Car sales data released by JATO shows the European car market ending the first half of the year hit a high with sales up 14.6% in June and 8.4% during the first half versus the same period last year.

The Volkswagen Golf, Ford Fiesta and Renault Clio were the best-selling cars across the region during the first half.

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JATO said that 25 of the 29 markets covered in its definition of Europe showed H1 2015 growth, with four recording growth of over 20%.

Brian Walters, Vice President of Data at JATO Dynamics, took an upbeat view, despite some recent concern that the Greek debt crisis could damage confidence. “Confidence in the European market last month was clearly well placed, as the car industry reported strong sales growth for the first half of the year in most markets. Following this strong first-half performance across a diverse range of brands and models, the industry is well placed for a successful second half of the year.”

Volkswagen reinforced its position as the leading car brand in Europe, as it increased total H1 2015 sales by 9.1%. Renault took second place, with Ford in third. All the top ten brands recorded increased sales, with Mercedes and Renault achieving growth of more than 10% (Mercedes boosted by the latest Mercedes C-Class and Renault by the Captur small SUV).

The biggest volume increase in the top ten was recorded by the new Volkswagen Passat, which rose 39.3% in H1 2015 compared to its predecessor’s performance a year ago.

JATO said that the success of small crossover models was of particular note – models such as the Renault Captur, Opel/Vauxhall Mokka, Peugeot 2008, Nissan Juke, Citroën C4 Cactus, Fiat 500X and Suzuki Vitara.

See also: UK: West European car sales up 14.2% in June

 

Car Sales, Top Ten Brands

Make Jun_15 Jun_14 % change Jun Jun YtD_15 Jun YtD_14 % change YtD
VOLKSWAGEN 166424 141274 17.80% 899715 824553 9.10%
RENAULT 110979 105504 5.20% 516721 468000 10.40%
FORD 104969 91595 14.60% 548283 515229 6.40%
OPEL/VAUXHALL 101815 93297 9.10% 498789 473224 5.40%
PEUGEOT 84887 75034 13.10% 449120 421652 6.50%
AUDI 75458 64394 17.20% 400569 383465 4.50%
BMW 72050 64390 11.90% 372241 345327 7.80%
MERCEDES 70137 59970 17.00% 371643 333593 11.40%
FIAT 65257 57467 13.60% 353072 324267 8.90%
SKODA 60700 52577 15.40% 319293 299257 6.70%

Top Ten Models

Make & Model Jun_15 Jun_14 % change Jun Jun YtD_15 Jun YtD_14 % change YtD
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 49555 43725 13.30% 275848 270012 2.20%
FORD FIESTA 33646 27509 22.30% 173999 167889 3.60%
VOLKSWAGEN POLO 31063 22567 37.60% 158952 140445 13.20%
RENAULT CLIO 30821 34680 -11.10% 165841 162619 2.00%
OPEL/VAUXHALL CORSA 27133 26943 0.70% 150943 133753 12.90%
FORD FOCUS 25031 21714 15.30% 127799 121494 5.20%
RENAULT CAPTUR 23942 20911 14.50% 107453 87340 23.00%
PEUGEOT 208 23092 19390 19.10% 120786 119599 1.00%
NISSAN QASHQAI 22899 19291 18.70% 124782 110375 13.10%
VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT 21698 14757 47.00% 111285 79892 39.30%

Data source: JATO

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