European car sales analysis July 2014 – models

The European car sales ranking for July 2014 shows the VW Golf still reigning supreme as expected, all by itself outselling the full line-up of Toyota. But below the Golf, the Fiesta has reclaimed the second place that it lost to the Clio in the past two months, although it does it by a margin of less than 400 units.

As the 208 is down again, it’s almost pushed out of the top-10, and is in danger of being overtaken as the brand’s best seller by the brand-new 308, already in 14th place. It would be the first time since at least a few decades and possibly ever that a Peugeot compact outsells the brand’s subcompact cars. And will the 308 also be able to outsell the Opel/Vauxhall Astra (11th place in July) next year, as its predecessor 307 managed to achieve in 2002, 2003 and 2004? I think it will.

Once again, the fastest gaining model in the top-10 is the Skoda Octavia, and (am I repeating myself too often here?) its platform siblings Seat Leon and Audi A3 are exploring new heights as well. Okay, I’ll add something new here: the VW Golf Sportsvan, replacing the Golf Plus, is selling like hot cakes as well, up to 52nd place with 7.432 sales, a figure it will undoubtedly improve further in the next couple of months. As a result, Volkswagen Group’s new modular MQB platform is already closing in on the 100.000 monthly units mark, with 97.198 cars sold on that platform in July.

In the market’s hottest segment, that of small crossovers, the lead of the Renault Captur is challenged by the Dacia Duster, just 30 units behind, in 18th and 19th place. The Peugeot 2008 and Opel/Vauxhall Mokka follow at a slight distance. Meanwhile, the Ford Ecosport in 160th place just doesn’t seem to vibe with European customers, already down almost 24% on last month, a worrying trend for a model this fresh.

In the compact premium SUV segment, the Mercedes-Benz GLA is starting to show its potential, already moving into second place (72nd overall), outselling the BMW X1 and Mini Countryman for the first time. It would be interesting to see if it can steal the segment crown from the Audi Q3 within the next couple of months. The other new introduction to this segment, the Porsche Macan is picking up steam as well, closing into the top-100 in 129th place, topping 2.000 monthly units for the first time.

The Tesla Model S continues its roller coaster sales performance, down from 1.194 units and 161st place  in June to just 295 units and 234rd place in July, while the BMW i3 seems to have stabilized at the 700-800 monthly sales mark in 183rd position. The BMW i8 electric sports car is starting to hit European roads, in 266th place with 131 sales in July.

Already starting to become a familiar face on the road, the second generation Kolin triplets Citroën C1, Peugeot 108 and Toyota Aygo are not yet storming the charts, as all three are still down on July 2013. On a more positive note, the Peugeot 108 in 114th place has outsold the outgoing 107 in 173rd place for the first time. As the other two haven’t changed names, I unfortunately have no data available for the split in new model vs. old model, but I expect a similar trend for these models.

As the Mazda3 is still selling briskly in 92nd place, it’s closing in on the CX-5 (79th overall) to become the brand’s best selling model within the next couple of months, as sales of the crossover are starting to cool, with sales down on a year-on-year basis for the first time since the model’s introduction. The Mazda6 in 119th position is now down year-to-date due to sales down 26,8% in July.

The i10 minicar in 61st place is keeping the Hyundai brand in positive territory, though barely. It’s quickly closing in on the soon to be replaced i20 (59th) and the i30 (55th), both down with double digits, to become the brand’s second best selling model. The low-profit-margin minicar has increased its share of Hyundai brand sales from 13% last year to 18% now, a percentage only trumped by Fiat (55% divided by two models, 500 and Panda) and (naturally) Smart at 100%.

The Citroën C4 Cactus is in 109th place in July, almost doubling sales of its “premium” sibling DS4, while the traditional C4 hatchback is down almost 28% to 70th place. The quirky Cactus looks set to enter the top-100 next month, and it would be great to see it outsell the C4 sometime next year.

Scroll down to see the top-338 all models ranking for July 2014 and the top-351 all models ranking Year-to-Date.

Models ranking July

Models ranking Jan-July