NEW figures released by a leading auto intelligence firm continues to paint a healthy picture of European new-car sales.
JATO Dynamics reported that Volkswagen, Renault and Ford were the best-selling brands in February and says another month of growth means the market is already 7.1 per cent ahead of 2014, year on year.
Volkswagen remains the market-leading brand, with Renault overtaking Ford for second position for both February and the year-to-date, with sales increases coming from the new Twingo and the Captur.
All the top 10 brands saw their volumes increase for the month, with BMW posting the strongest growth at 14.8 per cent, driven by the new 2-Series Active Tourer.
Outside the top 10, growth was also driven primarily by new models, with Nissan volumes up 26.8 per cent for the month, Seat up 20.9 per cent, Mini up 33.4 per cent, Mitsubishi up 45.1 per cent, Smart up 44.3 per cent and Jeep up 186.2 per cent.
Top 10 brands
|
Make |
Feb_15 |
Feb_14 |
% change Feb |
Feb YtD_15 |
Feb YtD_14 |
% change YtD |
|
VOLKSWAGEN |
118,781 |
105,737 |
+12.3% |
251,932 |
228,432 |
+10.3% |
|
RENAULT |
69,617 |
60,488 |
+15.1% |
135,840 |
119,837 |
+13.4% |
|
FORD |
63,049 |
59,128 |
+6.6% |
133,885 |
127,048 |
+5.4% |
|
PEUGEOT |
61,993 |
59,573 |
+4.1% |
125,689 |
121,499 |
+3.4% |
|
OPEL/VAUXHALL |
59,658 |
56,861 |
+4.9% |
123,236 |
112,238 |
+9.8% |
|
AUDI |
49,490 |
48,274 |
+2.5% |
104,078 |
102,521 |
+1.5% |
|
FIAT |
48,306 |
46,304 |
+4.3% |
95,958 |
92,140 |
+4.1% |
|
BMW |
48,278 |
42,069 |
+14.8% |
99,972 |
90,918 |
+10.0% |
|
MERCEDES |
45,087 |
40,257 |
+12.0% |
97,478 |
86,031 |
+13.3% |
|
SKODA |
43,548 |
40,215 |
+8.3% |
87,960 |
83,572 |
+5.3% |
The Volkswagen Golf remains the market-leading model, with a 5.8 per cent increase in February sales, followed by the Polo in second place with 7.2 per cent more units sold following last year’s facelift.
The Renault Clio (up 1.9 per cent) took third place, ahead of the Ford Fiesta (down 1.5 per cent) and Peugeot 208 (down 2.7 per cent).
Volkswagen’s new Passat increased sales by 63.8 per cent year-on-year compared to its predecessor last February, to record a year-to-date increase of 44 per cent, making it the most improved performer across both measures among the top 10 models.
Outside the top 10, the Opel/Vauxhall Mokka recorded a 66.6 per cent increase because of the growing demand for small crossovers, while the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class increased sales by 53.4 per cent compared to February 2014 the new Renault Twingo sold 132 per cent more units than its predecessor managed in February 2014. However, sales increases for the month were not limited to new or facelifted models, as demonstrated by the Fiat 500 (up 12.8 per cent) and SEAT Ibiza (up 22.4 per cent).
Top 10 Models
|
Make & Model |
Feb_15 |
Feb_14 |
% change Feb |
Feb YtD_15 |
Feb YtD_14 |
% change YtD |
|
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF |
36,292 |
34,292 |
+5.8% |
77,414 |
73,463 |
+5.4% |
|
VOLKSWAGEN POLO |
21,495 |
20,059 |
+7.2% |
45,102 |
42,808 |
+5.4% |
|
RENAULT CLIO |
21,406 |
21,005 |
+1.9% |
43,355 |
42,049 |
+3.1% |
|
FORD FIESTA |
18,452 |
18,732 |
-1.5% |
40,338 |
41,144 |
-2.0% |
|
PEUGEOT 208 |
17,053 |
17,533 |
-2.7% |
33,057 |
36,012 |
-8.2% |
|
OPEL/VAUXHALL CORSA |
16,719 |
16,816 |
-0.6% |
37,970 |
31,030 |
+22.4% |
|
SKODA OCTAVIA |
16,407 |
14,700 |
+11.6% |
33,701 |
31,631 |
+6.5% |
|
VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT |
15,711 |
9,590 |
+63.8% |
30,639 |
21,278 |
+44.0% |
|
NISSAN QASHQAI |
15,682 |
13,100 |
+19.7% |
33,903 |
25,885 |
+31.0% |
|
AUDI A3/S3/RS3 |
14,036 |
12,690 |
+10.6% |
29,507 |
28,328 |
+4.2% |
Brian Walters, the vice-president of data at JATO Dynamics, said: ‘Car buyer confidence has remained strong across Europe through February. New models have brought customers into showrooms, and attractive offers have maintained demand for many existing models. We wait to see if this momentum can be maintained in the months to come, following a successful Geneva Motor Show and the prospective launch of new models.’
