Volkswagen, PSA, and Renault remained the top-selling car manufacturers in Europe at the start of 2013. VW and Ford were the best-selling brands. The VW Golf remains Europe’s favorite car model.
At the start of 2013, new passenger vehicle registrations in Europe were sharply down with top manufactures Volkswagen, PSA, Renault, GM and Ford all underperforming the broader market. Top brands Volkswagen, Ford, and Opel / Vauxhall all lost market share. The European Union (EU) and EFTA car market contracted by 9.7% to 3,096,266 new passenger vehicle registrations during the first three months of 2013.
Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in Europe in 2013 (Q1)
The top-selling carmakers in the European Union and EFTA during the first three months of 2013 according to car sales statistics released by the ACEA were:
| January to March | |||||
| Â | Â Â Â Â %Share | Â | Units | Units | % Chg |
| Â | Q1/2013 | Q1/2012 | Q1/2013 | Q1/2012 | Â |
| ALL BRANDS** | Â | Â | 3,096,266 | 3,428,926 | -9.7 |
| VW Group | 24.3 | 23.7 | 751,340 | 813,394 | -7.6 |
| Volkswagen | 12.2 | 12.6 | 377,549 | 431,262 | -12.5 |
| Audi | 5.5 | 5.2 | 169,871 | 179,885 | -5.6 |
| Seat | 2.3 | 2.0 | 69,959 | 69,541 | +0.6 |
| Skoda | 4.0 | 3.8 | 122,435 | 132,008 | -7.3 |
| Other(1) | 0.4 | 0.0 | 11,526 | 698 | +1551.3 |
| PSA Group | 11.2 | 11.9 | 345,258 | 407,606 | -15.3 |
| Peugeot | 6.1 | 6.3 | 189,082 | 217,457 | -13.0 |
| Citroen | 5.0 | 5.5 | 156,176 | 190,149 | -17.9 |
| RENAULT Group | 8.3 | 8.2 | 258,311 | 281,800 | -8.3 |
| Renault | 6.2 | 6.6 | 193,413 | 225,170 | -14.1 |
| Dacia | 2.1 | 1.7 | 64,898 | 56,630 | +14.6 |
| GM Group | 7.8 | 8.1 | 241,944 | 277,129 | -12.7 |
| Opel/Vauxhall | 6.7 | 6.6 | 208,994 | 226,991 | -7.9 |
| Chevrolet | 1.1 | 1.5 | 32,864 | 49,989 | -34.3 |
| GM (US) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 86 | 149 | -42.3 |
| FORD | 7.3 | 8.2 | 224,883 | 281,594 | -20.1 |
| FIAT Group | 6.4 | 6.3 | 197,806 | 217,712 | -9.1 |
| Fiat | 5.0 | 4.5 | 153,807 | 154,287 | -0.3 |
| Lancia/Chrysler | 0.6 | 0.8 | 19,336 | 27,255 | -29.1 |
| Alfa Romeo | 0.6 | 0.8 | 17,545 | 27,220 | -35.5 |
| Jeep | 0.2 | 0.2 | 6,092 | 7,501 | -18.8 |
| Other (2) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1,026 | 1,449 | -29.2 |
| BMW Group | 6.3 | 5.7 | 194,920 | 196,738 | -0.9 |
| BMW | 5.1 | 4.6 | 158,462 | 157,587 | +0.6 |
| Mini | 1.2 | 1.1 | 36,458 | 39,151 | -6.9 |
| DAIMLER | 5.4 | 4.9 | 168,331 | 168,003 | +0.2 |
| Mercedes | 4.9 | 4.3 | 150,739 | 148,940 | +1.2 |
| Smart | 0.6 | 0.6 | 17,592 | 19,063 | -7.7 |
| TOYOTA Group | 4.4 | 4.8 | 135,097 | 163,474 | -17.4 |
| Toyota | 4.2 | 4.5 | 129,662 | 154,838 | -16.3 |
| Lexus | 0.2 | 0.3 | 5,435 | 8,636 | -37.1 |
| NISSAN | 3.9 | 3.9 | 121,330 | 132,198 | -8.2 |
| HYUNDAI | 3.5 | 3.4 | 109,693 | 115,057 | -4.7 |
| KIA | 2.7 | 2.3 | 82,751 | 79,974 | +3.5 |
| VOLVO CAR CORP. | 1.8 | 1.9 | 54,368 | 63,849 | -14.8 |
| HONDA | 1.4 | 1.1 | 43,693 | 36,759 | +18.9 |
| JAGUAR LAND ROVER | 1.4 | 1.1 | 43,401 | 38,285 | +13.4 |
| Land Rover | 1.1 | 0.9 | 34,803 | 31,384 | +10.9 |
| Jaguar | 0.3 | 0.2 | 8,598 | 6,901 | +24.6 |
| MAZDA | 1.3 | 1.1 | 39,804 | 39,125 | +1.7 |
| SUZUKI | 1.2 | 1.3 | 38,636 | 44,185 | -12.6 |
| MITSUBISHI | 0.6 | 0.7 | 18,911 | 24,056 | -21.4 |
| OTHER** | 0.8 | 1.4 | 25,788 | 47,988 | -46.3 |
| *EU statistics exclude Malta figures | |||||
| (1)Â VW ‘other’ include Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, and since Aug ’12 Porsche | |||||
| (2) FIAT Group: FIAT ‘other’ include Dodge, Ferrari, Maserati | |||||
| ** ACEA estimates | |||||
Best-Selling Carmakers in Europe in 2013 (Q1)
Despite weaker sales, the VW Group increased its hold on the European car market by increasing market share by half a percentage point. This growth was largely due to the inclusion of Porsche sales figures since August 2012. Volkswagen branded cars underperformed the market and lost half a percentage market share. However, the Volkswagen marque alone is still stronger than any other competing manufacturing group. The VW Golf also remained Europe’s favorite car model.
The French carmakers PSA and Renault maintained its relative positions despite weak sales. Peugeot sales were down as much as Volkswagen with Citroen performing even weaker. Weak Renault sales were offset somewhat by growth in the Dacia low-cost brand.
The GM Group overtook Ford although Ford is still the second largest car brand in Europe despite sales being down by a fifth during the first quarter of 2013. Opel / Vauxhall for once outperformed the broader market as well as VW and the other top five brands. Fiat was also much improved with flat sales in a shrinking market.
The BMW Group and Daimler both increased market share with BMW and Mercedes brands increasing unit sales. Mercedes-Benz showed the strongest growth of the top-ten car brands in Europe during the first three months of 2013.
Japanese carmakers Toyota, Suzuki and Mitsubishi underperformed the market while Nissan gained market share despite slower sales. Honda and Mazda regained market share but both companies were weakened significantly in Europe in recent years.
South Korean manufacturers Hyundai saw sales slipping while Kia continues to grow. Volvo continued to struggle in Europe.
Jaguar Land Rover saw a strong increase in sales with both marques performing strongly.
The European car market struggled during the first quarter of 2013. However, other international markets are still growing with German cars selling particularly well in China.
