The recovery of the European car market continues in April 2021 with sales triple those of the same month last year, which was the slowest sales month in modern history due to COVID-19 related restrictions in many countries. But when compared to April 2019, sales are still down 22.8% or more than 300,000 units. Many European markets posted double-, triple- or even quadruple-digit percentage gains in April. Italy (+3,276.8%) and the UK (+3,176.6%) recorded the biggest uplift of the major markets, followed by Spain (+1,787.9%). France (+568.8%) and Germany (+90.0%) also showed strong gains compared to last year. When compared to April 2019, only Norway is in the positive at +17%, with Denmark (-4%), Estonia (-5.5%) and Finland (-9.3%) are the only markets showing single digit declines.
Sales of car models (hatchback, sedan, stationwagon, coupe and convertible) lose share at +190.2% to drop to their lowest share ever at 51.4%. Meanwhile, crossover and SUV outperform at +250.2% to set a new market share record for the third time in four months, at 44.2% share. MPV sales are up just 81.7% to 4.4% share. Within these figures, EV and PHEV jumped fivefold year-on-year to over 159,000 deliveries for a 15% market share
April 2021 Manufacturers
Volkswagen Group loses share while Stellantis is the best performing manufacturer in the top-12 at +267.4%. Still, just over 50,000 sales separate Europe’s two best selling automakers. Renault-Nissan is the worst performing manufacturer in the top-8 at +151.9%, loses 2.1 percentage points of share and sells less than half the volume of Stellantis. Hyundai-Kia jumps BMW AG to claim fourth place, as BMW is up just 156% which means it loses 1.3 percentage points of share. Daimler AG and Toyota Motor both gain share, as the latter passes Ford which is down to 8th place. Geely Group with its Volvo brand underperforms, but that’s also because it was less affected a year ago. For a change, Honda actually gains market share in Europe, and is the second-best performing manufacturer after SAIC. Subaru on the other hand continues to slide into irrelevance in Europe, with less than 1,700 sales.
| Group | mrt-21 | mrt-20 | change | 2021 share | 2020 share | YTD 2021 | YTD 2020 | change | |
| 1 | Volkswagen Group | 279.450 | 97.675 | 186,1% | 26,8% | 28,3% | 1.046.479 | 892.380 | 17,3% |
| 2 | Stellantis | 229.205 | 62.384 | 267,4% | 22,0% | 18,1% | 896.169 | 682.384 | 31,3% |
| 3 | Renault-Nissan | 113.511 | 45.058 | 151,9% | 10,9% | 13,0% | 468.485 | 432.683 | 8,3% |
| 4 | Hyundai-Kia | 76.233 | 23.138 | 229,5% | 7,3% | 6,7% | 288.556 | 244.864 | 17,8% |
| 5 | BMW AG | 75.846 | 29.633 | 156,0% | 7,3% | 8,6% | 299.526 | 245.611 | 22,0% |
| 6 | Daimler AG | 66.319 | 20.827 | 218,4% | 6,4% | 6,0% | 256.903 | 206.939 | 24,1% |
| 7 | Toyota Motor | 63.997 | 18.186 | 251,9% | 6,1% | 5,3% | 256.767 | 201.242 | 27,6% |
| 8 | Ford Motor Comp. | 54.892 | 18.827 | 191,6% | 5,3% | 5,5% | 220.636 | 194.506 | 13,4% |
| 9 | Geely Group | 26.692 | 10.913 | 144,6% | 2,6% | 3,2% | 118.800 | 81.355 | 46,0% |
| 10 | Suzuki | 16.170 | 4.754 | 240,1% | 1,6% | 1,4% | 63.699 | 43.854 | 45,3% |
| 11 | Mazda | 13.940 | 4.004 | 248,2% | 1,3% | 1,2% | 49.110 | 39.727 | 23,6% |
| 12 | Tata Motors | 13.755 | 3.967 | 246,7% | 1,3% | 1,1% | 52.323 | 54.858 | -4,6% |
| 13 | Honda | 6.121 | 1.437 | 326,0% | 0,6% | 0,4% | 20.448 | 23.836 | -14,2% |
| 14 | SAIC | 2.336 | 178 | 1212,4% | 0,2% | 0,1% | 10.858 | 6.026 | 80,2% |
| 15 | Subaru Corp. | 1.649 | 777 | 112,2% | 0,2% | 0,2% | 6.458 | 5.328 | 21,2% |
| 16 | Tesla Motors | 1.619 | 3.246 | -50,1% | 0,2% | 0,9% | 32.720 | 26.496 | 23,5% |
| 17 | Mahindra & Mahindra | 808 | 294 | 174,8% | 0,1% | 0,1% | 3.260 | 3.040 | 7,2% |
| 18 | Aston Martin | 157 | 41 | 282,9% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 719 | 483 | 48,9% |
| 19 | General Motors | 46 | 15 | 206,7% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 249 | 61 | 308,2% |
April 2021 Brands
In the brands ranking, Volkswagen loses share while Peugeot outperforms in second place. Mercedes-Benz and Toyota complete the top-4, outselling BMW and Renault. Skoda also underperforms in 8th place, while Audi is doing exceptionally well in 6th. Ford is down to 9th, with Opel/Vauxhall completing the top-10 justa head of Fiat. Dacia struggles, falling further behind Seat and Hyundai, but Nissan in 18th place just before Suzuki is long overdue for some fresh product with the new generations Qashqai and X-Trail, as well as the crossover EV Ariya. Jeep has a strong month at #22 ahead of Land Rover, while Honda outsells Mitsubishi for the first time this year. Jaguar is back ahead of Lexus, with DS close behind. Polestar outsells Subaru and Tesla, but SAIC MG remains the best selling Chinese brand while its startup EV rivals are still in their early days and available in just a handful of countries. Aiways delivers 27 units of its U5 EV crossover in Belgium, Denmark, France and Switzerland, while Xpeng delivers 26 G3 EV crossovers in Norway, Maxus delivers 22 Euniq EV MPVs in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, while Nio just landed in Norway and delivered its first 2 ES8 EV crossovers in preparation for its official launch in September.
| Brand | mrt-21 | mrt-20 | change | 2021 share | 2020 share | YTD rank | YTD 2021 | YTD 2020 | change | |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 121.180 | 41.955 | 188,8% | 11,6% | 12,2% | 1 | 450.655 | 389.860 | 15,6% |
| 2 | Peugeot | 71.207 | 19.509 | 265,0% | 6,8% | 5,7% | 2 | 286.172 | 207.698 | 37,8% |
| 3 | Mercedes-Benz | 62.829 | 20.366 | 208,5% | 6,0% | 5,9% | 3 | 244.056 | 202.955 | 20,3% |
| 4 | Toyota | 60.448 | 17.383 | 247,7% | 5,8% | 5,0% | 4 | 241.339 | 187.132 | 29,0% |
| 5 | BMW | 59.903 | 24.961 | 140,0% | 5,7% | 7,2% | 5 | 239.460 | 198.547 | 20,6% |
| 6 | Audi | 57.270 | 18.139 | 215,7% | 5,5% | 5,3% | 9 | 212.301 | 178.518 | 18,9% |
| 7 | Renault | 56.949 | 22.998 | 147,6% | 5,5% | 6,7% | 6 | 229.402 | 207.001 | 10,8% |
| 8 | Skoda | 56.205 | 24.871 | 126,0% | 5,4% | 7,2% | 8 | 215.015 | 186.656 | 15,2% |
| 9 | Ford | 54.891 | 18.827 | 191,6% | 5,3% | 5,5% | 7 | 220.634 | 194.504 | 13,4% |
| 10 | Opel/Vauxhall | 46.787 | 15.020 | 211,5% | 4,5% | 4,4% | 10 | 179.572 | 149.529 | 20,1% |
| 11 | Fiat | 44.659 | 9.986 | 347,2% | 4,3% | 2,9% | 12 | 171.039 | 126.259 | 35,5% |
| 12 | Citroën | 43.456 | 13.133 | 230,9% | 4,2% | 3,8% | 11 | 171.353 | 132.394 | 29,4% |
| 13 | Kia | 40.189 | 12.083 | 232,6% | 3,8% | 3,5% | 13 | 147.628 | 127.334 | 15,9% |
| 14 | Seat | 38.293 | 9.630 | 297,6% | 3,7% | 2,8% | 14 | 142.135 | 116.663 | 21,8% |
| 15 | Hyundai | 36.014 | 11.055 | 225,8% | 3,4% | 3,2% | 15 | 140.801 | 117.530 | 19,8% |
| 16 | Dacia | 29.637 | 11.907 | 148,9% | 2,8% | 3,4% | 16 | 118.065 | 95.350 | 23,8% |
| 17 | Volvo | 24.908 | 10.890 | 128,7% | 2,4% | 3,2% | 17 | 112.782 | 81.197 | 38,9% |
| 18 | Nissan | 20.984 | 5.763 | 264,1% | 2,0% | 1,7% | 18 | 98.563 | 92.168 | 6,9% |
| 19 | Suzuki | 16.170 | 4.754 | 240,1% | 1,5% | 1,4% | 19 | 63.699 | 43.854 | 45,3% |
| 20 | Mini | 15.888 | 4.653 | 241,5% | 1,5% | 1,3% | 20 | 59.828 | 46.861 | 27,7% |
| 21 | Mazda | 13.940 | 4.004 | 248,2% | 1,3% | 1,2% | 21 | 49.110 | 39.727 | 23,6% |
| 22 | Jeep | 11.934 | 2.008 | 494,3% | 1,1% | 0,6% | 22 | 46.144 | 27.542 | 67,5% |
| 23 | Land Rover | 9.323 | 2.456 | 279,6% | 0,9% | 0,7% | 23 | 38.018 | 38.252 | -0,6% |
| 24 | Honda | 6.121 | 1.437 | 326,0% | 0,6% | 0,4% | 27 | 20.448 | 23.836 | -14,2% |
| 25 | Porsche | 5.981 | 2.854 | 109,6% | 0,6% | 0,8% | 25 | 24.395 | 18.881 | 29,2% |
| 26 | Mitsubishi | 5.622 | 4.204 | 33,7% | 0,5% | 1,2% | 26 | 21.457 | 36.801 | -41,7% |
| 27 | Lancia | 5.202 | 110 | 4629,1% | 0,5% | 0,0% | 28 | 18.234 | 12.826 | 42,2% |
| 28 | Jaguar | 4.432 | 1.511 | 193,3% | 0,4% | 0,4% | 30 | 14.305 | 16.606 | -13,9% |
| 29 | Lexus | 3.549 | 803 | 342,0% | 0,3% | 0,2% | 29 | 15.428 | 14.110 | 9,3% |
| 30 | DS | 3.506 | 1.369 | 156,1% | 0,3% | 0,4% | 31 | 13.462 | 14.486 | -7,1% |
| 31 | Smart | 3.490 | 461 | 657,0% | 0,3% | 0,1% | 32 | 12.847 | 3.984 | 222,5% |
| 32 | SAIC MG | 2.314 | 178 | 1200,0% | 0,2% | 0,1% | 33 | 10.707 | 6.026 | 77,7% |
| 33 | Alfa Romeo | 2.054 | 807 | 154,5% | 0,2% | 0,2% | 34 | 8.555 | 8.898 | -3,9% |
| 34 | Polestar | 1.731 | 9 | 19133,3% | 0,2% | 0,0% | 36 | 5.813 | 38 | 15197,4% |
| 35 | Subaru | 1.649 | 777 | 112,2% | 0,2% | 0,2% | 35 | 6.458 | 5.328 | 21,2% |
| 36 | Tesla | 1.619 | 3.246 | -50,1% | 0,2% | 0,9% | 24 | 32.720 | 26.496 | 23,5% |
| 37 | Ferrari | 1.014 | 241 | 320,7% | 0,1% | 0,1% | 38 | 2.275 | 1.282 | 77,5% |
| 38 | SSangYong | 696 | 289 | 140,8% | 0,1% | 0,1% | 37 | 2.923 | 2.656 | 10,1% |
| 39 | DR Motor | 567 | 15 | 3680,0% | 0,1% | 0,0% | 39 | 2.087 | 661 | 215,7% |
| 40 | Maserati | 295 | 72 | 309,7% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 40 | 1.336 | 883 | 51,3% |
| 41 | Lamborghini | 246 | 106 | 132,1% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 42 | 845 | 657 | 28,6% |
| 42 | Bentley | 218 | 101 | 115,8% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 41 | 896 | 1.001 | -10,5% |
| 43 | Lada | 167 | 124 | 34,7% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 45 | 472 | 758 | -37,7% |
| 44 | Aston Martin | 157 | 41 | 282,9% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 43 | 719 | 483 | 48,9% |
| 45 | Alpine | 152 | 37 | 310,8% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 44 | 523 | 292 | 79,1% |
| 46 | Mahindra | 112 | 5 | 2140,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 46 | 337 | 384 | -12,2% |
| 47 | Dodge | 102 | 59 | 72,9% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 48 | 273 | 264 | 3,4% |
| 48 | Great Wall | 76 | 3 | 2433,3% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 47 | 275 | 53 | 418,9% |
| 49 | Rolls Royce | 55 | 19 | 189,5% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 49 | 238 | 203 | 17,2% |
| 50 | Lotus | 52 | 14 | 271,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 50 | 200 | 117 | 70,9% |
| 51 | Chevrolet | 45 | 11 | 309,1% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 55 | 104 | 47 | 121,3% |
| 52 | Genesis | 30 | 0 | New | 0,0% | 0,0% | 54 | 127 | 0 | New |
| 53 | Aiways | 27 | 0 | New | 0,0% | 0,0% | 56 | 96 | 0 | New |
| 54 | Xpeng | 26 | 0 | New | 0,0% | 0,0% | 52 | 151 | 0 | New |
| 55 | Maxus | 22 | 0 | New | 0,0% | 0,0% | 51 | 151 | 0 | New |
| 56 | Bugatti | 4 | 0 | New | 0,0% | 0,0% | 58 | 10 | 6 | 66,7% |
| 57 | Chrysler | 2 | 3 | -33,3% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 57 | 22 | 25 | -12,0% |
| 58 | Nio | 2 | 0 | New | 0,0% | 0,0% | 0 | 2 | 0 | New |
| 59 | Geely | 1 | 0 | New | 0,0% | 0,0% | 59 | 5 | 3 | 66,7% |
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