In the monthly survey by JATO Dynamics, Volkswagen’s Golf has continued its reign as Europe’s most popular model of car.
The German favourite actually dropped 4.2 per cent in June’s sales figures, from 41, 567 to 39,811 year-on-year. However, it remains the most popular ride in the 30 European countries surveyed by JATO Dynamics. The Vauxhall Corsa and Golf stablemate, the VW Polo complete the top three.
Amongst the top ten, the Renault Megane has been a real success story. The Megane broke into the top five due to a Dutch tax incentive. The Megane rise in sales is down to the design of 1.5dCi 110 Energy ECO2 Megane, a model which has tax advantages over other MPVs in class due to low 90g/km CO2 emissions.
Gareth Hession, vice-president of research at JATO, said:
“The performance of the Renault Megane demonstrates how CO2 taxation can have a major impact on the customer’s choice of car. With the EU pushing for lower CO2 emissions for 2020, this is a trend that will continue to influence the market.”
Just outside the top ten, the Peugeot 208, Volkswagen Up, new Mercedes-Benz B-class are all performing well.
Top Ten in Europe
| Make & Model | June 12 | June 11 | % | So far this year | Same time period in 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VW Golf | 39,811 | 41,567 | -4.2% | 240,020 | 255,760 |
| Vauxhall Corsa | 29,490 | 33,427 | -11.8% | 149,553 | 172,417 |
| VW Polo | 28,407 | 32,408 | -12.3% | 163,818 | 190,718 |
| Ford Fiesta | 26,430 | 33,516 | -21.1% | 171,605 | 196,733 |
| Renault Megane | 23,692 | 22,888 | +3.5% | 111,191 | 130,398 |
| Vauxhall Astra | 23,569 | 30,278 | -22.2% | 129,774 | 163,746 |
| Renault Clio | 22,946 | 26,935 | -14.8% | 130,638 | 163,778 |
| Ford Focus | 22,068 | 31,335 | -29.6% | 139,108 | 151,096 |
| Nissan Qashqai | 21,682 | 18,700 | +15.9% | 114,586 | 113,449 |
| BMW Series 3 | 20,112 | 16,949 | +18.7% | 91,442 | 87,179 |
Manufacturers
Only VW, Audi and BMW recorded increased sales in June. VW’s Up, Tiguan and Beetle, and Audi’s Q3 and A6, have all contributed strongly to the sales increases. Ford and Fiat saw the largest fall in demand year-on-year, both over 17 per cent. A quick look outside the top ten reveals improved sales for Skoda, Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan and Kia.
| Make | June 2012 | June 2011 | % | So far this year | Same time period in 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VW | 155,873 | 148,939 | +4.7% | 875,926 | 889,670 |
| Vauxhall | 90,611 | 103,692 | -12.6% | 469,686 | 553,122 |
| Renault | 90,305 | 96,897 | -6.8% | 461,755 | 572,481 |
| Ford | 87,011 | 105,094 | -17.2% | 539,966 | 601,058 |
| Peugeot | 80,480 | 91,075 | -11.6% | 443,798 | 522,910 |
| Citroen | 71,593 | 75,350 | -5.0% | 385,683 | 439,013 |
| Audi | 69,836 | 64,603 | +8.1% | 378,319 | 360,773 |
| BMW | 64,973 | 64,557 | +0.6% | 336,985 | 337,790 |
| Mercedes | 58,710 | 58,776 | -0.1% | 316,008 | 302,425 |
| Fiat | 58,020 | 70,938 | -18.2% | 327,374 | 399,243 |
In the big five markets, car sales increased in Germany and the UK last month while France decreased slightly, Spain and Italy decreasing markedly.
However, new cars sold in Europe is decreased less slowly during June, prompting talk of a (albeit very slight) recovery of confidence.
