During the first half of 2017 the Volkswagen Group remained Europe’s largest carmaker despite a weak performance by leading brand Volkswagen.
Thus far in 2017, the VW Group continued to dominate the European new car market despite underperforming the broader market during the first six months of 2017. Renault replaced the PSA Group as second largest carmaker in Europe. The FCA Group overtook Ford in Europe. Volkswagen remained the best-selling car brand in Europe thus far in 2017 despite flat sales. Renault was again second ahead of Ford and Opel / Vauxhall. The VW Golf remained Europe’s favorite car but its lead is narrowing.
During the period January to June 2017, new passenger vehicle registrations in the European Union and EFTA countries increased by 4.6% to 8,461,476 cars.
Best-Selling Manufacturers in Europe in 2017 (First Half)
The top-selling carmakers in the European Union and EFTA according to new passenger vehicle registration data released by the ACEA during the first half of 2017 were:
| Jan – Jun 2017 | Jan – Jun 2016 | % Change | % Share | |
| VW Group | 1,979,087 | 1,921,723 | +3.0 | 23.4 |
| – VOLKSWAGEN | 912,132 | 908,136 | +0.4 | 10.8 |
| – AUDI | 440,788 | 442,204 | -0.3 | 5.2 |
| – SKODA | 370,285 | 349,530 | +5.9 | 4.4 |
| – SEAT | 212,720 | 181,670 | +17.1 | 2.5 |
| – PORSCHE | 40,476 | 37,921 | +6.7 | 0.5 |
| RENAULT Group | 878,062 | 820,973 | +7.0 | 10.4 |
| – RENAULT | 627,846 | 596,188 | +5.3 | 7.4 |
| – DACIA | 247,709 | 222,886 | +11.1 | 2.9 |
| PSA Group | 848,352 | 830,137 | +2.2 | 10.0 |
| – PEUGEOT | 500,041 | 480,211 | +4.1 | 5.9 |
| – CITROEN | 323,194 | 310,113 | +4.2 | 3.8 |
| – DS | 25,117 | 39,813 | -36.9 | 0.3 |
| FCA Group | 609,114 | 551,175 | +10.5 | 7.2 |
| – FIAT | 465,847 | 419,196 | +11.1 | 5.5 |
| – JEEP | 53,948 | 55,230 | -2.3 | 0.6 |
| – ALFA ROMEO | 46,150 | 33,041 | +39.7 | 0.5 |
| – LANCIA/CHRYSLER | 37,460 | 40,259 | -7.0 | 0.4 |
| FORD | 580,840 | 563,111 | +3.1 | 6.9 |
| BMW Group | 544,670 | 533,758 | +2.0 | 6.4 |
| – BMW | 434,266 | 426,501 | +1.8 | 5.1 |
| – MINI | 110,404 | 107,257 | +2.9 | 1.3 |
| OPEL Group | 528,850 | 543,085 | -2.6 | 6.3 |
| – OPEL/VAUXHALL | 527,787 | 541,028 | -2.4 | 6.2 |
| DAIMLER | 518,587 | 483,162 | +7.3 | 6.1 |
| – MERCEDES | 466,062 | 425,675 | +9.5 | 5.5 |
| – SMART | 52,525 | 57,487 | -8.6 | 0.6 |
| TOYOTA Group | 391,763 | 340,803 | +15.0 | 4.6 |
| – TOYOTA | 368,982 | 318,072 | +16.0 | 4.4 |
| – LEXUS | 22,781 | 22,731 | +0.2 | 0.3 |
| NISSAN | 316,688 | 299,714 | +5.7 | 3.7 |
| HYUNDAI | 270,921 | 261,558 | +3.6 | 3.2 |
| KIA | 251,472 | 229,585 | +9.5 | 3.0 |
| VOLVO CAR CORP. | 160,836 | 149,817 | +7.4 | 1.9 |
| SUZUKI | 127,385 | 104,036 | +22.4 | 1.5 |
| JAGUAR LAND ROVER Group | 123,475 | 118,124 | +4.5 | 1.5 |
| – LAND ROVER | 83,338 | 85,859 | -2.9 | 1.0 |
| – JAGUAR | 40,137 | 32,265 | +24.4 | 0.5 |
| MAZDA | 120,171 | 128,331 | -6.4 | 1.4 |
| HONDA | 77,070 | 88,473 | -12.9 | 0.9 |
| MITSUBISHI | 62,126 | 64,180 | -3.2 | 0.7 |
Note: Exclude smaller manufacturers selling less than 20,000 cars.
Best-Selling Carmakers in Europe in 2017 (Half Year)
The Volkswagen Group continued to dominate the European new car market during the first half of 2017. The VW Group increased sales by only 3% but lost only 0.3% market share to still produce 23.4% of all new cars sold in Europe during the first half of 2017.
Volkswagen branded sales were flat at 0.4% – only 4,000 more cars than were sold in Europe during the first six months of 2016. Audi sold around 1,500 cars fewer than a year ago. In contrast, Skoda outperformed the market while Seat was the most improved of the larger brands in Europe thus far in 2017.
The Renault Group overtook the PSA Group as second largest carmaker in Europe thus far in 2017. Both Renault and Dacia outperformed the market. For the PSA Group both Peugeot and Citroen narrowly underperformed while DS was by far the worst performing of the largest 32 car brands in Europe.
The FCA Group overtook Ford in Europe during the first half of 2017. Group sales were up 10.5% with a strong performance by Fiat and Alfa Romeo. Alfa sales were up 40% – no other brand performed better thus far in 2017. Jeep and Lancia sales were lower.
Despite underperforming the broader market, BMW moved ahead of Opel that had weaker sales. Uncertainty during the first half of 2017 when the PSA Group purchased Opel / Vauxhall from GM certainly did not contribute to confidence in the brand.
Daimler had a strong start to 2017 due to Mercedes-Benz sales increasing in Europe by 10%. Smart sales were sharply down.
The Toyota Group was the most improved of the top carmakers in Europe with sales up 15% this far in 2017. Nissan also outperformed the market.
South Korean brand Hyundai increased sales in Europe during the first half of 2017 but underperformed the broader market. Kia sales were up nearly 10%.
Volvo sales were up while Suzuki was the most-improved carmaker in Europe thus far in 2017 with sales up by more than a fifth. Both Suzuki and Jaguar Land Rover moved ahead of Mazda that had weaker sales. Land Rover sales were down but Jaguar sales were up by a quarter – only Alfa Romeo did better.
Honda was apart from DS the only brand with a double-digit contraction in sales in Europe during the first half of 2017. Mitsubishi also had weaker sales.
Best-Selling Car Brands in Europe in 2017 (First Half)
The top-selling car marques in the EU and EFTA during the first half of 2017 according to the ACEA were:
| Brand | Jan – Jun 2017 | Jan – Jun 2016 | % Change | |
| 1 | VOLKSWAGEN | 912,132 | 908,136 | +0.4 |
| 2 | RENAULT | 627,846 | 596,188 | +5.3 |
| 3 | FORD | 580,840 | 563,111 | +3.1 |
| 4 | OPEL/VAUXHALL | 527,787 | 541,028 | -2.4 |
| 5 | PEUGEOT | 500,041 | 480,211 | +4.1 |
| 6 | MERCEDES | 466,062 | 425,675 | +9.5 |
| 7 | FIAT | 465,847 | 419,196 | +11.1 |
| 8 | AUDI | 440,788 | 442,204 | -0.3 |
| 9 | BMW | 434,266 | 426,501 | +1.8 |
| 10 | SKODA | 370,285 | 349,530 | +5.9 |
| 11 | TOYOTA | 368,982 | 318,072 | +16.0 |
| 12 | CITROEN | 323,194 | 310,113 | +4.2 |
| 13 | NISSAN | 316,688 | 299,714 | +5.7 |
| 14 | HYUNDAI | 270,921 | 261,558 | +3.6 |
| 15 | KIA | 251,472 | 229,585 | +9.5 |
| 16 | DACIA | 247,709 | 222,886 | +11.1 |
| 17 | SEAT | 212,720 | 181,670 | +17.1 |
| 18 | VOLVO | 160,836 | 149,817 | +7.4 |
| 19 | SUZUKI | 127,385 | 104,036 | +22.4 |
| 20 | MAZDA | 120,171 | 128,331 | -6.4 |
| 21 | MINI | 110,404 | 107,257 | +2.9 |
| 22 | LAND ROVER | 83,338 | 85,859 | -2.9 |
| 23 | HONDA | 77,070 | 88,473 | -12.9 |
| 24 | MITSUBISHI | 62,126 | 64,180 | -3.2 |
| 25 | JEEP | 53,948 | 55,230 | -2.3 |
| 26 | SMART | 52,525 | 57,487 | -8.6 |
| 27 | ALFA ROMEO | 46,150 | 33,041 | +39.7 |
| 28 | PORSCHE | 40,476 | 37,921 | +6.7 |
| 29 | JAGUAR | 40,137 | 32,265 | +24.4 |
| 30 | LANCIA/CHRYSLER | 37,460 | 40,259 | -7.0 |
| 31 | DS | 25,117 | 39,813 | -36.9 |
| 32 | LEXUS | 22,781 | 22,731 | +0.2 |
The top five best-selling car brands in Europe during the first half of 2017 were unchanged from a year ago despite only Renault outperforming the broader market. Volkswagen had a weak couple of months – especially in Germany where it lost 1.5% market share – but remained by far the largest car brand in Europe.
In contrast to the top five, Mercedes-Benz and Fiat strongly increased sales and both brands moved up two positions each. Audi and BMW each slipped two places down the ranking with Audi the only top brand apart from Opel with weaker sales in Europe thus far in 2017.
Sales ranks 10 to 18 remained the same as during the first six months of 2016. Suzuki entered the top 20 list as best-selling car brand in Europe during the first half of 2017 at the expense of Mini.
The VW Golf remained Europe’s favorite car in 2017 although sales were down from a year ago.
