April was hopefully the lowest point for European car sales, with a 74.1% decline on the same month last year, to just over 350,000 sales which represents a loss of over a million sales and is the strongest monthly drop in car deliveries since records began. However, most countries were still in lockdown for most of the month of May so don’t expect sales to bounce up in a V-shaped recovery as Chinese car sales have. Even if dealerships open again and customer demand picks up, many factories of OEMs and suppliers have been closed as well resulting in supply disruptions. The year-to-date score is now down 37.2% on the first four months of 2019, representing 2 million fewer deliveries. That leads us to believe 2020 could very well be a new low in European car sales, dropping below 12 million for the first time since 1994.
Back to April, where every single one of the 27 EU markets recorded double digit declines. Among the five largest markets, Italy, the UK and Spain recorded the most significant drops at -97.6%, -97.3% and -96.5% respectively. France was down 88.8% and Germany resisted best at “just” -61.1%, making it by far the largest market in Europe at over 120,000 sales, more than one third of the continent’s total deliveries. France was the second largest market at just under 21,000 sales and relatively lockdown-free Sweden was the third largest market at just under 19,000 deliveries. As a result, the models ranking will favor models that are traditionally more popular in Germany (German brands), and less so the nameplates that sell well in Southern Europe (French and Italian brands).
In terms of bodystyles, the pain is shared relatively equal, with sales of car models (hatchback, sedan, stationwagon, coupe and convertible) down 75.4%, crossover and SUV sales down 74% and MPV sales down 75.5%. Within these figures, sales of EVs and PHEVs hold impressivey well at -16% to around 31,500 sales, giving plug-in vehicles a share of 9% of the European car market (5.8% for pure EVs alone).
April 2020 Manufacturers
In the manufacturers ranking, Volkswagen Group outperforms the market at -71%, which is the best result among top-3 manufacturers and the second-best result in the top-9, after BMW in fourth place with sales down just 65.7%. PSA and Renault are down by more than the market average and sell fewer than 50,000 cars each. Hyundai-Kia moves with the market average at -74.1%, outperforming Daimler at -76.1% and Ford Motor Company at -78.1%. Toyota gains share with sales down 72.2% and moves past FCA which loses 84.8% of its sales. Geely Group benefits from relatively strong sales in Volvo’s home market, making it the best performing manufacturer in the top-10 and the second-best performer overall, after Tesla which is down just 27.1% on last year. Suzuki and Mazda lose share, and so does Tata Motors. Honda is one of the worst performers at -84.4% to fewer than 1,500 deliveries. Subaru is below 800 deliveris and General Motors sold just 15 cars in Europe in April.
| Group | Apr-20 | Apr-19 | change | YTD 2020 | YTD 2019 | change | |
| 1 | Volkswagen Group | 97.667 | 337.163 | -71,0% | 892.290 | 1.311.462 | -32,0% |
| 2 | PSA | 49.031 | 220.044 | -77,7% | 504.107 | 899.337 | -43,9% |
| 3 | Renault-Nissan | 45.021 | 187.934 | -76,0% | 432.391 | 757.812 | -42,9% |
| 4 | BMW AG | 29.633 | 86.323 | -65,7% | 245.611 | 346.158 | -29,0% |
| 5 | Hyundai-Kia | 23.138 | 89.415 | -74,1% | 244.864 | 356.606 | -31,3% |
| 6 | Daimler AG | 20.845 | 87.253 | -76,1% | 203.924 | 337.000 | -39,5% |
| 7 | Ford Motor Comp. | 18.827 | 86.008 | -78,1% | 194.506 | 352.976 | -44,9% |
| 8 | Toyota Motor | 18.186 | 65.334 | -72,2% | 201.242 | 260.979 | -22,9% |
| 9 | Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles | 13.353 | 87.806 | -84,8% | 178.277 | 339.154 | -47,4% |
| 10 | Geely Group | 10.912 | 29.010 | -62,4% | 81.332 | 114.737 | -29,1% |
| 11 | Suzuki | 4.754 | 20.295 | -76,6% | 43.854 | 87.654 | -50,0% |
| 12 | Mazda | 4.004 | 18.110 | -77,9% | 39.727 | 81.067 | -51,0% |
| 13 | Tata Motors | 3.967 | 19.227 | -79,4% | 54.858 | 86.231 | -36,4% |
| 14 | Tesla Motors | 3.246 | 4.451 | -27,1% | 26.496 | 25.823 | 2,6% |
| 15 | Honda | 1.462 | 9.390 | -84,4% | 23.839 | 47.223 | -49,5% |
| 16 | Subaru Corp. | 777 | 2.552 | -69,6% | 5.328 | 10.290 | -48,2% |
| 17 | Mahindra & Mahindra | 294 | 1.325 | -77,8% | 3.040 | 5.212 | -41,7% |
| 18 | SAIC | 175 | 980 | -82,1% | 5.239 | 3.997 | 31,1% |
| 19 | Aston Martin | 41 | 206 | -80,1% | 483 | 965 | -49,9% |
| 20 | General Motors | 15 | 379 | -96,0% | 61 | 1.144 | -94,7% |
April 2020 Brands
At brand level, market leader Volkswagen slightly outperforms the overall market at-72.5%, while BMW is up to a record second place thanks to sales down just 64.7%. Similarly, Skoda is up to third place, its first ever European podium and cutting last months record ranking of #6 in half. Skoda is the best performer in the brands top-22 with sales down 61.4%. Renault is down to 4th place ahead of Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot and Ford, with Audi staying ahead of Toyota while Opel/Vauxhall closes off the top-10. Just outside the top-10, Citroën loses share at -77.5% while Kia outperforms at -71.9%. Dacia and Hyundai lose share, with Volvo closing in at #15, knocking Fiat down to a very painful 16th place. Seat and Nissan are out of the top-15, while Mini and Mitsubishi gain market share with sales down less than 70% each. Tesla is the best performer among brands as well, while Porsche also outperforms. Land Rover, Jeep and Jaguar lose share, while DS gains share and outsells Alfa Romeo and Lexus by a large margin. Smart is marginalized by its EV-only strategy, down 95.6%. Even SAIC MG loses 82.1% in April, but it’s one of only three brands to be still in the black YTD. MG is up 31.1% in the first four months, Tesla is up 2.6% and DS is up by 7 deliveries. Biggest loser in April is Italy-dependent Lancia at -98.1%, followed by Chevrolet at -96.7%, Alpine at -92.4% and Infiniti at -91.4%. At this rate, Chevrolet and Infiniti will never run out of their last remaining stock before they’ll definitely be history in Europe. Newcomer Polestar registers another 9 cars in April and is up to 28 for the year.
| Brand | Apr-20 | Apr-19 | change | 2020 share | 2019 share | YTD rank | 2020 | 2019 | change | |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 41.947 | 152.628 | -72,5% | 12,1% | 11,3% | 1 | 389.770 | 603.072 | -35,4% |
| 2 | BMW | 24.961 | 70.783 | -64,7% | 7,2% | 5,2% | 5 | 198.547 | 275.283 | -27,9% |
| 3 | Skoda | 24.871 | 64.391 | -61,4% | 7,2% | 4,8% | 8 | 186.656 | 250.078 | -25,4% |
| 4 | Renault | 22.998 | 90.799 | -74,7% | 6,7% | 6,7% | 3 | 207.001 | 357.739 | -42,1% |
| 5 | Mercedes-Benz | 20.384 | 76.783 | -73,5% | 5,9% | 5,7% | 4 | 199.940 | 302.298 | -33,9% |
| 6 | Peugeot | 19.509 | 88.090 | -77,9% | 5,6% | 6,5% | 2 | 207.698 | 350.020 | -40,7% |
| 7 | Ford | 18.827 | 86.008 | -78,1% | 5,5% | 6,4% | 6 | 194.504 | 352.976 | -44,9% |
| 8 | Audi | 18.139 | 65.519 | -72,3% | 5,3% | 4,8% | 9 | 178.518 | 265.844 | -32,8% |
| 9 | Toyota | 17.383 | 60.829 | -71,4% | 5,0% | 4,5% | 7 | 187.132 | 243.462 | -23,1% |
| 10 | Opel/Vauxhall | 15.020 | 69.958 | -78,5% | 4,3% | 5,2% | 10 | 149.529 | 305.355 | -51,0% |
| 11 | Citroën | 13.133 | 58.350 | -77,5% | 3,8% | 4,3% | 11 | 132.394 | 229.483 | -42,3% |
| 12 | Kia | 12.083 | 42.946 | -71,9% | 3,5% | 3,2% | 12 | 127.334 | 174.017 | -26,8% |
| 13 | Dacia | 11.907 | 51.224 | -76,8% | 3,4% | 3,8% | 16 | 95.350 | 193.440 | -50,7% |
| 14 | Hyundai | 11.055 | 46.469 | -76,2% | 3,2% | 3,4% | 14 | 117.530 | 182.589 | -35,6% |
| 15 | Volvo | 10.890 | 28.937 | -62,4% | 3,2% | 2,1% | 18 | 81.197 | 114.546 | -29,1% |
| 16 | Fiat | 9.986 | 62.599 | -84,0% | 2,9% | 4,6% | 13 | 126.259 | 233.403 | -45,9% |
| 17 | Seat | 9.630 | 46.036 | -79,1% | 2,8% | 3,4% | 15 | 116.663 | 169.261 | -31,1% |
| 18 | Nissan | 5.763 | 32.013 | -82,0% | 1,7% | 2,4% | 17 | 92.168 | 148.249 | -37,8% |
| 19 | Suzuki | 4.754 | 20.295 | -76,6% | 1,4% | 1,5% | 20 | 43.854 | 87.654 | -50,0% |
| 20 | Mini | 4.653 | 15.479 | -69,9% | 1,3% | 1,1% | 19 | 46.861 | 70.590 | -33,6% |
| 21 | Mitsubishi | 4.204 | 12.686 | -66,9% | 1,2% | 0,9% | 23 | 36.801 | 53.611 | -31,4% |
| 22 | Mazda | 4.004 | 18.110 | -77,9% | 1,2% | 1,3% | 21 | 39.727 | 81.067 | -51,0% |
| 23 | Tesla | 3.246 | 4.451 | -27,1% | 0,9% | 0,3% | 25 | 26.496 | 25.823 | 2,6% |
| 24 | Porsche | 2.854 | 8.021 | -64,4% | 0,8% | 0,6% | 27 | 18.881 | 21.090 | -10,5% |
| 25 | Land Rover | 2.456 | 12.163 | -79,8% | 0,7% | 0,9% | 22 | 38.252 | 56.098 | -31,8% |
| 26 | Jeep | 2.008 | 13.474 | -85,1% | 0,6% | 1,0% | 24 | 27.542 | 57.436 | -52,0% |
| 27 | Jaguar | 1.511 | 7.064 | -78,6% | 0,4% | 0,5% | 28 | 16.606 | 30.133 | -44,9% |
| 28 | Honda | 1.462 | 9.390 | -84,4% | 0,4% | 0,7% | 26 | 23.839 | 47.223 | -49,5% |
| 29 | DS | 1.369 | 3.646 | -62,5% | 0,4% | 0,3% | 29 | 14.486 | 14.479 | 0,0% |
| 30 | Alfa Romeo | 807 | 4.737 | -83,0% | 0,2% | 0,4% | 32 | 8.898 | 19.837 | -55,1% |
| 31 | Lexus | 803 | 4.505 | -82,2% | 0,2% | 0,3% | 30 | 14.110 | 17.517 | -19,4% |
| 32 | Subaru | 777 | 2.552 | -69,6% | 0,2% | 0,2% | 33 | 5.328 | 10.290 | -48,2% |
| 33 | Smart | 461 | 10.470 | -95,6% | 0,1% | 0,8% | 35 | 3.984 | 34.702 | -88,5% |
| 34 | SSangYong | 289 | 1.208 | -76,1% | 0,1% | 0,1% | 36 | 2.656 | 4.770 | -44,3% |
| 35 | Ferrari | 241 | 432 | -44,2% | 0,1% | 0,0% | 37 | 1.282 | 1.336 | -4,0% |
| 36 | SAIC MG | 175 | 980 | -82,1% | 0,1% | 0,1% | 34 | 5.239 | 3.997 | 31,1% |
| 37 | Lada | 124 | 432 | -71,3% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 40 | 758 | 1.842 | -58,8% |
| 38 | Lancia | 110 | 5.739 | -98,1% | 0,0% | 0,4% | 31 | 12.826 | 24.267 | -47,1% |
| 39 | Lamborghini | 106 | 213 | -50,2% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 42 | 657 | 826 | -20,5% |
| 40 | Bentley | 101 | 315 | -67,9% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 38 | 1.001 | 1.189 | -15,8% |
| 41 | Maserati | 72 | 546 | -86,8% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 39 | 883 | 2.042 | -56,8% |
| 42 | Dodge | 59 | 119 | -50,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 47 | 264 | 387 | -31,8% |
| 43 | Aston Martin | 41 | 206 | -80,1% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 43 | 483 | 965 | -49,9% |
| 44 | Alpine | 37 | 489 | -92,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 46 | 292 | 1.756 | -83,4% |
| 45 | Infiniti | 25 | 291 | -91,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 45 | 313 | 1.175 | -73,4% |
| 46 | Rolls Royce | 19 | 61 | -68,9% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 48 | 203 | 285 | -28,8% |
| 47 | DR Motor | 15 | 129 | -88,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 41 | 661 | 963 | -31,4% |
| 48 | Lotus | 13 | 67 | -80,6% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 49 | 104 | 164 | -36,6% |
| 49 | Chevrolet | 11 | 331 | -96,7% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 51 | 47 | 868 | -94,6% |
| 50 | Polestar | 9 | 0 | New | 0,0% | 0,0% | 52 | 28 | 0 | New |
| 51 | Mahindra | 5 | 117 | -95,7% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 44 | 384 | 442 | -13,1% |
| 52 | Cadillac | 4 | 47 | -91,5% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 54 | 14 | 273 | -94,9% |
| 53 | Great Wall | 3 | 0 | New | 0,0% | 0,0% | 50 | 53 | 0 | New |
| 54 | Chrysler | 3 | 18 | -83,3% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 53 | 25 | 59 | -57,6% |
| 55 | Bugatti | 1 | 4 | -75,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 55 | 6 | 11 | -45,5% |
European car sales statistics are from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom. They exclude vehicles registered as commercial vehicles. Source: ANDC, JATO Dynamics