Volkswagen remained the strongest car manufacturer and brand in Europe during the first nine months of 2012. VW was followed by Ford and Opel / Vauxhall despite weaker sales.
In a shrinking car market, Volkswagen increased it dominant position as Western Europe’s strongest car manufacturer and marque. Other major car manufacturers, including PSA, Renault, Ford, GM, and Fiat struggled with sales sharply down. German premium brands generally stole market share despite weaker sales. South Korean carmakers continue to see strong growth.
The West European car market (EU + EFTA) declined by 7.2% to 9,724,423 new passenger vehicle registrations during the first nine months of 2012.
Car Sales by Manufacturing Group in Europe in 2012 (Q3)
The best-selling car manufacturers in Europe during the first nine months of 2012 were as follows according to statistics published by ACEA:
| %Market | Share | Units | Units | % Chg | |
| 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | ’12/’11 | |
| ALL BRANDS* | 100 | 100 | 9,724,423 | 10,473,838 | -7.2 |
| VW Group | 24.8 | 23.2 | 2,411,087 | 2,427,899 | -0.7 |
| Volkswagen | 12.8 | 12.3 | 1,244,076 | 1,289,216 | -3.5 |
| Audi | 5.6 | 5.0 | 549,425 | 521,393 | +5.4 |
| Seat | 2.1 | 2.3 | 200,460 | 238,012 | -15.8 |
| Skoda | 3.9 | 3.6 | 379,307 | 377,578 | +0.5 |
| Others | 0.4 | 0.0 | 37,819 | 1,700 | +2124.6 |
| PSA Group | 11.8 | 12.6 | 1,147,092 | 1,316,671 | -12.9 |
| Peugeot | 6.4 | 6.9 | 619,435 | 717,589 | -13.7 |
| Citroen | 5.4 | 5.7 | 527,657 | 599,082 | -11.9 |
| RENAULT Group | 8.3 | 9.3 | 807,132 | 978,753 | -17.5 |
| Renault | 6.5 | 7.6 | 627,855 | 794,578 | -21.0 |
| Dacia | 1.8 | 1.8 | 179,277 | 184,175 | -2.7 |
| GM Group | 8.2 | 8.7 | 797,112 | 909,181 | -12.3 |
| Opel / Vauxhall | 6.8 | 7.4 | 657,416 | 775,103 | -15.2 |
| Chevrolet | 1.4 | 1.3 | 139,341 | 133,579 | +4.3 |
| GM (US) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 355 | 499 | -28.9 |
| FORD | 7.6 | 8.0 | 738,527 | 842,396 | -12.3 |
| FIAT Group | 6.4 | 7.2 | 623,791 | 749,920 | -16.8 |
| Fiat | 4.6 | 5.2 | 451,877 | 542,550 | -16.7 |
| Lancia / Chrysler | 0.8 | 0.8 | 74,464 | 78,691 | -5.4 |
| Alfa Romeo | 0.7 | 1.0 | 72,172 | 105,446 | -31.6 |
| Jeep | 0.2 | 0.2 | 21,233 | 17,423 | +21.9 |
| Others | 0.0 | 0.1 | 4,045 | 5,810 | -30.4 |
| BMW Group | 6.2 | 5.9 | 602,020 | 612,948 | -1.8 |
| BMW Cars | 5.0 | 4.6 | 482,092 | 486,405 | -0.9 |
| Mini | 1.2 | 1.2 | 119,928 | 126,543 | -5.2 |
| DAIMLER | 5.1 | 4.9 | 499,293 | 511,398 | -2.4 |
| Mercedes-Benz | 4.6 | 4.3 | 444,721 | 449,614 | -1.1 |
| Smart | 0.6 | 0.6 | 54,572 | 61,784 | -11.7 |
| TOYOTA Group | 4.3 | 4.0 | 421,159 | 421,092 | +0.0 |
| Toyota | 4.1 | 3.8 | 399,522 | 401,112 | -0.4 |
| Lexus | 0.2 | 0.2 | 21,637 | 19,980 | +8.3 |
| NISSAN | 3.5 | 3.4 | 339,009 | 357,513 | -5.2 |
| HYUNDAI | 3.4 | 2.9 | 331,093 | 301,965 | +9.6 |
| KIA | 2.7 | 2.0 | 257,760 | 213,898 | +20.5 |
| VOLVO CAR CORP. | 1.8 | 1.8 | 171,493 | 193,507 | -11.4 |
| SUZUKI | 1.3 | 1.3 | 121,899 | 137,368 | -11.3 |
| HONDA | 1.1 | 1.1 | 111,257 | 116,072 | -4.1 |
| MAZDA | 1.0 | 1.1 | 99,403 | 113,168 | -12.2 |
| JAGUAR LAND ROVER | 1.0 | 0.7 | 95,763 | 72,409 | +32.3 |
| Land Rover | 0.8 | 0.5 | 77,240 | 54,289 | +42.3 |
| Jaguar | 0.2 | 0.2 | 18,523 | 18,120 | +2.2 |
| MITSUBISHI | 0.6 | 0.9 | 60,512 | 91,147 | -33.6 |
| OTHER | 0.9 | 1.0 | 89,021 | 106,534 | -16.4 |
*ACEA figures exclude Malta.
Top-Selling Car Manufacturers in Europe in 2012 (Q3)
The Volkswagen Group further increased its dominance of the West European car market during the first nine months of 2012. Despite slightly weaker sales, VW outperformed the general market and increased its market share by another 1.6% to just shy of a quarter of the European new passenger vehicle market. The stellar performance of “others” in the Volkswagen Group is due to the inclusion of Porsche as a VW-owned subsidiary from August 2012.
Other major European car manufacturers, including PSA, Renault, GM, Ford, and Fiat all strongly underperformed the declining European car market and saw a drop in market share. German premium manufacturers BMW and Daimler gained market share despite slightly weaker sales.
South Korean carmakers continue to grow and increase market share to 6.1% in Europe. As Hyundai owns just less than half of Kia, the two brands are listed separately but together would be stronger than Daimler.
Apart from the South Korean manufacturers, only Jaguar Land Rover showed strong growth with both brands increasing sales.
Top-Selling Car Brands in Europe in 2012 (Q3)
The top ten best-selling car marques in Europe during the first three quarters of 2012 were:
| % Market Share | Units | Units | % Chg | |||
| 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | ’12/’11 | ||
| 1 | Volkswagen | 12.8 | 12.3 | 1,244,076 | 1,289,216 | -3.5 |
| 2 | Ford | 7.6 | 8.0 | 738,527 | 842,396 | -12.3 |
| 3 | Opel / Vauxhall | 6.8 | 7.4 | 657,416 | 775,103 | -15.2 |
| 4 | Renault | 6.5 | 7.6 | 627,855 | 794,578 | -21.0 |
| 5 | Peugeot | 6.4 | 6.9 | 619,435 | 717,589 | -13.7 |
| 6 | Audi | 5.6 | 5.0 | 549,425 | 521,393 | +5.4 |
| 7 | Citroen | 5.4 | 5.7 | 527,657 | 599,082 | -11.9 |
| 8 | BMW | 5.0 | 4.6 | 482,092 | 486,405 | -0.9 |
| 9 | Fiat | 4.6 | 5.2 | 451,877 | 542,550 | -16.7 |
| 10 | Mercedes-Benz | 4.6 | 4.3 | 444,721 | 449,614 | -1.1 |
Despite weaker sales, Volkswagen increased its market share and strengthened its position as Europe’s leading car marque. VW could expect to receive a sales boost from the introduction of the new Golf VII in Germany in November 2012.
In contrast, Volkswagen’s main competitors all bled sales and market share. Ford remained the second strongest car brand in Europe. Despite slow sales, Opel / Vauxhall moved into third place due to Renault’s even weaker performance. Peugeot maintained its position despite weak sales while Citroen slipped one position and Fiat two.
German premium brands continue to perform well despite the weak overall car market in Europe in 2012. Audi saw positive growth while both BMW and Mercedes-Benz outperformed the market to gain market share too.
