September 2019 is a strange month for European car sales, as September last year was the first month after the introduction of the new WLTP fuel economy (and emissions) testing procedure, for which not all manufacturers were equally well prepared. This meant that a number of engine/model configurations for some manufacturers which had not yet been tested under the new procedure would not be allowed to be sold in Europe after Septermber 1st. As a result, those cars were pre-registered in July and August 2018 even though they had not yet been sold to a consumer. This gave a boost to car sales in those months for manufacturers like Renault, Nissan, Volkswagen, Audi, Fiat and Alfa Romeo, which subsequently suffered in September and the following months. While some brands were much less affected, the overall European car market showed a similar trend, as you can see in the graph above. August 2018 was a relatively strong month (+26,5%), while August 2019 was much weaker (-7,5%), but in an upward trend, and September 2019 shows a double digit increase (+14,7%) compared to the shockingly weak September 2018 (-23,1%), but it’s still nearly 12% lower than September 2017. [Read more…]
After looking at the 
The European car market has been in a bit of rollercoaster in the summer of 2019, with sales down 7,8% in June, then up 2,6% in July before dropping 7,6% again in August. Expect a double digit gain again in September as the market suffered a severe 23% drop in that month last year as a result of the WLTP fuel efficiency standards kicking in. Still, the market is down 3,3% for 2019 so far, and September alone isn’t going to bring that back into positive territory. While in July SUVs and crossovers were the only type of vehicles to improve their sales, in August logically all types were in the red, with MPVs once again the biggest losers an falling at more than double the rate of the overall market. 
After returning to growth in the first quarter of 2019, the premium large SUV segment in Europe accelerates in the second quarter with a 6% increase in sales, to bring the first half figure up 4% to just under 142.000 sales. As to be expected from a still very fresh model, the 
The midsized premium SUV segment in Europe falls into decline in the second quarter of 2019 with a 9% loss to just over 125.000 sales, after a 1% growth in the first quarter. As a result, the first half figure is down 4% to just over 260.000 deliveries. Among brands, BMW is the big winner after replacing its two entries into this segment last year as both are up by large double digits. The 
Sales of limousines in Europe stabilized in the second quarter of 2019, after declining in 2018 and Q1. In Q2 sales were stable at just above 12.000 units, bringing the first half figure to just under 22.700 sales, down 9% on last year. We have one newcomer and just two nameplates at the bottom of the top-10 that improve their sales year-over-year, with the rest all in red, of which all but one with double digits. The dominant segment leader 
The premium large car segment in Europe has fallen into a double digit decline in the first half of 2019, with sales down 17% in the second quarter to just under 95.000 sales, after a 13% decline in the first quarter. That leads to a year-to-date decline of 15% to just over 195.000 sales. Only two of the 13 existing models in the class sell more than they did in the same period of 2018, while all the others suffer double digit declines. The 
Sales of midsized luxury cars in Europe continue their downward trend in the first half of 2019, with deliveries down 1% to just under 335.000 units. And if it hadn’t been for the thunderous arrival of the 
Sales of compact luxury cars in Europe are down 4% in the first half of 2019 to just over 400.000 units. Only four nameplates manage to improve their sales in this period while all the others are down by double digits. After storming to the top of the chart in 2018 for the very first time ever, the 
Sales of large SUVs in Europe have been in a downward trend in recent years and that trend continues in the first half of 2019 with a decline of 23% in deliveries as this remains the smallest segment of the European car market with fewer than 19.000 sales in the first six months of the year. Interestingly, this same segment is one of the largest in the United States representing over 12% of the total market with just over one million sales in the first half, compared to just 0,2% of the European market. After every single nameplate in this class lost volume in Q1 of 2019, there’s one model that showed an improvement in Q2, while all the others were down by double digits. The top-3 has been turned upside down in Q2 but not enough to change the ranking for the first half. In the second quarter the new generation