During the first half of 2014, Volkswagen remained the top-selling car manufacturer and brand in the EU. The VW Golf was Europe’s favorite car model.
The first six months of 2014 saw the European car market expanding by 6.2% allowing almost all manufacturers to increase car sales. Volkswagen easily remained the market leader in the EU as the strongest manufacturer and brand. The French conglomerates PSA and Renault were again second and third but Ford overtook the GM Group. Ford was the second most-popular car brand in Europe behind Volkswagen followed by Opel / Vauxhall, Renault and Peugeot. The Volkswagen Golf remained Europe’s favorite car model during the fist semester of 2014.
New passenger vehicle registrations in the European Union and EFTA countries grew by 6.2% to 6,851,552 cars during the first half of 2014.
Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in Europe in 2014 (First Half)
The top-selling car manufacturing groups in the European Union and EFTA countries during the first half of 2014 according to new passenger vehicle registration statistics released by the ACEA were:
| (First Half) 2014 | (First Half) 2013 | % Share 2014 | % Share 2013 | % Change | |
| ALL BRANDS** | 6’851’552 | 6’452’512 | 100 | 100 | 6.2 |
| VW Group | 1’717’087 | 1’603’470 | 25.1 | 24.9 | 7.1 |
| VOLKSWAGEN | 830’148 | 808’666 | 12.1 | 12.5 | 2.7 |
| AUDI | 384’574 | 364’349 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.6 |
| SEAT | 170’464 | 152’123 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 12.1 |
| SKODA | 302’657 | 253’008 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 19.6 |
| Others (1) | 29’244 | 25’324 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 15.5 |
| PSA Group | 753’617 | 716’676 | 11 | 11.1 | 5.2 |
| PEUGEOT | 420’422 | 392’308 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 7.2 |
| CITROEN | 333’195 | 324’368 | 4.9 | 5 | 2.7 |
| RENAULT Group | 663’063 | 555’831 | 9.7 | 8.6 | 19.3 |
| RENAULT | 467’994 | 411’563 | 6.8 | 6.4 | 13.7 |
| DACIA | 195’069 | 144’268 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 35.2 |
| FORD | 508’327 | 477’518 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 6.5 |
| GM Group | 508’075 | 512’076 | 7.4 | 7.9 | -0.8 |
| OPEL/VAUXHALL | 473’082 | 436’941 | 6.9 | 6.8 | 8.3 |
| CHEVROLET | 34’789 | 74’925 | 0.5 | 1.2 | -53.6 |
| GM (US) | 204 | 210 | 0 | 0 | -2.9 |
| FIAT Group | 419’630 | 410’031 | 6.1 | 6.4 | 2.3 |
| FIAT | 324’735 | 318’800 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 1.9 |
| LANCIA/CHRYSLER | 40’870 | 41’157 | 0.6 | 0.6 | -0.7 |
| ALFA ROMEO | 32’874 | 36’240 | 0.5 | 0.6 | -9.3 |
| JEEP | 16’348 | 11’370 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 43.8 |
| Others (2) | 4’803 | 2’464 | 0.1 | 0 | 94.9 |
| BMW Group | 417’689 | 407’392 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 2.5 |
| BMW | 347’154 | 328’340 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.7 |
| MINI | 70’535 | 79’052 | 1 | 1.2 | -10.8 |
| DAIMLER | 363’914 | 356’560 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 2.1 |
| MERCEDES | 332’409 | 320’359 | 4.9 | 5 | 3.8 |
| SMART | 31’505 | 36’201 | 0.5 | 0.6 | -13 |
| TOYOTA Group | 290’006 | 271’603 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 6.8 |
| TOYOTA | 275’959 | 261’227 | 4 | 4 | 5.6 |
| LEXUS | 14’047 | 10’376 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 35.4 |
| NISSAN | 249’787 | 227’085 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 10 |
| HYUNDAI | 219’617 | 224’977 | 3.2 | 3.5 | -2.4 |
| KIA | 185’882 | 176’234 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 5.5 |
| VOLVO CAR CORP. | 123’901 | 111’165 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 11.5 |
| MAZDA | 92’430 | 75’065 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 23.1 |
| SUZUKI | 86’876 | 76’878 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 13 |
| JAGUAR LAND ROVER Group | 77’917 | 74’200 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 5 |
| LAND ROVER | 62’365 | 59’373 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 5 |
| JAGUAR | 15’552 | 14’827 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 4.9 |
| HONDA | 72’264 | 78’287 | 1.1 | 1.2 | -7.7 |
| MITSUBISHI | 45’719 | 38’651 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 18.3 |
| (1) VW Group: VW ‘other’ include Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, and Porsche | |||||
| (2) FIAT Group: FIAT ‘other’ include Dodge, Ferrari, Maserati | |||||
Source: ACEA
The Volkswagen Group easily remained Europe’s largest passenger vehicle manufacturer and again increased market share to just over a quarter of the European new car market. The group’s two top-selling marques – Volkswagen and Audi – both underperformed the broader market but Skoda and Seat registered strong sales increases.
The French PSA and Renault groups both had sales increases with the Renault Group alone accounting for nearly a quarter of all car sales increases in Europe during the first half of 2014.
Ford overtook the GM Group for fourth place this year. The GM Group was the only manufacturer to record negative growth – this is largely due to Chevrolet withdrawing from the European market at the end of the year.
The Fiat, BMW and Daimler groups all had weak below market average growth. The German luxury car makers were mostly hit by declines in sales of its Mini and Smart brands – both brands heavily rely on single models, which are being replaced this year.
Best-Selling Car Brands in Europe in 2014 (Half Year)
The top-20 best-selling car marques in the EU and EFTA during the first six months of 2014 according to the ACEA were:
| Rank | Manufacturer | 2014 | 2013 | % Change |
| 1 | VOLKSWAGEN | 830’148 | 808’666 | 2.7 |
| 2 | FORD | 508’327 | 477’518 | 6.5 |
| 3 | OPEL/VAUXHALL | 473’082 | 436’941 | 8.3 |
| 4 | RENAULT | 467’994 | 411’563 | 13.7 |
| 5 | PEUGEOT | 420’422 | 392’308 | 7.2 |
| 6 | AUDI | 384’574 | 364’349 | 5.6 |
| 7 | BMW | 347’154 | 328’340 | 5.7 |
| 8 | CITROEN | 333’195 | 324’368 | 2.7 |
| 9 | MERCEDES | 332’409 | 320’359 | 3.8 |
| 10 | FIAT | 324’735 | 318’800 | 1.9 |
| 11 | SKODA | 302’657 | 253’008 | 19.6 |
| 12 | TOYOTA | 275’959 | 261’227 | 5.6 |
| 13 | NISSAN | 249’787 | 227’085 | 10 |
| 14 | HYUNDAI | 219’617 | 224’977 | -2.4 |
| 15 | DACIA | 195’069 | 144’268 | 35.2 |
| 16 | KIA | 185’882 | 176’234 | 5.5 |
| 17 | SEAT | 170’464 | 152’123 | 12.1 |
| 18 | VOLVO CAR CORP. | 123’901 | 111’165 | 11.5 |
| 19 | MAZDA | 92’430 | 75’065 | 23.1 |
| 20 | SUZUKI | 86’876 | 76’878 | 13 |
Source: ACEA
There were no changes in the order of the top-10 best-selling car brands in Europe during the first half of 2014 compared to 2013. Volkswagen underperformed the broader market, Ford’s growth was in line with the market average while Opel / Vauxhall for once outperformed. Renault was the most improved top brand adding more than 50,000 cars.
Audi, BMW and Mercedes continue to increase sales but below the market average. All three German premium brands mostly outperformed when the broader market was shrinking in recent years but have been lacking in recent months.
Lower down on the list, Skoda grew by nearly a fifth (50,000 cars) to overtake Toyota. Dacia had similar unit increases and moved up two positions. Mazda and Suzuki replaced Mini and Honda on the top-20 list. Hyundai was the only top-20 brand with a decrease in sales in Europe during the first half of 2014.
The VW Golf followed by the Ford Fiesta and Renault Clio were the most-popular car models in Europe during the first half of 2014.
