During the first quarter of 2018, Volkswagen, PSA and Renault were the largest carmakers while Volkswagen, Ford and Renault were the best-selling car brands in the European Union. The VW Golf was again Europe’s favorite car model.
The Volkswagen Group remained the largest carmaker in Europe during the first three months of 2018 and regained a full percentage market share. Despite the addition of Opel figures, the PSA Group remained a distant second followed by Renault and Ford. Volkswagen also remained Europe’s leading car brand and regained market share at the expense of especially Ford and Renault that had weaker sales.
New passenger vehicle registrations in the European Union and EFTA increased by 0.6% to a record 4,282,134 cars during the first quarter of 2018.
Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in the EU in 2018 (Q1)
New passenger vehicle registration in European Union and EFTA countries during the first quarter of 2018 showed the following as the largest carmakers in Europe:
| Q1/2018 | Q1/2017 | % Change 17/18 | % Share 18 | % Share 17 | |
| EU + EFTA | 4,282,134 | 4,256,637 | 0.6 | 100 | 100 |
| VW Group | 1,013,982 | 965,118 | 5.1 | 23.7 | 22.7 |
| – VOLKSWAGEN | 464,678 | 445,710 | 4.3 | 10.9 | 10.5 |
| – AUDI | 212,347 | 219,739 | -3.4 | 5.0 | 5.2 |
| – SKODA | 197,048 | 176,378 | 11.7 | 4.6 | 4.1 |
| – SEAT | 118,423 | 102,853 | 15.1 | 2.8 | 2.4 |
| – PORSCHE | 20,261 | 19,052 | 6.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| PSA Group | 697,468 | 420,654 | 65.8 | 16.3 | 9.9 |
| – PEUGEOT | 269,788 | 246,659 | 9.4 | 6.3 | 5.8 |
| – OPEL/VAUXHALL | 249,756 | (GM 271,789) | -8.1 | 5.8 | 0.0 |
| – CITROEN | 166,368 | 160,584 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.8 |
| – DS | 11,556 | 13,411 | -13.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| RENAULT Group | 417,534 | 406,025 | 2.8 | 9.8 | 9.5 |
| – RENAULT | 287,014 | 293,777 | -2.3 | 6.7 | 6.9 |
| – DACIA | 129,257 | 111,139 | 16.3 | 3.0 | 2.6 |
| FORD | 295,877 | 350,044 | -15.5 | 6.9 | 8.2 |
| FCA Group | 290,250 | 303,217 | -4.3 | 6.8 | 7.1 |
| – FIAT | 207,859 | 229,884 | -9.6 | 4.9 | 5.4 |
| – JEEP | 41,427 | 27,156 | 52.6 | 1.0 | 0.6 |
| – LANCIA | 13,726 | 21,534 | -36.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| – ALFA ROMEO | 24,840 | 21,497 | 15.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| BMW Group | 267,101 | 271,229 | -1.5 | 6.2 | 6.4 |
| – BMW | 213,051 | 219,274 | -2.8 | 5.0 | 5.2 |
| – MINI | 54,050 | 51,955 | 4.0 | 1.3 | 1.2 |
| DAIMLER | 252,065 | 251,898 | 0.1 | 5.9 | 5.9 |
| – MERCEDES | 228,358 | 226,376 | 0.9 | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| – SMART | 23,707 | 25,522 | -7.1 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| TOYOTA Group | 210,281 | 208,887 | 0.7 | 4.9 | 4.9 |
| – TOYOTA | 197,385 | 196,573 | 0.4 | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| – LEXUS | 12,896 | 12,314 | 4.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| NISSAN | 160,057 | 178,604 | -10.4 | 3.7 | 4.2 |
| HYUNDAI | 145,008 | 134,926 | 7.5 | 3.4 | 3.2 |
| KIA | 131,434 | 124,987 | 5.2 | 3.1 | 2.9 |
| VOLVO | 80,572 | 80,238 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
| JAGUAR LAND ROVER Group | 63,087 | 74,923 | -15.8 | 1.5 | 1.8 |
| – LAND ROVER | 40,908 | 50,259 | -18.6 | 1.0 | 1.2 |
| HONDA | 45,792 | 44,062 | 3.9 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
| – JAGUAR | 22,179 | 24,664 | -10.1 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| GM Group | 517 | 276,125 | -99.8 | 0.0 | 6.5 |
| Source: ACEA |
Note: Others and smaller manufacturers not listed. The ACEA figures did not specify sales for Suzuki, Mazda, and Mitsubishi.
Largest Carmakers in Europe in 2018 (Q1)
The Volkswagen Group remained by far the largest carmaker in Europe and managed to regain a full percentage market share during the first quarter of 2018. Although Seat and Skoda were the most improved brands in the group, Volkswagen brand in volume terms made up almost all the gains in Europe thus far this year.
The PSA Group solidified its position as the second largest car producer in Europe although the two-thirds increase in sales volume is a statistical nicety due to Opel figures being included only since August 2017. While Peugeot and Citroen sales increased, Opel and DS sales were weaker.
The Renault Group was again the third-largest carmaker with Renault sales weaker while Dacia was the most improved larger car brand in Europe thus far this year.
Ford was the worst-performing large carmaker in Europe during the first quarter of 2018 – only Jaguar Land Rover had a weaker start to the year. Both groups were hit hard by the weak British car market.
The FCA also had weaker sales with Fiat alone shedding more than 20,000 cars. In contrast, Jeep was the most improved brand in Europe during the first quarter of 2018. Alfa Romeo also outperformed.
Sales of the BMW Group were weaker largely due to weak BMW brand sales. Daimler sales were flat with Smart sales sharply down.
The Toyota Group increased sales only moderately with Lexus having a strong performance. Nissan sales were sharply down.
Hyundai and Kai both increased sales in Europe thus far in 2018. Volvo sales were flat.
The Jaguar Land Rover Group was the worst-performing carmaker this year in Europe. Only Lancia had a weaker start to the year than Land Rover.
The GM Group withdrew from the European car market with Opel / Vauxhall sales included with Peugeot since August 2017.
Best-Selling Car Brands in Europe in 2018 (Q1)
The top-selling car marques during the first three months of 2018 according to the ACEA were:
| Q1/2018 | Q1/2017 | % Change 17/18 | ||
| 1 | – VOLKSWAGEN | 464,678 | 445,710 | 4.3 |
| 2 | – FORD | 295,877 | 350,044 | -15.5 |
| 3 | – RENAULT | 287,014 | 293,777 | -2.3 |
| 4 | – PEUGEOT | 269,788 | 246,659 | 9.4 |
| 5 | – OPEL/VAUXHALL | 249,756 | (GM 271,789) | -8.1 |
| 6 | – MERCEDES | 228,358 | 226,376 | 0.9 |
| 7 | – BMW | 213,051 | 219,274 | -2.8 |
| 8 | – AUDI | 212,347 | 219,739 | -3.4 |
| 9 | – FIAT | 207,859 | 229,884 | -9.6 |
| 10 | – TOYOTA | 197,385 | 196,573 | 0.4 |
| 11 | – SKODA | 197,048 | 176,378 | 11.7 |
| 12 | – CITROEN | 166,368 | 160,584 | 3.6 |
| 13 | – NISSAN | 160,057 | 178,604 | -10.4 |
| 14 | – HYUNDAI | 145,008 | 134,926 | 7.5 |
| 15 | – KIA | 131,434 | 124,987 | 5.2 |
| 16 | – DACIA | 129,257 | 111,139 | 16.3 |
| 17 | – SEAT | 118,423 | 102,853 | 15.1 |
| 18 | – VOLVO | 80,572 | 80,238 | 0.4 |
| 19 | – MINI | 54,050 | 51,955 | 4.0 |
| 20 | – HONDA | 45,792 | 44,062 | 3.9 |
Top-Selling Car Brands in Europe in 2018 (Q1)
A strong performance at the start of 2018 allowed Volkswagen to gain half a percentage point market share and increase its lead as Europe’s top-selling car brand. In contrast, a very weak performance cost Ford more than a percentage market share. While VW sold 20,000 more cars in Europe thus far in 2018, Ford sold 55,000 fewer than a year ago.
Renault also had a weak start to the year with sales down by 2.3%.
Peugeot was the most improved top-10 brand in Europe during the first quarter of 2018. Peugeot gained fourth place at the expense of its new sister brand Opel that had weaker sales than a year ago.
Mercedes remained the leading German premium car brand in Europe and improved from seventh to sixth despite flat sales. Both BMW and Audi had weaker sales but BMW improved from ninth to seventh while Audi remained at eighth.
Fiat’s weak performance saw it slipping from sixth to ninth. Toyota maintained tenth place despite flat sales – only 300 cars more than Skoda.
See also 2018 (Q1) Europe: Car Sales Per European Union and EFTA Country
