During the first half of 2019, Volkswagen and PSA remained the largest carmakers in Europe, VW and Renault the top-selling brands and the Golf the best-selling model.
January to June 2019: VW and PSA were again the best-selling car manufacturers in Europe with Volkswagen and Renault the largest car brands. Peugeot moved ahead of Ford. The VW Golf and Renault Clio were again Europe’s favorite car models.
New passenger vehicle registrations in the European Union (EU) and EFTA countries contracted by 3.1% to 8,426,190 cars during the first half of 2019.
Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in Europe in 2019 (Half Year)
New passenger vehicle registration data released by the ACEA showed the following as the top carmakers and best-selling car brands in the EU and EFTA during the first six months of 2019:
| Jan-Jun 2019 | Jan-Jun 2018 | % Change 18/19 | |
| EU + EFTA | 8,426,190 | 8,696,227 | -3.1 |
| VW Group | 2,049,290 | 2,135,796 | -4.1 |
| -VOLKSWAGEN | 936,348 | 1,000,984 | -6.5 |
| -AUDI | 406,977 | 433,101 | -6.0 |
| -SKODA | 398,256 | 401,722 | -0.9 |
| -SEAT | 269,143 | 253,271 | +6.3 |
| -PORSCHE | 35,426 | 44,194 | -19.8 |
| -OTHERS2 | 3,140 | 2,524 | +24.4 |
| PSA Group | 1,383,161 | 1,399,908 | -1.2 |
| -PEUGEOT | 527,561 | 543,653 | -3.0 |
| -OPEL/VAUXHALL | 474,805 | 494,991 | -4.1 |
| -CITROEN | 356,511 | 334,641 | +6.5 |
| -DS | 24,284 | 26,623 | -8.8 |
| RENAULT Group | 911,420 | 921,961 | -1.1 |
| -RENAULT | 590,022 | 631,155 | -6.5 |
| -DACIA | 316,424 | 287,417 | +10.1 |
| -ALPINE | 2,575 | 636 | +304.9 |
| -LADA | 2,399 | 2,753 | -12.9 |
| HYUNDAI Group | 552,701 | 554,469 | -0.3 |
| -HYUNDAI | 284,396 | 290,459 | -2.1 |
| -KIA | 268,305 | 264,010 | +1.6 |
| FCA Group | 540,540 | 596,980 | -9.5 |
| -FIAT | 380,570 | 423,848 | -10.2 |
| -JEEP | 92,125 | 90,311 | +2.0 |
| -LANCIA/CHRYSLER | 34,782 | 27,297 | +27.4 |
| -ALFA ROMEO | 29,336 | 50,269 | -41.6 |
| -OTHERS3 | 3,727 | 5,255 | -29.1 |
| BMW Group | 537,114 | 543,628 | -1.2 |
| -BMW | 428,544 | 429,740 | -0.3 |
| -MINI | 108,570 | 113,888 | -4.7 |
| FORD | 513,338 | 556,597 | -7.8 |
| DAIMLER Group | 501,232 | 508,725 | -1.5 |
| -MERCEDES | 448,502 | 456,593 | -1.8 |
| -SMART | 52,730 | 52,132 | +1.1 |
| TOYOTA Group | 414,870 | 413,835 | +0.3 |
| -TOYOTA | 387,360 | 389,063 | -0.4 |
| -LEXUS | 27,510 | 24,772 | +11.1 |
| NISSAN | 217,137 | 286,610 | -24.2 |
| VOLVO CAR CORP. | 174,999 | 170,829 | +2.4 |
| JAGUAR LAND ROVER Group | 125,302 | 125,467 | -0.1 |
| -LAND ROVER | 81,874 | 83,878 | -2.4 |
| -JAGUAR | 43,428 | 41,589 | +4.4 |
| MAZDA | 124,813 | 125,649 | -0.7 |
| MITSUBISHI | 82,151 | 72,348 | +13.5 |
| HONDA | 66,601 | 78,697 | -15.4 |
Others2 include Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti, Others3 Includes Dodge and Maserati
Best-Selling Carmakers in Europe in 2019 (First Half)
It was mostly red numbers for the largest carmakers in Europe during the first half of 2019. The overall market contracted by 3.1% but remained near record levels and exceeded more than 8 million units for the fourth consecutive year for the EU and EFTA and third consecutive year for the EU.
Despite underperforming the broader market, the VW Group remained by far the largest car manufacturer in Europe with a market share just shy of a quarter. Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche all lost market share while Seat was the only major brand in the group to increase sales thus far in 2019.
The French PSA and Renault groups both gained market share with sales down by just over a percentage point. Flat sales were good enough to move the Hyundai Group ahead of both FCA and Ford. The BMW and Daimler groups both gained market share with sales only slightly weaker.
The Toyota Group and Volvo were the only major carmakers with stronger sales in Europe during the first half of 2019 while Nissan was the worst performer.
Best-Selling Car Brands in Europe in 2019 (First Semester)
The 20 best-selling car brands in Europe during the first half of 2019 were as follows:
| Jan-Jun 2019 | Jan-Jun 2018 | % Change 18/19 | ||
| 1 | VOLKSWAGEN | 936,348 | 1,000,984 | -6.5 |
| 2 | RENAULT | 590,022 | 631,155 | -6.5 |
| 3 | PEUGEOT | 527,561 | 543,653 | -3.0 |
| 4 | FORD | 513,338 | 556,597 | -7.8 |
| 5 | OPEL/VAUXHALL | 474,805 | 494,991 | -4.1 |
| 6 | MERCEDES | 448,502 | 456,593 | -1.8 |
| 7 | BMW | 428,544 | 429,740 | -0.3 |
| 8 | AUDI | 406,977 | 433,101 | -6.0 |
| 9 | SKODA | 398,256 | 401,722 | -0.9 |
| 10 | TOYOTA | 387,360 | 389,063 | -0.4 |
| 11 | FIAT | 380,570 | 423,848 | -10.2 |
| 12 | CITROEN | 356,511 | 334,641 | +6.5 |
| 13 | DACIA | 316,424 | 287,417 | +10.1 |
| 14 | HYUNDAI | 284,396 | 290,459 | -2.1 |
| 15 | SEAT | 269,143 | 253,271 | +6.3 |
| 16 | KIA | 268,305 | 264,010 | +1.6 |
| 17 | NISSAN | 217,137 | 286,610 | -24.2 |
| 18 | VOLVO CAR CORP. | 174,999 | 170,829 | +2.4 |
| 19 | MAZDA | 124,813 | 125,649 | -0.7 |
| 20 | MINI | 108,570 | 113,888 | -4.7 |
Top-Selling Car Brands in Europe in 2019 (Half Year)
The 11 best-selling car brands in Europe during the first semester of 2019 all had weaker sales than during the first half of 2018.
Volkswagen remained by far the best-selling car marque in Europe despite sales slipping by 6.5% to below the million-units mark. Second placed Renault similarly had sales down by 6.5%.
Peugeot gained one rank position and market share with sales down by 3% while Ford slipped to fourth with sales down by 7.8% – the worst performance amongst the top-ten brands. Opel / Vauxhall sales were down 4.1%
Mercedes-Benz and BMW both gained market share with BMW moving ahead of Audi. Skoda and Toyota gained market share with sales only down moderately.
Fiat slipped out of the top ten with sales down by a tenth. Only Nissan performed worse with sales down by nearly a quarter.
Dacia, Citroën and Seat were the most improved top 20 brands in Europe thus far in 2019.
The VW Golf and Renault Clio remained the favorite two car models of European buyers – both models are due for major updates towards the end of 2019.
