Certain new and accelerating trends are revealed for the European passenger car market in the latest figures issued by ACEA.
Nissan is the big winner from the January numbers, with a year-on-year gain of 34.6% to 44,340 units registered. As we know, most of that is down to the Qashqai, with this model doing especially well in the UK, while the brand’s sales were up by an amazing 60% in Germany. The Juke is strong too, of course.
Go deeper with GlobalData
A lot can happen in 12 months but just look at these figures: in 2014, Nissan sold 477,183 cars. Citroen sold 608,045. Why this seemingly odd comparison? Because the number of Citroens registered in January was only 41,019. Can Nissan repeat its toppling of PSA’s number two brand in February, and also during the following months? It certainly could, with Pulsar production now ramping up in Barcelona and no genuinely new Citroen models imminent.
It’s going to be a fascinating year for Nissan Europe as it begins to close in on its real target, the big one: Toyota Motor Europe. The totals have never been so close, with TME selling 47,926 Toyotas in January. In December 2014, the Toyota brand (+2.3%) was over 7,000 units ahead of Nissan (+28.8%). Japan’s biggest car maker finished 2014 over 53,000 cars ahead of the number three brand but the gap will be far smaller in 2015.
Among the other star performers last month were several luxury brands. Let’s start with Lexus. The NX is doing very well, again especially in the UK, and the brand’s Europe-wide total was 3,310 (+46%), of which 1,006 were sold to British buyers. Keeping that in perspective, Lexus’ German market sales might have been up by over 100% but the total was still a modest 129 cars. After 25 years in Europe, the brand is only now consistently selling in the triple figures in the region’s largest market.
Jeep continued its recent form thanks of course to the Renegade, which is doing especially well in Italy. Region-wide sales were up by 164% in January to 5,880 units, making Alfa Romeo (4,009) and Lancia/Chrysler (5,578) numbers look even worse than they are. Also, I cannot be the only one who sees that pretty soon Alfa Romeo’s aged and small range of models will be being outsold in Europe by Lexus.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataDave mentioned the performances of some of the bigger players in his earlier reporting but within the numbers for the Volkswagen Group, ACEA has now begun breaking out the total for Porsche. This used to be hidden in an ‘other’ total (220 is the combined number for Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti). The Stuttgart-based firm saw a YoY rise of 46% to 5,268 in January, and that isn’t just the Macan either, with the Cayenne also having a good month. That compares to 5,364 for another premium division of a major OEM, ACEA having also started to show numbers for DS for the first time.
Still with the strongly performing premium-priced brands, Mini had a good January, its registrations being up by 23% and into five figures (11,277) thanks of course to the five-door hatchback. We’ll see a new Clubman later in the year, and likely a Cabrio too so it will probably be a record year for Mini.
We should also take note of something else with BMW Group: BMW sales in January compared to those of Mercedes-Benz. The latter being so much stronger in the home market, it’s fascinating to see how close they were across the region. For all of 2014, Mercedes’ total was 652,373 compared to the BMW brand’s 676,410. Last month, Mercedes sales rose by 13% to 51,844, with BMW selling 51,593 (+5%), the brand from Munich therefore failing to keep up with the overall market’s percentage sales rise. The 1 Series facelift which will debut at the Geneva show arrives at just the right time, and an updated 3 Series is coming in the months ahead. And Audi? Its sales under-performed the January market, the total being 54,627, a rise of just 0.5%, but it seems safe for now, especially with a new A4 being not too far away.
Among the low-cost brands it was a shock to see Dacia sales up by just a single percentage (7%) though outperforming the market and selling 30,742 vehicles is hardly failing. But interesting to note that its long and major expansion might well be slowing somewhat. Not low-cost but more challenger brands Hyundai and Kia did OK in January, with sales up by 7.1% and 5.5% respectively. Hyundai should have a very strong second half of the year with production of the new Tucson commencing in the Czech Republic from July.
There were a couple of surprise dips in January from two brands which have been more used to big month-on-month rises. Mazda dealers are on run-out with the 2 awaiting the new model and keen for the facelifted 6 and CX-5, so expect things to return to normal in a couple of months’ time, and for there to be an even stronger performance once the CX-3 arrives. Suzuki, meanwhile, needs the new Vitara to start flowing at a faster rate from its Hungarian factory (ramp up has just commenced) and for the recent Celerio brake failure PR disaster to be put behind it. Both firms saw their sales fall by 10% last month to 13,799 and 11,346 respectively.
Yet another unusual state of affairs was JLR’s performance. Land Rover numbers were up by just 0.2% and that can be blamed on the Macan taking Evoque sales. A facelifted model which debuts at the Geneva show should set things right again, helped a little by the handy volumes that the Cabrio will generate in markets such as Britain. And as for Jaguar, what more can be said? Its numbers crashed to just 1,468 cars (-23%) and if you check the SMMT’s totals, you learn that 54% of the brand’s volume was in the UK last month (800 exactly, -27%). I can’t help but point out that just 233 Jaguars were sold in Germany, a drop of 39%. Still, that’s better than Infiniti’s performance there (87 cars) or Lancia’s (49) or Cadillac’s (20). Curious about Rolls-Royce? The answer is two cars.
If JLR doesn’t have a strong February, it will be outsold by an importer to Europe, Mitsubishi. So much of MME’s success is down to the Outlander PHEV but the ASX is also doing well, still. In January, JLR registrations numbered 11,464 (-4%) compared to a spectacular 10,343 Mitsubishis (+90%). Honda, sadly, continues to take the wooden spoon, its 8,829 cars sold representing a decline of 6%. It’s not the parent company’s style to shut plants but the losses being incurred at the Swindon factory can’t be small. It certainly seems strange that neither the HR-V nor the next Jazz will be built there – makes you wonder when, what and indeed if any additional products will enter production there.
To view ACEA’s European market registrations for January, click here.
