European new car sales increase by 6%

European new car sales increased by 6% in September – confirming more than a year of continuous growth

Spain recorded the strongest growth of the ‘big 5’ markets, while Volkswagen and Ford remain Europe’s top selling brands

According to the latest analysis from JATO Dynamics, sales in Spain were up 25.9% year-on-year, while Germany and Britain both increased sales by 5.2% and 5.6% respectively in September.

The Spanish new car market rise is a result of the continued impact of government incentives. Growth, however, was not restricted to Europe’s biggest markets. Eight smaller markets have grown their sales by over 20% for the year-to-date period, notably Greece (+21.6%), Portugal (+31.7%) and Ireland (+30.0%), where the global recession had its greatest European impact.

Overall, 24 of the 29 countries studied increased their year-to-date sales compared to the same period last year.

Performance was mixed among the medium-sized markets. Romania increased its sales by 10.8% for the month, contributing to a year-to-date increase of 27.0%. The Czech Republic also performed well in

September with a sales gain of 19.4% compared to the same month last year. The downturn in The Netherlands continued with year-to-date sales falling 5.0%. Austria’s 1.7% dip in September also means that new car sales have decreased 4.3% for the year-to-date.

Volkswagen remained the top-selling brand in Europe and continued to increase its market share. Skoda’s growth, led by new models, kept it in the top 10 even though its best-selling Octavia slipped outside the top 10 models.

Ford retained second place in the top 10 brands as its Fiesta model reclaimed second spot from Volkswagen’s Polo in the top 10 models table. Peugeot registered double-digit growth year-on-year as its newly introduced 308, 2008, and 108 models all performed strongly. This helped the French carmaker jump one place to fifth in the European top 10.