New car registrations grew by 6.1% in January, buoyed by the SUV segment, and large growth in some countries.

• New car registrations grew by 6.1% in January, buoyed by the SUV segment
• Despite the biggest drop in market share, Volkswagen still led the market
• New Opel/Vauxhall Astra and Fiat Panda entered the top 10 models table
• New small and compact SUVs posted impressive market share gains

With 1.09 million units sold, January 2016 marked the 29^th consecutive month of year-on-year registration growth in Europe. The month saw a 6.1% increase in volume compared with January 2015, and the region’s highest January sales in four years. 

The results were boosted by strong growth in two of the big-5 European markets – Italy and Spain - as well as Ireland, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Finland. However, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Croatia and Latvia all experienced a downturn in sales.

Volkswagen remained the best-selling brand for the month with 128,500 units sold, though it experienced a loss of market share, falling from 12.9% in January 2015 to 11.8% last month. The German car maker registered the only negative change among the top 10 best-selling brands. 

Its sister brand Audi had a different experience, increasing its volume by 14.2%, the highest rise in the top 10. This boosted its market share by 0.41 percentage points. Other big market share winners were Mazda (+0.42 percentage points), Opel/Vauxhall (+0.36), Fiat (+0.34) and Honda (+0.33).

Once again the Volkswagen Golf was the top model, thanks in particular to its strong position in Germany and Italy, though it also performed well in other large and mid-size markets. 

However, it also saw its market share drop in 20 of 29 European markets. The Golf’s market share stood at 3.4% in January 2016, compared to almost 4.0% in the same month of 2015, its second lowest monthly share since January 2014. Sales volumes fell by 9.5% from January 2015 to 36,900 units. 

However, Opel/Vauxhall experienced an excellent 50% gain in year-on-year growth with its new-generation Astra, a direct rival to the Golf, with sales totalling 16,900 units. The Astra posted the highest percentage increase in the top 10 as volumes soared in Germany (+98%), Spain (+60%) and France (+114%).

The Golf was followed by the usual three best-selling subcompacts – Volkswagen’s Polo, Ford’s Fiesta and Renault’s Clio, with the Polo growing 4.9% to almost 25,000 units. The volume falls recorded by the Fiesta and Clio allowed the Peugeot 208 to gain ground on its competition, posting sales of 19,200 units, an increase of 19.4% year-on-year. 

The small Peugeot benefitted from increasing demand in France (+27%) and Italy (+45%), its two main markets, and outsold its competitor from GM, the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa (-14.7% at 18,000 units).

It was also a challenging start to the year for the Nissan Qashqai, as its registrations fell by almost 1%. Small sales rises in the UK (+3%) and Italy (+4%) were not sufficient to offset decreases in Germany (-13%) and France (-14%). 

The Skoda Octavia dropped one position in the top 10 models to eighth with 17,400 units (+1%), and Fiat re-entered the top 10 thanks to sales of the Panda in Italy (+42%) that counted for 79% of its total registrations.

Outside the top 10, the Volkswagen Passat and Peugeot 308 experienced relatively moderate growth, while the Renault Captur posting a small percentage decrease (1.6%).

The Captur’s rival, the Opel/Vauxhall Mokka, had a positive month, occupying 20^th position thanks to an 8.1% increase in volume. The performance of the Fiat 500 also declined. The 13,600 units sold, represented a drop of 2% due to fewer sales in the UK (-33%) and France (-9%). Registrations of the Mercedes C-Class fell by 14% following a slowdown in all the big-5 European markets.

The new Hyundai Tucson was Europe’s best performer in terms of market share gain, adding 1.1% to its market share. Its largest market was Ireland, which contributed 20% of its European sales. 

The Renault Kadjar was another big winner with a 0.75% rise in share, achieved through sales of almost 8,200 units. It was followed by the Fiat 500X, Suzuki Vitara, Opel/Vauxhall Karl/Viva and the Mercedes GLC, all with more than 0.5 percentage points gains. The models that posted the biggest falls in market share were the Hyundai ix35, Volkswagen Golf, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, Volkswagen Golf Sportsvan, Renault Scenic and the BMW 5-Series.

“After two months of double-digit growth, the European new car market slowed down in January. Volkswagen remained top but lost ground to its main rivals, who benefitted from the success of their SUVs and new models. January’s figures suggest that the current momentum behind SUVs will continue, further establishing the segment’s importance,” commented Felipe Munoz, Global Automotive Analyst at JATO Dynamics.

Total new car registrations in Germany, UK, Italy, France and Spain increased by 6.7% compared with January 2015

• Total new car registrations in Germany, UK, Italy, France and Spain increased by 6.7% compared with January 2015
• Most of the growth was driven by the Italian market, which became the third largest in Europe
• Opel/Vauxhall, Audi, Fiat and Citroen all posted double-digit growth
• SUVs led the way - registrations rose by 23% year on year

The latest analysis from JATO Dynamics points to a positive start to 2016 for Europe’s ‘big 5’ car markets. A total of 759,600 units were registered in January in Germany, UK, Italy, France and Spain, representing average growth of 6.7% compared with January 2015. Registration volumes grew in all five markets but at different rates as Italy and Spain continued to outperform the overall result by posting double-digit growth.

Last month Italy’s outstanding results (+17%) meant it outsold France and became the third largest market in Europe with 156,200 units.

This performance brought Italy closer to the UK, with the gap closing to just over 13,000 units. Year on year the market made a significant jump from January 2015, when the Italian new car market counted for 18.7% of Europe’s big 5 total, to January 2016 when its share jumped to 20.6%. 

Part of the increase was explained by a pick up in the number of commercial deals. Germany was ahead with more than 218,000 units, but posted the second lowest percentage increase (+3.1%). In the UK, even with a registrations increase of only 2.9%, the market achieved its highest January total for 11 years, thanks mostly to private registrations. 

French registrations increased by 3.9%, and Spain closed the top 5 with 77,400 units, up by 11.6% on January 2015’s results.

Volkswagen was the best-sellling brand in these markets with 88,900 new cars. Its registrations fell by 4.1%, amid the emissions issues affecting its performance in Germany (-8.8%) and in the UK (-13.8%). 

The German brand was the only one in the top 10 to post negative growth. Its market share dropped significantly as a result, from 13.0% in January 2015 to 11.7% this month. Ford came next with 7.6% market share and registrations up by 8.4%, driven by its German (+18.9%) and Italian (+18.6%) results. 

The big volume winner of the month was Opel/Vauxhall with an increase of 12.8% in registrations to  52,000 units, representing a 6.9% market share. It occupied third place in the brands table.

Audi in fifth place posted the highest percentage change as its registrations grew by 17% thanks to double-digit growth in four of the five markets (the UK was the exception). 

The premium brand was closely followed by Renault which fell three positions in the ranking, passing from third place in January 2015 to sixth last month. The French car maker posted the lowest positive growth in the top 10 due to falls in France, Germany and Spain. 

This was not true of Fiat, the next in the ranking, whose registrations went up by 12.7% to 46,200 units, with 70% of them coming from Italy (+19%). The top 10 was completed by two other German premium brands - Mercedes and BMW – and by Citroen (+10%).

Outside the top 10, Nissan’s fall (-5.9%) allowed Toyota to cut the gap (+4.6%) to less than 2,000 units. As a result, Nissan only just retained its position as the best-selling Japanese brand in Europe’s big 5 markets. 

Dacia, Skoda and Seat posted reductions in their registrations while Kia, Mazda, Land Rover and Honda achieved double-digit volume growth. Other good perfomers included Suzuki, Jeep, DS, Alfa Romeo and Jaguar.

The Volkswagen Golf led the ranking by models with 26,100 units, down by 6.8%. However, it reached its lowest market share of the last three years at 3.43% (January 2015: 3.93%, January 2014: 4.15%). 

It was followed by the Volkswagen Polo, which thanks to its positive growth, (+9.1%) was able to outsell the Ford Fiesta (-4.4%) and became the best-selling subcompact. The big surprise was the Fiat Panda in fourth place with 15,600 units, jumping from eighth position in January 2015. 

The rise of this city-car was possible thanks to Italian sales (+42%) which counted for 86% of the total. The Peugeot 208 also posted a big increase (+26%) outselling the Renault Clio (-6.3%) and Opel/Vauxhall Corsa (-14%). Among the best performers were the Opel/Vauxhall Astra (+49%), Citroen C3 (+23%), Fiat 500X (+249%), Kia Sportage (+30%) and Audi Q3 (+64%).

“These encouraging January results did not follow the same pattern seen in recent months. Most of the growth was driven by only two markets and not all the car makers benefited from it. 

The volumes growth in Europe’s big 5 was driven by SUVs which topped the segments ranking, increasing registrations by almost 23%. Meanwhile the compact segment grew by only 5% and demand for subcompacts continued to stall” concluded Felipe Munoz, Global Automotive Analyst at JATO Dynamics.

Ford's Fiesta continues to dominate the European market, holding the #1 sales position for three years.

• The Ford Fiesta continues to reaffirm its European leadership among compact cars, winning relating to the first six months of 2015 1st place in the ranking of sales of 'small car' *

• The results obtained from the compact Blue Oval in the first half of 2015 carry on the extraordinary success of the current generation Fiesta, which has dominated the European charts sales for 3 consecutive years, in 2012, in 2013 and 2014

• Ford Fiesta sold in Europe 174 thousand in the first half of 2015, an increase of 3.5% over the same period of 2014. Of these, over 22 thousand were sold in Italy, expressing a growth of 13.3%

The Ford Fiesta continues to reaffirm its European leadership among compact cars, winning relating to the first six months of 2015 1st place in the ranking of sales of 'small car'.The Fiesta, at the same time, is also the 2nd best selling model ever in Europe.

The results obtained from the compact Blue Oval in the first half of 2015 carry on the extraordinary success of the current generation Fiesta, which has dominated the European charts sales for 3 consecutive years, in 2012, in 2013 and 2014.

Ford Fiesta sold in Europe 174 thousand in the first half of 2015, expressing a growth of 3.5% over the same period of 2014. Of these, over 22 thousand were sold in Italy, an increase of 13.3% compared to the first six months of 2015. In Italy, also, the Ford Fiesta is also the best-selling between the LPG-powered cars in the first six months of 2015. **

"Customers Europeans have a real passion for the compact, but also have extremely high expectations. We are proud to continue to see the Fiesta at the top of the charts, "said Roelant de Waard, Vice President Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe. 

"The Fiesta now offers the widest variety of range of all time, with ultra-efficient engines as the ECOnetic model, and the most high level of customization, with new colors as the elegant Silver Beige".

After months of production cuts, Ford now cuts staff at B-Max plant due to poor sales.

Ford Motor will lay off about 680 people at its Romanian division next year, or some 20 percent of the staff, as it adjusts to a weak European market.

Ford took over struggling Romanian carmaker Automobile Craiova in 2008 and started producing its B-Max minivan there two years ago.

However, the B-Max went on sale as customers increasingly began to buy small crossovers instead of minivans. Low demand has led to regular production stoppages each month for more than a year.

The lay offs are intended "to best utilize the remaining workforce at Craiova and to meet current and expected future production requirements," Ford Romania said in a statement Wednesday.

Ford said it is seeking opportunities to source a second vehicle in Craiova.

In the first nine months, European sales of the B-Max fell 21 percent to 43,749, according to JATO Dynamics.

Ford said it will seek voluntary lay offs at Craiova's car and engine plants.

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Fiat Chrysler Group continues to out perform in Europe with increases in most brands & markets

• Increases for Jeep (61%), Lancia (13.2%) and Fiat (4.2%)
• The Fiat 500 and Panda were once again the two top-selling vehicles in the European A segment, with a combined share of 28.7% for the year to date

The European auto market (EU28+EFTA) continued its upward trend in September with new passenger car registrations up 6.1% to nearly 1,270,000. For the nine months year-to-date, registrations were up 5.8% to 9,907,000. 

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles also posted an increase in September, with sales up 6% to nearly 69,000 vehicles and market share in line with the same period in 2013 at 5.4%. The Group achieved sales gains in all major European markets, with Italy up 4.7%, Germany 8.7%, France 2.9%, the UK 4.7% and Spain 27.9%. 

For the year to date, FCA sales totaled more than 588,000 vehicles (+2.6% year-over-year) and market share was 20 basis points lower at 5.9%.

Fiat brand posted September sales of nearly 53,000 vehicles, up 4.2% year-over-year, with market share at 4.1% (-10 bps). 

For the year to date, brand sales totaled nearly 455,000 vehicles (+2.2% year-over-year) and market share was 4.6% (-20 bps). 

The brand registered September sales increases in each of the five major European markets. In Spain, where the overall market was up 26%, Fiat brand sales were up 34.2% over September 2013. Sales were also up 4.4% in Germany, 3.2% in France and 4.5% in the UK.

The 500 and Panda were once again the two most popular cars in the European A segment with combined shares of 25.9% in September and 28.7% for the year to date. In the UK, the 500 achieved an all-time record with more than 9,000 units sold.

The 500L registered a 17.8% European segment share in September and a 22.3% share for the nine months year to date. Combined sales for the 500 family were up 15.1% year-over-year for the month of September and 22.1% for the year to date.

The 500 led the European A segment in September followed by the Panda which, with more than 12,000 vehicles sold, accounted for nearly 10% of segment sales. The new Cross version proved popular with customers during the open door weekend held on 27-28 September.

Lancia/Chrysler posted September sales of nearly 6,800 vehicles (+13.2%) and market share was in line with the prior year at 0.5%. Brand sales were up 26.9% in Italy and 1.7% in France.

For the year to date, brand sales were down 2.4% to just under 56,000 vehicles, with share unchanged at 0.6%.

Sales of the brand’s number one model, the Ypsilon, were up 33.3% over September a year ago driven in large part by the success of the recently launched ELLE version. The Ypsilon was the best selling B-segment vehicle in Italy for the month of September. 

Alfa Romeo posted September sales of just over 5,100 vehicles (-13.2%) with market share at 0.4%. The brand achieved particularly positive performance in Spain and Switzerland with year-over-year sales increases of 7% and 9%, respectively.

For the year to date, brand sales totaled just over 45,500 vehicles (-10.4%) and market share was in line with the same period in 2013 at 0.5%.

Sales of the MiTo were up a full 8% for the year to date in Italy. 

Jeep sales totaled more than 3,600 vehicles in September (+61%) with market share up 10 basis points to 0.3%. 

The brand posted September sales increases well above the average in all of the major European markets. Sales were up 44.7% in Italy, 48.9% in Germany, 27.2% in France, 133.7% in the UK and 31.6% in Spain.

For the year to date, Jeep brand sales were up nearly 47% to more than 25,000 vehicles and market share was up 10 basis points to 0.3%. By major market, sales were up 40.1% in Italy, 40.6% in Germany, 38.3% in France, 95.1% in the UK and 8.9% in Spain. 

The Grand Cherokee, the brand’s flagship model, continued its strong sales momentum with year-to-date sales up 44.2%. The Wrangler posted a 23% sales increase in September. The recent launches of the Cherokee and Renegade are expected to contribute to further sales increases in the coming months. 

For Ferrari and Maserati, sales totaled 654 vehicles in September and 6,633 for the year to date.

Subaru wins Good Design Award for Concept Levorg Sports Tourer.

• Judges praise Subaru for staying true to design of Levorg concept
• Subaru Levorg under consideration for European market

Subaru has today announced that the Subaru Levorg has won the ‘Good Design Award 2014’ from the Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP).

The Subaru Levorg Sports Tourer, recently launched in the domestic Japanese market, was praised by judges for its dynamic form, while managing to maintain Subaru’s typical strengths of good visibility and versatile cargo space. It is the third consecutive year in which Subaru has won the award.

The judges commended Subaru for staying true to the original Levorg concept vehicle - first unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2013 - which blended sports car and tourer features. The independent jury were also impressed with the Levorg’s dynamic form, with bold wheel arches and a sharply-sloped roofline.

The JDP’s judges commented: “On the interior, for which Subaru has set up a group to complete finishing touches, we can see the attention that they’ve given to details in the feel of materials and the sound quality of moving parts. With further advances made on the brand’s unique technologies, such as the horizontally-opposed engine and EyeSight driver assist system, the Levorg has been completed as a vehicle that ensures a secure, enjoyable driving experience.”

The Levorg is currently under consideration for the European market for launch later in 2015. The model name ‘Levorg’ has been derived from a combination of the words ‘Legacy’, ‘Revolution’ and ‘Touring’.

Japan’s Good Design Award was established in 1957 and recognises the best designs from companies around the world. The symbol of the award, the ‘G Mark’, is recognised as a mark of high quality, functional design.