The popular and recently redesigned Volkswagen Golf has lost its stranglehold as Europe’s most popular model, handing the accolade to Ford’s new Fiesta, according to JATO Dynamics’ analysis of March European new car sales.
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The Fiesta’s success came as the overall market fell 9.0% (147,965 units) year on year to 1,488,386 units. Year to date sales were off 16.9% (691,350 units) to 3,401,473 units.
The Fiesta posted increased sales in Germany and Italy and a sustained performance in the otherwise depressed UK market. Volume rose 15.5% last month to 52,805 units.
“It’s interesting to see the continued affect that the government scrapping incentives have had in certain markets. Germany and Italy are big markets for new cars, and we’re really seeing the commercial benefits brought about by the new incentives”, said David Di Girolamo, head of JATO Consult.
“We will track the markets with interest as it will be important to understand if this is a short term reaction by consumers or if it will have a prolonged effect on the market.”
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By GlobalDataTop models
Several small cars have also risen to greater prominence in the top 10, including the just-redesigned VW Polo and Fiat Punto. Much of this can be attributed to Italy where the inclusion of CNG and LPG vehicles in the incentive scheme has provided a boost. Particularly worthy of note was the performance of Fiat’s evergreen Panda, which posted significant sales growth in March, up 62% year on year, with over 25% of the gain from the additional fuel types in Italy alone. Punto sales in Italy for CNG/LPG versions were more than the total growth for this model.
“The Panda is a perfect example of a car that can benefit from today’s market conditions”, said Di Girolamo. “It’s a very affordable car to buy new and has become more fashionable recently, cheap to run with low CO2 emissions, and available with diesel, CNG and LPG variants. It’s an easy step up into the new car market for those who have been encouraged to scrap their old cars.”
Behind the Fiesta, the top 10 places were rounded off by the Golf, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, Peugeot 207, Polo, Punto, Ford Focus, Panda, Renault Clio and Opel/Vauxhall Astra.
Overall first quarter sales fell by 16.9%. The Golf still led year-to-date, ahead of the Fiesta, 207, Corsa, Focus, Polo, Punto, Panda, Clio and Astra.
Brand Performance
Volkswagen was again Europe’s top-selling car brand in March (up 1.9%), ahead of Ford, Opel/Vauxhall, Fiat (up 12.8%) and Renault. The order of the top five brands was the same year to date.
March also proved to be a more promising month for many brands following a poor start to the year. Skoda, Hyundai, Suzuki, Dacia and Alfa-Romeo all posted significant increases in new car sales.
National Trends
As expected, given the global economic conditions, most markets across Europe recorded significantly lower new car sales in March 2009 than in March 2008. The key exceptions were France and Germany, where the government scrapping incentives boosted sales. Year to date, only Germany and Poland have recorded increased sales.
Top 10 models:
Make & Model | Mar_09 | Mar_08 | % Change Mar | Mar YtD_09 | Mar YtD_08 | % Change YtD |
FORD FIESTA | 52,805 | 45,725 | +15.5% | 113,576 | 98,124 | +15.7% |
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF | 46,415 | 46,461 | -0.1% | 119,651 | 124,539 | -3.9% |
OPEL/VAUXHALL CORSA | 40,346 | 45,199 | -10.7% | 80,361 | 106,136 | -24.3% |
PEUGEOT 207 | 39,499 | 46,674 | -15.4% | 90,735 | 122,877 | -26.2% |
VOLKSWAGEN POLO | 38,316 | 29,407 | +30.3% | 76,666 | 74,288 | +3.2% |
FIAT PUNTO | 37,337 | 33,270 | +12.2% | 73,113 | 90,147 | -18.9% |
FORD FOCUS | 35,398 | 45,805 | -22.7% | 79,008 | 106,268 | -25.7% |
FIAT PANDA | 33,593 | 20,705 | +62.2% | 72,178 | 62,167 | +16.1% |
RENAULT CLIO | 31,938 | 39,490 | -19.1% | 66,666 | 97,716 | -31.8% |
OPEL/VAUXHALL ASTRA | 27,236 | 43,831 | -37.9% | 59,519 | 99,617 | -40.3% |
Top 10 brands:
Make | Mar_09 | Mar_08 | % Change Mar | Mar YtD_09 | Mar YtD_08 | % Change YtD |
VOLKSWAGEN | 155,648 | 152,723 | +1.9% | 372,077 | 399,835 | -6.9% |
FORD | 143,480 | 152,812 | -6.1% | 315,484 | 351,030 | -10.1% |
OPEL/VAUXHALL | 116,206 | 144,129 | -19.4% | 251,910 | 332,826 | -24.3% |
FIAT | 112,709 | 99,885 | +12.8% | 249,002 | 277,843 | -10.4% |
RENAULT | 102,066 | 121,921 | -16.3% | 235,006 | 305,850 | -23.2% |
PEUGEOT | 98,319 | 109,383 | -10.1% | 232,239 | 291,811 | -20.4% |
TOYOTA | 80,152 | 87,600 | -8.5% | 183,469 | 225,299 | -18.6% |
CITROEN | 79,184 | 86,774 | -8.7% | 197,095 | 240,367 | -18.0% |
AUDI | 63,087 | 65,301 | -3.4% | 152,817 | 160,634 | -4.9% |
MERCEDES | 59,913 | 74,267 | -19.3% | 136,360 | 186,375 | -26.8% |
March sales by country:
Country | Mar_09 | Mar_08 | % Change Mar | Mar YtD_09 | Mar YtD_08 | % Change YtD |
Austria | 26,477 | 29,907 | -11.5% | 64,296 | 73,778 | -12.9% |
Belgium* | 41,981 | 57,077 | -26.4% | 135,575 | 169,864 | -20.2% |
Cyprus* | 1,590 | 1,894 | -16.1% | 4,852 | 5,898 | -17.7% |
Czech Republic* | 14,354 | 15,491 | -7.3% | 37,416 | 42,741 | -12.5% |
Denmark | 9,006 | 11,989 | -24.9% | 24,166 | 39,350 | -38.6% |
Estonia | 895 | 2,531 | -64.6% | 2,704 | 7,435 | -63.6% |
Finland | 10,716 | 12,625 | -15.1% | 29,411 | 46,230 | -36.4% |
France | 204,018 | 188,879 | +8.0% | 505,456 | 526,121 | -3.9% |
Germany | 400,865 | 286,549 | +39.9% | 867,990 | 735,914 | +17.9% |
Great Britain | 313,912 | 451,642 | -30.5% | 480,358 | 683,349 | -29.7% |
Greece | 13,371 | 22,393 | -40.3% | 49,129 | 79,071 | -37.9% |
Hungary | 9,249 | 13,895 | -33.4% | 22,380 | 39,621 | -43.5% |
Iceland | 76 | 855 | -91.1% | 293 | 3,322 | -91.2% |
Ireland | 7,811 | 21,451 | -63.6% | 32,646 | 92,713 | -64.8% |
Italy | 215,350 | 215,695 | -0.2% | 540,859 | 671,081 | -19.4% |
Latvia | 567 | 1,893 | -70.0% | 1,515 | 5,990 | -74.7% |
Lithuania | 653 | 2,209 | -70.4% | 1,928 | 6,837 | -71.8% |
Luxembourg | 4,768 | 5,356 | -11.0% | 10,011 | 13,490 | -25.8% |
Norway | 7,601 | 9,506 | -20.0% | 19,241 | 29,974 | -35.8% |
Poland* | 31,147 | 30,387 | +2.5% | 88,170 | 86,924 | +1.4% |
Portugal* | 15,718 | 22,043 | -28.7% | 34,725 | 55,213 | -37.1% |
Slovakia* | 4,996 | 6,828 | -26.8% | 12,683 | 19,742 | -35.8% |
Slovenia | 5,360 | 6,643 | -19.3% | 14,648 | 18,799 | -22.1% |
Spain | 76,512 | 124,624 | -38.6% | 198,018 | 347,609 | -43.0% |
Sweden | 18,035 | 23,540 | -23.4% | 43,937 | 61,823 | -28.9% |
Switzerland* | 18,478 | 23,472 | -21.3% | 53,678 | 66,542 | -19.3% |
The Netherlands | 34,880 | 46,977 | -25.8% | 125,388 | 163,392 | -23.3% |
Grand Total | 1,488,386 | 1,636,351 | -9.0% | 3,401,473 | 4,092,823 | -16.9% |
