 1,077,759 | -2.9 |
| 3 | 2 | RENAULT | 1,044,920 | -9.0 |
| 4 | 4 | OPEL/VAUXHALL | 989,261 | -1.8 |
| 5 | 5 | PEUGEOT | 911,703 | -9.4 |
| 6 | 6 | CITROEN | 770,726 | -8.0 |
| 7 | 7 | FIAT | 682,140 | -17.2 |
| 8 | 8 | AUDI | 680,262 | +9.1 |
| 9 | 9 | BMW | 641,737 | +5.1 |
| 10 | 10 | MERCEDES | 591,750 | +1.0 |
| 11 | 11 | TOYOTA | 527,206 | -8.1 |
| 12 | 12 | SKODA | 494,760 | +6.1 |
| 13 | 13 | NISSAN | 458,033 | +13.7 |
| 14 | 14 | HYUNDAI | 398,129 | +11.5 |
| 15 | 15 | SEAT | 305,730 | +1.2 |
| 16 | 17 | KIA | 293,960 | +11.8 |
| 17 | 18 | VOLVO CAR CORP. | 254,732 | +10.6 |
| 18 | 16 | DACIA | 252,058 | -4.6 |
| 19 | 19 | SUZUKI | 177,996 | -8.6 |
| 20 | – | CHEVROLET | 175,683 | -1.9 |
Source: ACEA
Changes in the List of the Top 20 Best-Selling Car Brands in Europe in 2011
There were hardly any changes in the relative positions of the best-selling car marques in Europe in 2011 compared to 2010. The only change in the top-ten list of best-selling cars in Europe was that Ford – despite weaker sales – replaced Renault as the second strongest car brand in Europe in 2011.
Lower down the top 20 list, Dacia (Renault’s budget brand) slipped two positions allowing Kia and Volvo to each improve one position. Honda slipped from 20th to 22nd allowing Chevrolet to enter at 20th place.
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