H1 2014 car sales in Europe up 5.8%

European monthly sales volumes - year-on-year comparison

It isn’t just European tyre markets that were up in the first half of 2014 – UK-based automotive intelligence supplier JATO Dynamics states that the European new car market grew 5.8 per cent year-on-year in the period from January to June. Sales growth of 4.3 per cent in June means that year-on-year sales increased for the tenth consecutive month. Great Britain recorded the biggest year-to-date increase in units sold – over 120,000 more than the first half of 2013, a 10.6 per cent increase. Overall, 24 of the 30 countries analysed recorded year-to-date increases in volumes compared to the same period last year, including Europe’s five largest markets – France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.

All of the top ten vehicle brands have increased their sales for the year so far compared with the same period in 2013, and while sales of individual models have been a mixed bag, some have shot through the roof; sales of Renault’s Captur, for example, rose 355.8 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2014 to make the car the seventh best-selling model in Europe.

Top ten brands

Make

Jun_14

Jun_13

% change Jun

Jun
YtD_14

Jun
YtD_13

% change YtD

VOLKSWAGEN

141,278

145,758

-3.1%

825,041

809,677

+1.9%

RENAULT

105,394

87,268

+20.8%

468,248

412,384

+13.5%

OPEL/VAUXHALL

93,235

83,494

+11.7%

472,312

436,037

+8.3%

FORD

91,474

92,608

-1.2%

514,943

488,208

+5.5%

PEUGEOT

75,057

72,649

+3.3%

422,155

394,074

+7.1%

BMW

64,396

59,744

+7.8%

345,515

328,048

+5.3%

AUDI

64,392

63,580

+1.3%

383,675

364,601

+5.2%

MERCEDES

60,032

59,455

+1.0%

334,112

323,148

+3.4%

CITROEN

59,963

62,496

-4.1%

333,666

325,355

+2.6%

FIAT

57,495

54,807

+4.9%

324,002

319,124

+1.5%

Fewer available selling days in June contributed to a slight dip in sales volumes in Germany during June (-1.9 per cent), however over the first half of 2014 this market grew by 2.4 per cent. Italy recorded year-to-date growth of 3.4 per cent, and France 2.9 per cent. The Czech Republic (+16.4 per cent), Portugal (+37.7 per cent) and Sweden (+17.7 per cent) are amongst the medium-sized markets recording strong double-digit growth for the first half of 2014. Conversely, sales in the Netherlands continue to slow as a result of tax changes brought in at the start of the year. New car sales were down 5.6 per cent in June and down 5.1 per cent for the year-to-date.

Top ten models

Make & Model

Jun_14

Jun_13

% change Jun

Jun YtD_14

Jun YtD_13

% change YtD

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

43,960

40,883

+7.5%

270,462

236,902

+14.2%

RENAULT CLIO

34,606

30,806

+12.3%

162,558

154,359

+5.3%

FORD FIESTA

27,523

25,909

+6.2%

167,941

153,715

+9.3%

OPEL/VAUXHALL CORSA

26,935

26,035

+3.5%

133,729

131,785

+1.5%

VOLKSWAGEN POLO

22,531

26,361

-14.5%

140,539

142,701

-1.5%

FORD FOCUS

21,712

22,382

-3.0%

121,570

122,661

-0.9%

RENAULT CAPTUR

20,893

9,673

+116.0%

87,410

19,178

+355.8%

PEUGEOT 208

19,373

22,774

-14.9%

119,686

136,774

-12.5%

NISSAN QASHQAI

19,271

18,364

+4.9%

110,474

113,726

-2.9%

OPEL/VAUXHALL ASTRA

19,063

19,663

-3.1%

97,336

104,248

-6.6%

 

“Overall it has been a very positive first half of the year for the European new car market. Year-to-date growth of 5.8 per cent and ten consecutive months of sales increases are fantastic achievements in the current economic climate,” said Gareth Hession, vice-president of Research at JATO Dynamics. “These trends suggest that the industry has every chance of extending this level of performance for the remainder of 2014.”

Comments
Comments closed

We see you are visiting us from China.

If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.