Volkswagen remained Europe’s largest car manufacturer and brand during the first three quarters of 2016 with the VW Golf the best-selling car model. Renault replaced Ford as the second largest car marque in the European Union. In a growing European new car market, almost all manufacturers increased sales with German premium brands Mercedes-Benz and BMW amongst the best performers. New car sales in the EU and EFTA increased by 7.7% to 11,607,263 cars during the first nine months of 2016.
Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in Europe in 2016 (Q1-3)
The top-selling car manufacturing groups in the European Union and EFTA during the period January to September 2016 according to the ACEA were:
| Carmaker | Q1-3/2016 | Q1-3/2015 | % Share 2016 | % Change |
| VW Group | 2,778,598 | 2,697,525 | 23.9 | 3 |
| – VOLKSWAGEN | 1,315,129 | 1,313,851 | 11.3 | 0.1 |
| – AUDI | 638,664 | 590,865 | 5.5 | 8.1 |
| – SKODA | 503,718 | 473,008 | 4.3 | 6.5 |
| – SEAT | 263,509 | 263,335 | 2.3 | 0.1 |
| – PORSCHE | 54,080 | 53,898 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| PSA Group | 1,146,024 | 1,121,987 | 9.9 | 2.1 |
| – PEUGEOT | 666,751 | 642,246 | 5.7 | 3.8 |
| – CITROEN | 425,341 | 422,699 | 3.7 | 0.6 |
| – DS | 53,932 | 57,042 | 0.5 | -5.5 |
| RENAULT Group | 1,139,587 | 1,009,208 | 9.8 | 12.9 |
| – RENAULT | 816,678 | 720,332 | 7 | 13.4 |
| – DACIA | 322,909 | 288,876 | 2.8 | 11.8 |
| FORD Group | 811,778 | 778,340 | 7 | 4.3 |
| BMW Group | 778,775 | 693,885 | 6.7 | 12.2 |
| – BMW | 619,659 | 554,928 | 5.3 | 11.7 |
| – MINI | 159,116 | 138,957 | 1.4 | 14.5 |
| OPEL Group | 778,567 | 730,745 | 6.7 | 6.5 |
| – OPEL/VAUXHALL | 775,765 | 727,302 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| – CHEVROLET | 2,206 | 3,012 | 0 | -26.8 |
| FCA Group | 767,909 | 665,919 | 6.6 | 15.3 |
| – FIAT | 580,682 | 503,260 | 5 | 15.4 |
| – JEEP | 80,263 | 65,739 | 0.7 | 22.1 |
| – LANCIA/CHRYSLER | 52,794 | 48,325 | 0.5 | 9.2 |
| – ALFA ROMEO | 48,493 | 43,502 | 0.4 | 11.5 |
| DAIMLER Group | 715,400 | 626,233 | 6.2 | 14.2 |
| – MERCEDES | 636,169 | 554,354 | 5.5 | 14.8 |
| – SMART | 79,231 | 71,879 | 0.7 | 10.2 |
| TOYOTA Group | 495,709 | 458,712 | 4.3 | 8.1 |
| – TOYOTA | 460,959 | 429,469 | 4 | 7.3 |
| – LEXUS | 34,750 | 29,243 | 0.3 | 18.8 |
| NISSAN Group | 428,390 | 437,289 | 3.7 | -2 |
| HYUNDAI | 386,480 | 355,361 | 3.3 | 8.8 |
| KIA | 337,595 | 295,140 | 2.9 | 14.4 |
| VOLVO | 209,984 | 198,217 | 1.8 | 5.9 |
| MAZDA | 188,675 | 160,780 | 1.6 | 17.3 |
| JAGUAR LAND ROVER Group | 171,547 | 132,313 | 1.5 | 29.7 |
| – LAND ROVER | 120,534 | 103,239 | 1 | 16.8 |
| – JAGUAR | 51,013 | 29,074 | 0.4 | 75.5 |
| SUZUKI | 154,612 | 137,340 | 1.3 | 12.6 |
| HONDA | 127,655 | 100,084 | 1.1 | 27.5 |
| MITSUBISHI | 89,694 | 99,472 | 0.8 | -9.8 |
Statistics exclude “others”
Largest Car Manufacturing Groups in Europe in 2016 (Q1-Q3)
The VW group remained Europe’s largest carmaker during the first three quarters of 2016 but with the exception of Audi, all brands underperformed the broader market. The group’s market share shrunk by 1.1% with most of the damage done by the Volkswagen brand loosing 0.9% market share on its own.
The PSA Group similarly underperformed with DS one of only four brands to have recorded weaker sales during the first nine months of 2016 compared to last year.
A resurging Renault Group remained only narrowly behind the PSA Group with both brands Renault and Dacia enjoying strong sales. The group sold 130,000 more cars than last year.
Ford sales increased below market average.
The BMW Group had much stronger sales allowing the German premium brand to move a few hundred cars ahead of Opel. Opel/Vauxhall sales improved just below market average with the minor Chevrolet brand the worst performer thus far this year in Europe.
In the FCA Group all brands, including Alfa Romeo and Lancia, outperformed the broader market. The FCA Group added 100,000 cars – only Renault did better. The Daimler Group also strongly outperformed the broader market.
Jaguar Land Rover was the most-improved manufacturing group with Jaguar the most-improved brand.
Best-Selling Car Brands in Europe in 2016 (Q1-Q3)
The top-selling car marques in Europe during the first three quarters of 2016 according the ACEA were:
| Brands | Q1-3/2016 | Q1-3/2015 | % Share 2016 | % Change | |
| 1 | VOLKSWAGEN | 1,315,129 | 1,313,851 | 11.3 | 0.1 |
| 2 | RENAULT | 816,678 | 720,332 | 7 | 13.4 |
| 3 | FORD | 811,778 | 778,340 | 7 | 4.3 |
| 4 | OPEL/VAUXHALL | 775,765 | 727,302 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| 5 | PEUGEOT | 666,751 | 642,246 | 5.7 | 3.8 |
| 6 | AUDI | 638,664 | 590,865 | 5.5 | 8.1 |
| 7 | MERCEDES | 636,169 | 554,354 | 5.5 | 14.8 |
| 8 | BMW | 619,659 | 554,928 | 5.3 | 11.7 |
| 9 | FIAT | 580,682 | 503,260 | 5 | 15.4 |
| 10 | SKODA | 503,718 | 473,008 | 4.3 | 6.5 |
| 11 | TOYOTA | 460,959 | 429,469 | 4 | 7.3 |
| 12 | NISSAN | 428,390 | 437,289 | 3.7 | -2 |
| 13 | CITROEN | 425,341 | 422,699 | 3.7 | 0.6 |
| 14 | HYUNDAI | 386,480 | 355,361 | 3.3 | 8.8 |
| 15 | KIA | 337,595 | 295,140 | 2.9 | 14.4 |
| 16 | DACIA | 322,909 | 288,876 | 2.8 | 11.8 |
| 17 | SEAT | 263,509 | 263,335 | 2.3 | 0.1 |
| 18 | VOLVO | 209,984 | 198,217 | 1.8 | 5.9 |
| 19 | MAZDA | 188,675 | 160,780 | 1.6 | 17.3 |
| 20 | MINI | 159,116 | 138,957 | 1.4 | 14.5 |
Top-Selling Car Marques in Europe in 2016 (Q1-3)
Volkswagen remained the best-selling car brand in Europe during the first nine months of 2016 despite being the worst performing marque amongst the top ten brands. VW sales increased by only 0.1% or only around 1,300 cars. In a growing market, Volkswagen’s market share shrank by almost a percentage point.
In contrast, Renault added almost 100,000 cars and passed both Ford and Opel to become the second largest car brand in Europe thus far in 2016. Ford, Opel/Vauxhall and Peugeot all had stronger sales but underperformed the broader market and thus lost market share.
Audi just outperformed the market while Mercedes-Benz and BMW both had much stronger sales. Mercedes-Benz overtook BMW and was only around 1,500 cars behind Audi during the first three quarters of 2016.
Fiat was the most improved of the top-ten brands while Skoda maintained its tenth place and increased sales in Europe to just over half a million for the first time for the first nine months of a year.
The only other rank position change amongst the top 20 brands in Europe was Toyota overtaking Nissan, which was the only top brand with weaker sales.
The VW Golf easily remained Europe’s favorite car model although sales are around 5% weaker than a year ago.
