In 2023 (Q1-Q3), Volkswagen remained the largest carmaker in Europe with VW, Toyota, and Audi the best-selling car brands.
2023 (January to September): Volkswagen, Stellantis, and Renault were the largest car manufacturers in Europe with Volkswagen and Renault both gaining market share at the expense of almost all major carmakers. VW increased its lead as the best-selling car brand in Europe thus far in 2023. Toyota lost market share but remained ahead of a resurging Audi. New passenger vehicle registrations in Europe (EU, UK, and EFTA countries) expanded by 17% to 7,940,749 cars during the first nine months of 2023.
Latest European Car Market Statistics 2023: By Country, Brands, Models, Electric Models and months: January, February, Q1, April, May, June (HY), July, August, September, Q3, October; 2022, 2021 & 2020.
Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in Europe in 2023 (Q1-Q3)
According to new passenger vehicle registration data released by the ACEA the following were the top-selling car manufacturers and brands in Europe (EU, EFTA, and UK) during the first nine months of 2023:
| Q1-Q3/2023 | Q1-Q3/2022 | % Change | |
| Volkswagen Group | 2,510,847 | 2,042,148 | 23.0 |
| Volkswagen | 1,030,889 | 872,067 | 18.2 |
| Audi | 552,309 | 440,911 | 25.3 |
| Skoda | 507,859 | 400,627 | 26.8 |
| Seat | 191,499 | 159,911 | 19.8 |
| Cupra | 146,344 | 100,973 | 44.9 |
| Porsche | 74,925 | 61,004 | 22.8 |
| Others | 7,022 | 6,655 | 5.5 |
| Stellantis | 1,651,353 | 1,564,965 | 5.5 |
| Peugeot | 503,293 | 475,077 | 5.9 |
| Opel/Vauxhall | 355,766 | 330,654 | 7.6 |
| Fiat | 292,875 | 299,495 | -2.2 |
| Citroen | 286,541 | 290,768 | -1.5 |
| Jeep | 94,583 | 75,078 | 26.0 |
| DS | 39,479 | 36,092 | 9.4 |
| Alfa Romeo | 37,974 | 21,913 | 73.3 |
| Lancia/Chrysler | 33,561 | 31,198 | 7.6 |
| Others | 7,281 | 4,690 | 55.2 |
| Renault Group | 925,038 | 767,244 | 20.6 |
| Renault | 503,469 | 415,953 | 21.0 |
| Dacia | 418,893 | 349,006 | 20.0 |
| Alpine | 2,676 | 2,285 | 17.1 |
| Hyundai Group | 850,965 | 822,041 | 3.5 |
| Kia | 447,879 | 426,223 | 5.1 |
| Hyundai | 403,086 | 395,818 | 1.8 |
| Toyota Group | 667,192 | 595,208 | 12.1 |
| Toyota | 622,854 | 568,011 | 9.7 |
| Lexus | 44,338 | 27,197 | 63.0 |
| BMW Group | 660,020 | 590,039 | 11.9 |
| BMW | 525,417 | 468,082 | 12.2 |
| Mini | 134,602 | 121,957 | 10.4 |
| Mercedes-Benz | 521,578 | 478,178 | 9.1 |
| Mercedes | 501,840 | 463,394 | 8.3 |
| Smart | 19,738 | 14,784 | 33.5 |
| Ford | 402,682 | 382,203 | 5.4 |
| Tesla | 272,788 | 139,722 | 95.2 |
| Nissan | 219,382 | 172,960 | 26.8 |
| Volvo Cars | 205,256 | 165,379 | 24.1 |
| Suzuki | 139,781 | 97,880 | 42.8 |
| Mazda | 138,665 | 100,350 | 38.2 |
| Jaguar Land Rover Group | 108,827 | 93,423 | 16.5 |
| Land Rover | 90,332 | 73,041 | 23.7 |
| Jaguar | 18,495 | 20,382 | -9.3 |
| Honda | 44,828 | 52,686 | -14.9 |
| Mitsubishi | 30,029 | 41,492 | -27.6 |
| Source: ACEA |
Top-Selling Carmakers in Europe in 2023 (Q1-Q3)
Volkswagen easily remained the largest manufacturer of passenger vehicles in Europe and gained almost a percentage point market share for 25.9% of all new car sales during the first nine months of 2023. All six of Volkswagen’s main car brands outperformed the market to increase market share.
Stellantis in contrast lost almost two percentage points market share (now 17.1%) with all its major brands underperforming. Only Jeep (and Alfa Romeo, which is currently again in an “up” phase) increased sales by more than the market average. Fiat and Citroen even had weaker sales in a market where Hungary and Norway were the only two European countries with lower car sales thus far in 2023.
The Renault Group gained a fifth in sales, mostly at the expense of Stellantis but still underperforming the Volkswagen Group. Both Renault and Dacia had strong growth with Renault outselling Peugeot by only 176 cars.
All other larger car-producing conglomerates in Europe had higher sales during the first three quarters of 2023 but lost market share to Volkswagen and Renault.
Tesla was the most-improved brand with sales almost doubling. The worst-performing car brands were Honda, Mitsubishi, and Jaguar.
Top Ten Best-Selling Car Brands in Europe in 2023 (Q1-Q3)
The top ten best-selling car brands in Europe during 2023 (Q1-Q3) were:
| Brand | Q1-Q3/2023 | Q1-Q3/2022 | % Change | |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 1,030,889 | 872,067 | 18.2 |
| 2 | Toyota | 622,854 | 568,011 | 9.7 |
| 3 | Audi | 552,309 | 440,911 | 25.3 |
| 4 | BMW | 525,417 | 468,082 | 12.2 |
| 5 | Skoda | 507,859 | 400,627 | 26.8 |
| 6 | Renault | 503,469 | 415,953 | 21.0 |
| 7 | Peugeot | 503,293 | 475,077 | 5.9 |
| 8 | Mercedes | 501,840 | 463,394 | 8.3 |
| 9 | Kia | 447,879 | 426,223 | 5.1 |
| 10 | Dacia | 418,893 | 349,006 | 20.0 |
| Source: ACEA |
Volkswagen remained the largest car brand in Europe and gained 0.1% market share while second-placed Toyota underperformed the broader market. Audi regained third place (from sixth) with sales up by a quarter. BMW was again fourth.
Skoda improved from ninth and Renault from eighth with both outperforming. In contrast, Peugeot slipped to seventh (from third), Mercedes down from fifth, and Kia down from seventh, with sales weaker than the market average.
Dacia is the only new entrant in the top ten list (from 12th) with Hyundai slipping from tenth to 11th.
Europe Car Sales Statistics
→ Latest European Car Sales Statistics
- Full-Year 2023: Car Sales by Country, Brands, Top 50 Models, Top 20 Electric Car Models
- Car Sales and Market Analysis 2023: January, February, Q1, April, May, June HY, July, August, September, October.
- 2023 (Q3): Car Sales by Country, Brands
- Half-Year 2023: Car Sales by Country, Brands, Models
- Full-Year 2022: Car Sales by Country, Brands, Models, Electric
