The latest registration data from Jato shows the 29 European markets in November posted 6.8% increase for the year-to-date, constituting the highest YTD increase since 2007. 26 out of 29 markets recording an increase in registrations compared to 2015 during November.
Total registrations in the 29 European markets covered by JATO Dynamics data totalled 1,184,140 – an overall growth of 5% when compared to November 2015. Europe’s largest five markets all posted an increase in registrations during November, with the Spanish market seeing the highest increase in sales of 13% compared to the same period in 2015. France ranked second, achieving a healthy growth of 8.2%. Meanwhile, Germany, Italy and the UK all posted modest increases of 1.5%, 5% and 2.9% respectively.
The only markets experiencing a decline were Ireland, Switzerland and the Netherlands where registrations declined by 20.4%, 0.4% and 20.7% respectively.
Volkswagen Group accounted for 24.56% of the market in November, with a .28% decline in market share. As such VW Group remains the largest in Europe. Daimler posted the highest market share increase of 0.83 percentage points, making it the 5th largest car maker in Europe and meaning it accounted for 6.74% of the market in November. The largest loss of market share was experienced by PSA, which remained Europe’s third largest car group despite a decrease in market share of 1.19 percentage points due to declines posted by all of its brands.
SUV registrations were 16.1% up on November 2015, accounting for 26.7% of the market. Although down by 7.5% against the same month last year,
The Volkswagen Golf maintained its place as Europe’s leading car. The Renault Clio was the second best-selling model, its November registrations increased by 20.3% when compared to the same month last year. The Renault Captur was Europe’s best-selling SUV in November, by a whisker (just 188 more models registered than the Volkswagen Tiguan).
Felipe Munoz, Global Automotive Analyst at JATO Dynamics, commented: “It’s looking highly likely that 2016 will top 2015’s strong registration figures, which is a remarkable feat given the political and economic uncertainty that has dominated 2016. However, it’s important that this growth isn’t taken for granted, as 2017 will bring further uncertainty – with the UK expected to trigger Article 50 in March, beginning the process of exiting the EU. Any decline in consumer confidence in the UK is likely to impact the European automotive market greatly – especially given that the German car market counts the UK as its biggest export market,”
