January to September 2017: The VW Group and Volkswagen remained the largest carmaker and top-selling car brand in the European Union.
During the first three quarters of 2017, the VW Group was again the largest car manufacturer in the European Union (EU) and EFTA despite loosing market share due to the weak performance by the Volkswagen brand. The PSA Group was again firmly in second place, especially as Opel sales were included since August 2017. The best-selling car brands in the EU during the first nine months of 2017 were Volkswagen, Renault, Ford, Opel and Peugeot. The European new car market grew by 3.6% to just over 12 million cars during the first three quarters of 2017.
Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in Europe in 2017 (Q1 – Q3)
The largest car manufacturers in the EU and EFTA during the first nine months of 2017 according to the ACEA were:
| Carmaker | Q1-3/2017 | Q1-3/2016 | % Change |
| VW Group | 2,841,161 | 2,781,071 | +2.2 |
| – VOLKSWAGEN | 1,301,999 | 1,315,599 | -1.0 |
| – AUDI | 638,942 | 639,011 | -0.01 |
| – SKODA | 536,532 | 504,999 | +6.2 |
| – SEAT | 302,750 | 263,798 | +14.8 |
| – PORSCHE | 57,035 | 54,151 | +5.3 |
| PSA Group | 1,322,291 | 1,145,011 | +15.5 |
| – OPEL /VAUXHALL | 146,764 | ||
| – PEUGEOT | 695,626 | 666,077 | +4.4 |
| – CITROEN | 444,141 | 425,044 | +4.5 |
| – DS | 35,760 | 53,890 | -33.6 |
| RENAULT Group | 1,219,485 | 1,142,664 | +6.7 |
| – RENAULT | 859,017 | 816,814 | +5.2 |
| – DACIA | 356,697 | 322,937 | +10.5 |
| FCA Group | 831,250 | 768,242 | +8.2 |
| – FIAT | 629,392 | 580,997 | +8.3 |
| – JEEP | 78,917 | 80,300 | -1.7 |
| – ALFA ROMEO | 65,962 | 48,497 | +36.0 |
| – LANCIA /CHRYSLER | 49,226 | 52,790 | -6.8 |
| FORD Group | 802,106 | 806,832 | -0.6 |
| BMW Group | 788,237 | 778,885 | +1.2 |
| – BMW | 627,875 | 619,756 | +1.3 |
| – MINI | 160,362 | 159,129 | +0.8 |
| DAIMLER Group | 762,507 | 715,400 | +6.6 |
| – MERCEDES | 688,611 | 636,169 | +8.2 |
| – SMART | 73,896 | 79,231 | -6.7 |
| GM | 600,201 | 777,004 | -22.8 |
| TOYOTA Group | 562,654 | 497,117 | +13.2 |
| – TOYOTA | 528,194 | 462,511 | +14.2 |
| – LEXUS | 34,460 | 34,606 | -0.4 |
| NISSAN Group | 452,011 | 428,731 | +5.4 |
| HYUNDAI | 397,907 | 386,358 | +3.0 |
| KIA | 364,924 | 337,595 | +8.1 |
| VOLVO | 224,396 | 210,137 | +6.8 |
| SUZUKI | 188,927 | 155,003 | +21.9 |
| MAZDA | 181,207 | 188,683 | -4.0 |
| JAGUAR LAND ROVER Group | 174,008 | 171,547 | +1.4 |
| – LAND ROVER | 118,876 | 120,534 | -1.4 |
| – JAGUAR | 55,132 | 51,013 | +8.1 |
| HONDA | 110,920 | 127,719 | -13.2 |
| MITSUBISHI | 89,548 | 89,944 | -0.4 |
Note: Exclude smaller manufacturers and brands.
Top Carmakers in Europe in 2017 (Q1 – Q3)
The Volkswagen Group easily remained the largest car-manufacturing group in Europe during the first three quarters of 2017 despite under performing the broader market. The European new car market expanded by nearly 400,000 cars but the VW Group only captured 60,000 of these sales.
The VW Group’s market share slipped from 24% to 23.6% largely due to weaker sales by the Volkswagen brand. VW sales were down by 1% with market share shrinking from 11.3% to 10.8%. Audi sales were flat but Porsche, Skoda and especially Seat performed well.
The PSA Group is again the second largest carmaker in Europe with numbers now bolstered by Opel / Vauxhall being included in the PSA total since August 2017. Although Opel sales were slightly weaker, both Peugeot and Citroen outperformed the market while DS was the worst performing brand in Europe with sales down by a third.
The Renault Group was again third, even should Nissan numbers be included. Both Renault and Dacia brands had strong sales.
The FCA Group moved ahead of both Ford and BMW with a strong performance that added nearly 80,000 cars to the market, or 20% of the growth in the European new car market thus far in 2017. Alfa Romeo was the most-improved brand in Europe overall while Fiat also grew strongly. Jeep sales were slightly down while Lancia / Chrysler now seemingly doomed to become FCA’s troubled brand in Europe.
Ford sales were slightly down while the BMW Group improved but well below market average with both BMW and Mini brands underperforming.
In contrast, Daimler sales improved with Mercedes-Benz performing strongly in Europe thus far in 2017 while the small Smart brand lost sales.
While GM brands such as Chevrolet disappeared from the statistics in recent year, the GM Group itself is destined to disappear from Europe with Opel / Vauxhall sales listed with new owner PSA since August 2017.
Toyota extended its lead as the leading Japanese carmaker in Europe with strong growth thus far in 2017. Nissan also outperformed the market.
Hyundai narrowly underperformed the broader market while Kia had strong growth to narrow the gap to the leading South Korean brand in Europe in 2017. Volvo similarly had a good year thus far in 2017 in Europe.
Suzuki was the most-improved brand in Europe thus far in 2017 with sales up by more than a fifth. Other smaller Japanese brands – Mazda, Honda and Mitsubishi – all had weaker sales.
The Jaguar Land Rover Group underperformed with Land Rover sales weaker while Jaguar sales grew rapidly.
Top 20 Best-Selling Car Brands in Europe in 2017 (Q1 – Q3)
The 20 top-selling marques in the EU and EFTA during the first three quarters of 2017 according to the ACEA were:
| Brands | Q1-3/2017 | Q1-3/2016 | % Change | |
| 1 | VOLKSWAGEN | 1,301,999 | 1,315,599 | -1.0 |
| 2 | RENAULT | 859,017 | 816,814 | +5.2 |
| 3 | FORD | 802,106 | 806,832 | -0.6 |
| 4 | OPEL/ VAUXHALL | 746,764 | 775,765 | -3.7 |
| 5 | PEUGEOT | 695,626 | 666,077 | +4.4 |
| 6 | MERCEDES | 688,611 | 636,169 | +8.2 |
| 7 | AUDI | 638,942 | 639,011 | -0.01 |
| 8 | FIAT | 629,392 | 580,997 | +8.3 |
| 9 | BMW | 627,875 | 619,756 | +1.3 |
| 10 | SKODA | 536,532 | 504,999 | +6.2 |
| 11 | TOYOTA | 528,194 | 462,511 | +14.2 |
| 12 | NISSAN | 452,011 | 428,731 | +5.4 |
| 13 | CITROEN | 444,141 | 425,044 | +4.5 |
| 14 | HYUNDAI | 397,907 | 386,358 | +3.0 |
| 15 | KIA | 364,924 | 337,595 | +8.1 |
| 16 | DACIA | 356,697 | 322,937 | +10.5 |
| 17 | SEAT | 302,750 | 263,798 | +14.8 |
| 18 | VOLVO | 224,396 | 210,137 | +6.8 |
| 19 | SUZUKI | 188,927 | 155,003 | +21.9 |
| 20 | MAZDA | 181,207 | 188,683 | -4.0 |
There were no changes in the rank order of the top five best-selling car brands in Europe thus far in 2017. Volkswagen and Ford had slightly weaker sales while Opel sales were down the most of any of the top-selling brands. Renault and Peugeot outperformed.
In the battle of the top German luxury marques, Mercedes-Benz and Audi swapped placed with Mercedes-Benz cars selling well in Europe while Audi sales were flat. Fiat similarly moved ahead of BMW.
There were hardly any further rank position changes in the composition of the top 20 best-selling car brands in Europe during the first three quarters of 2017. Suzuki entered the top-20 from 21st at the expense of Mini while Mazda slipped one position to 20th. Mazda was the worst performing brand of the top 20 while Suzuki increased sales the most.
The VW Golf remained the top-selling car model thus far in 2017 although sales were weaker than a year ago.
See also: 2017 (Q3) Europe: Car Sales per European Union and EFTA Country.
