2014 (Q3) Europe: Best-Selling Car Manufacturers, Brands and Models

Golf SportsvanJanuary to September 2014: Volkswagen remained the largest passenger vehicle manufacturer and top-selling car brand in Europe with the VW Golf Europe’s favorite car model. VW was followed by the French PSA and Renault groups as Europe’s top car-producing conglomerates and by Ford and Opel as the top-selling marques. Sales of VW Golfs increased even faster than for the Ford Fiesta and Renault Clio.

Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in Europe in 2014 (Q1-Q3)

The top-selling passenger vehicle manufacturers in the European Union and EFTA during the first three quarters of 2014 according to car sales statistics released by the ACEA were:

Manufacturers% Share 2014% Share 2013Sales Q1-3/ 2014Sales Q1-3/ 2013% Change
ALL BRANDS**9’906’6689’361’7195.8
VW Group25.324.82’505’2692’325’3887.7
VOLKSWAGEN12.312.41’215’6441’161’6024.7
AUDI5.65.7557’791534’2934.4
SKODA4.54443’090373’89618.5
SEAT2.52.3246’397219’62412.2
Others (1)0.40.442’34735’97317.7
PSA Group10.810.91’065’4571’017’2714.7
PEUGEOT66596’670559’7726.6
CITROEN4.74.9468’787457’4992.5
RENAULT Group9.48.6932’113807’76815.4
RENAULT6.66.3655’263592’25010.6
DACIA2.82.3276’850215’51828.5
FORD7.57.4738’071692’5946.6
GM Group7.38720’919747’730-3.6
OPEL/VAUXHALL6.96.8683’797634’0017.9
CHEVROLET0.41.236’799113’443-67.6
GM (US)0032328612.9
BMW Group6.36.5619’875604’6752.5
BMW5.15.2508’943487’7614.3
MINI1.11.2110’932116’914-5.1
FIAT Group5.96.1588’371573’5172.6
FIAT4.64.8454’670444’7702.2
LANCIA/CHRYSLER0.60.655’86957’255-2.4
ALFA ROMEO0.50.545’55750’851-10.4
JEEP0.30.225’35017’25646.9
Others (2)0.106’9253’385104.6
DAIMLER5.45.6534’433523’1652.2
MERCEDES55.1492’891473’8794
SMART0.40.541’54249’286-15.7
TOYOTA Group4.24.3418’385405’6803.1
TOYOTA44.1397’243388’4692.3
LEXUS0.20.221’14217’21122.8
NISSAN3.63.5361’136327’21410.4
HYUNDAI3.33.5326’285327’352-0.3
KIA2.82.8272’600259’6545
VOLVO1.81.7182’370163’30311.7
MAZDA1.41.2138’556113’89621.7
SUZUKI1.31.2126’293113’60911.2
JAGUAR LAND ROVER Group1.11.1111’730105’5145.9
LAND ROVER0.90.989’19283’5526.7
JAGUAR0.20.222’53821’9622.6
HONDA1.11.2104’715111’219-5.8
MITSUBISHI0.70.673’48256’17630.8
OTHER**0.90.986’60885’9940.7
(1) VW Group: VW ‘other’ include Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, and Porsche
(2) FIAT Group: FIAT ‘other’ include Dodge, Ferrari, Maserati
(*) data for Malta n.a.
(**) ACEA estimates

There were only minor changes in the order of the top passenger vehicle manufacturers in Europe during the first nine months of 2014 compared to a year ago. Only three manufacturing groups had weaker sales.

The Volkswagen Group outperformed the broader market to once again increase the group’s share of the European new car market to more than a quarter. The PSA Group underperformed slightly, mostly due to continued weakness in the Citroen brand, although Peugeot sales were also unspectacular.

The Renault Group saw the most growth of the larger groups with both Renault and Dacia experiencing strong growth.

Ford narrowly outperformed the broader market while the GM Group was the only major group with weaker sales. In GM’s case due to Chevrolet withdrawing from the European market. GM’s weak performance allowed Ford to reclaim its position as the fourth largest car-manufacturing group in Europe.

Strong growth by Nissan allowed the Japanese manufacturer to overtake Hyundai. The South Korean company and Honda were the only other manufacturing groups with negative numbers.

Mitsubishi (+31%) were the most improved manufacturing group in Europe during the first three quarters of 2014. Mazda (+22%) and Suzuki (+11%) also experienced strong growth.

Best-Selling Car Brands in Europe in 2014 (Q1-Q3)

The top-selling car marques in the European Union and EFTA during the first three quarters of 2014 according to car sales statistics released by the ACEA were:

Brand RankManufacturersSales Q1-3/2014Sales Q1-3/2013% Change
1VOLKSWAGEN1’215’6441’161’6024.7
2FORD738’071692’5946.6
3OPEL/VAUXHALL683’797634’0017.9
4RENAULT655’263592’25010.6
5PEUGEOT596’670559’7726.6
6AUDI557’791534’2934.4
7BMW508’943487’7614.3
8MERCEDES492’891473’8794
9CITROEN468’787457’4992.5
10FIAT454’670444’7702.2
11SKODA443’090373’89618.5
12TOYOTA397’243388’4692.3
13NISSAN361’136327’21410.4
14HYUNDAI326’285327’352-0.3
15DACIA276’850215’51828.5
16KIA272’600259’6545
17SEAT246’397219’62412.2
18VOLVO182’370163’30311.7
19MAZDA138’556113’89621.7
20SUZUKI126’293113’60911.2
21MINI110’932116’914-5.1
22HONDA104’715111’219-5.8
23LAND ROVER89’19283’5526.7
24MITSUBISHI73’48256’17630.8
25LANCIA/CHRYSLER55’86957’255-2.4
26ALFA ROMEO45’55750’851-10.4
27SMART41’54249’286-15.7
28CHEVROLET36’799113’443-67.6
29JEEP25’35017’25646.9
30JAGUAR22’53821’9622.6

There were no changes in the rank order of the ten most-popular car brands in Europe during the first nine months of 2014 compared to a year ago. Market-leader Volkswagen underperformed the broader market while Ford and especially Opel / Vauxhall had stronger sales.

Renault was the most improved of the top brands and the only marque to have increased by double-digit percentages. Peugeot also outperformed the broader market.

Audi, BMW and Mercedes all increased sales by just over 4% while Citroen and Fiat both maintained their relative positions with increases in sales of more than 2% each.

Outside the top-ten list, Skoda overtook Toyota; Nissan passed Hyundai, while Dacia leapfrogged both Seat and Kia. Jeep (+47%) and Mitsubishi (+31%) were the most-improved brands.

Only seven brands had weaker sales during the first three quarters of 2014. Worst performer was Chevrolet with sales down by two-thirds due to the American company withdrawing from the European market. Sales of Smart cars were down 16% – a new model is due in the final quarter of the year. Alfa Romeo was the only other brand with sales down by more than 10%.

Best-Selling Car Models in Europe in 2014 (Q1-Q3)

The five most popular car models in the European Union from January to September 2014 according to Jato were:

RankCar ModelSales Q1-3/2014Sales Q1-3/2013% Change
1Volkswagen Golf399’118347’12315
2Ford Fiesta243’813222’0329.8
3Renault Clio227’993216’9805.1
4Volkswagen Polo207’886201’4963.2
5Opel / Vauxhall Corsa194’826188’6123.3

The VW Golf increased its lead as Europe’s favorite car model during the first nine months of 2014. Golf sales thus far this year are up 15% – the only double-digit growth of the top models.

The Ford Fiesta sales were up near 10% – to some extend helped by the expanding British car market where the Fiesta is the best-selling car model.

The Renault Clio and Volkswagen Polo maintained their position from a year ago despite underperforming the market. More surprising was the Opel / Vauxhall Corsa: it took fifth place from the Peugeot 208 despite being only months from being replaced by a completely new model.

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.