In 2015, new passenger vehicle registration data confirmed the Volkswagen Golf, Ford Fiesta, Renault Clio and VW Polo as Europe’s favorite car models. Of the top ten best-selling car models in Europe in 2015, the Volkswagen Passat was the most improved with a sales increase of 49%. The Nissan Qashqai was Europe’s favorite SUV and the top-selling Japanese car.
In 2015, the European car market expanded by 9.2% to 14.2 million new passenger vehicle registrations. Volkswagen remained Europe’s largest carmaker despite a challenging year.
List of the 20 Top-selling Car Models in Europe in 2015
The following 20 vehicles were Europe’s favorite car models in 2015 according to JATO:
| Make & Model | Cars sold in 2015 | % Change | Cars Sold in 2014* | |
| 1 | Volkswagen Golf | 533,584 | 3 | 520,958 |
| 2 | Ford Fiesta | 314,432 | 2 | 308,999 |
| 3 | Renault Clio | 305,305 | 1 | 300,924 |
| 4 | Volkswagen Polo | 301,817 | 8 | 280,378 |
| 5 | Opel / Vauxhall Corsa | 269,765 | 7 | 252,420 |
| 6 | Ford Focus | 234,442 | 5 | 222,834 |
| 7 | Nissan Qashqai | 232,176 | 14 | 204,200 |
| 8 | Peugeot 208 | 229,767 | 7 | 215,312 |
| 9 | VW Passat | 228,113 | 49 | |
| 10 | Skoda Octavia | 218,095 | 6 | 206,362 |
| 11 | Peugeot 308 | 214,907 | 32 | |
| 12 | Audi A3 | 199,668 | 0 | 200,157 |
| 13 | Opel / Vauxhall Astra | 195,612 | 8 | |
| 14 | Renault Captur | 195,323 | 18 | |
| 15 | Toyota Yaris | 184,317 | 9 | |
| 16 | Fiat 500 | 180,523 | -1 | |
| 17 | Mercedes-Benz C-Class | 173,381 | 27 | |
| 18 | Fiat Panda | 172,338 | 13 | |
| 19 | Opel / Vauxhall Mokka | 163,747 | 28 | |
| 20 | Skoda Fabia | 161,394 | 38 | |
*Figures only available for car models in the top 10 list in 2014
Top 10 Best-Selling Car Models in Europe in 2015
The order of the top five best-selling car models in Europe remained the same for the third consecutive year.
In 2015, the Volkswagen Golf was Europe’s favorite car model for the eighth consecutive year. Golf sales were only slightly up from last year but still nearly 220,000 vehicles more than the second placed car. Only around 12,000 more Golfs were sold in Europe in 2015 compared to 2014 but 100,000 more than in 2012. The Golf was the best-selling car in Austria, Croatia, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland.
Sales of the Ford Fiesta were well below market average but the Fiesta maintained its traditional second place in Europe in 2015. Sales of the Renault Clio increased by an even weaker 1% but sufficiently to maintain its third place for the third consecutive year.
Despite its age, sales of the VW Polo increased by 8% with the Polo only narrowly failing to regain the third placed it lost in 2013 to the Fiesta. The Opel / Vauxhall Corsa was again in fifth place – for the third consecutive year – with the new model launched early in the year providing less of a boost than the older Polo had in 2015. The Ford Focus was again in sixth place with sales up by 5%.
The Nissan Qashqai was the only car in the top-ten list in 2014 that also managed to improve sales faster than the broader market in 2015. Europe’s favorite SUV and Japanese car model increased sales by 14% and improved to seventh place from ninth a year ago.
For the second consecutive year the Peugeot 208 lost one rank position. Sales increased by 7% but the Peugeot 208 never sold as strongly as its predecessor. The Peugeot 207 was in 2007 the last car model to have sold more cars in Europe in a calendar year than the VW Golf.
The VW Passat was the only new entrant on the list of the ten most-popular car models in Europe in 2015. VW Passat sales increased by 49% – quite a performance for the most-expensive car model on the top-ten list.
The Skoda Octavia slipped from eighth place in 2014 to tenth in 2015. The Audi A3 had flat sales and was the only car model to have slipped out of the top-ten list from a year ago.
See Also:
2015 Europe: Best-Selling Car Brands
2015 Car Sales per European Union and EFTA Country
