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.
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By GlobalDataJATO 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
