After 33 months of non-stop growth, the European car market’s recovery has come to an end in July 2016, with sales down 2,6% for the month, at 1.147.258 units. After showing impressive growth in the first half of the year, even the Southern European countries see their recovery stall, with increases of just 3% in Italy and 4% in Spain. Surprisingly, UK sales are stable at +0,1% while the German car market contracts 4% and France is down even harder at -10%. Year-to-date, we’re still in positive figures at +7,3% to 9.174.057 sales, although we may finish the year in the red if this trend continues as expected, spurred by the Brexit vote.
If Volkswagen Group was the biggest gaining manufacturer as recently as two months ago in April, its fortunes have changed suddenly, as it is the biggest losing manufacturer in July, down almost 27.500 units of volume on the same month last year. That means VW Group accounts for 89% of the entire market’s lost volume this month. But wait, there’s another big loser in the continent, as PSA lost over 16.000 sales as well, while 13 other manufacturers lose less than 2.000 units and just 8 gain volume this month. The biggest volume gainer is Tata Motors at +4.190 units thanks to gains of both Jaguar and Land Rover, followed by Hyundai-Kia and FCA. Relatively, Tata Motors is the fastest growing manufacturer as well, with a gain of almost 33%, followed by SAIC MG and Suzuki, while Aston Martin, Tesla and Lotus all lose more than 37% on last year.Brand-wise, Dacia, Land Rover and Kia add the most volume, while Volkswagen, Citroën and Peugeot lose the most volume, with VW sinking more than the two French brands combined. Infiniti is once again the fastest growing brand in Europe, and the only brand to more than double its volume, thanks to its new duo of compact cars, followed at a distance by Rolls Royce and Italian-Chinese brand DR Motor.
July winners and losers
| Manufacturer biggest volume increase | Tata Motors | 4.190 | Manufacturer biggest volume lost | Volkswagen Group | -27.471 | |
| Hyundai-Kia | 3.974 | PSA | -16.036 | |||
| Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles | 3.014 | Mitsubishi Motors | -1.986 | |||
| Manufacturer biggest % increase | Tata Motors | 32,8% | Manufacturer biggest % lost | Aston Martin | -43,6% | |
| SAIC MG | 27,6% | Tesla Motors | -43,3% | |||
| Suzuki | 17,2% | DRB-Hicom (Proton / Lotus) | -37,0% | |||
| Brand biggest volume increase | Dacia | 3.847 | Brand biggest volume lost | Volkswagen | -16.272 | |
| Land Rover | 2.853 | Citroën | -7.966 | |||
| Kia | 2.453 | Peugeot | -7.149 | |||
| Brand biggest % increase | Infiniti | 219,8% | Brand biggest % lost | Dodge | -49,5% | |
| Rolls Royce | 70,8% | Aston Martin | -43,6% | |||
| DR | 61,1% | Tesla | -43,3% |
Year-to-date, Renault-Nissan is still the biggest volume gainer ahead of FCA, with Daimler AG replacing VW Group as the #3 volume winner. In relative terms, Tata Motors replaces Honda as the #3 fastest growing manufacturer behind AvtoVAZ and Mahindra & Mahindra. At brand level, Volkswagen is now the brand to lose the most volume so far in 2016 with 9.715 lost sales, ahead of Mitsubishi and Nissan.
January – July 2016 winners and losers
| Manufacturer biggest volume increase | Renault-Nissan | 97.168 | Manufacturer biggest volume lost | Mitsubishi Motors | -8.064 | |
| Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles | 82.007 | Tesla Motors | -1.527 | |||
| Daimler AG | 62.235 | Aston Martin | -111 | |||
| Manufacturer biggest % increase | AvtoVAZ (Lada) | 76,2% | Manufacturer biggest % lost | Tesla Motors | -18,8% | |
| Mahindra & Mahindra | 51,1% | DRB-Hicom (Proton / Lotus) | -16,9% | |||
| Tata Motors | 33,4% | Aston Martin | -10,9% | |||
| Brand biggest volume increase | Renault | 77.896 | Brand biggest volume lost | Volkswagen | -9.715 | |
| Fiat | 64.062 | Mitsubishi | -8.064 | |||
| Mercedes-Benz | 55.526 | Nissan | -7.047 | |||
| Brand biggest % increase | Infiniti | 156,0% | Brand biggest % lost | Tata | -97,2% | |
| Jaguar | 87,9% | Bugatti | -72,7% | |||
| Lada | 76,2% | Chevrolet | -41,1% |
July 2016 brand ranking
Despite its change of fortune, Volkswagen is still the commanding leader of the brand ranking, while its competitors fight for second place. Ford and Renault have swapped places again, with the American brand now back into the #2 spot and the French down into 4th place, behind Opel/Vauxhall. Peugeot is kicked from its 5th place in June to #7 by Audi and Mercedes-Benz, as BMW drops from 6th to 9th, outsold even by Fiat. Citroën drops from 11th to 14th behind Nissan.
| Brand | July 2016 | July 2015 | change | 2016 share | 2015 share | |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 136.021 | 152.293 | -10,7% | 11,9% | 12,9% |
| 2 | Ford | 82.726 | 83.204 | -0,6% | 7,2% | 7,1% |
| 3 | Opel/Vauxhall | 75.736 | 74.487 | 1,7% | 6,6% | 6,3% |
| 4 | Renault | 70.897 | 70.503 | 0,6% | 6,2% | 6,0% |
| 5 | Audi | 66.370 | 70.000 | -5,2% | 5,8% | 5,9% |
| 6 | Mercedes-Benz | 64.264 | 63.605 | 1,0% | 5,6% | 5,4% |
| 7 | Peugeot | 63.224 | 70.373 | -10,2% | 5,5% | 6,0% |
| 8 | Fiat | 58.871 | 56.955 | 3,4% | 5,1% | 4,8% |
| 9 | BMW | 58.277 | 57.569 | 1,2% | 5,1% | 4,9% |
| 10 | Skoda | 48.845 | 54.639 | -10,6% | 4,3% | 4,6% |
| 11 | Toyota | 44.148 | 45.204 | -2,3% | 3,9% | 3,8% |
| 12 | Hyundai | 41.655 | 40.134 | 3,8% | 3,6% | 3,4% |
| 13 | Nissan | 40.970 | 44.162 | -7,2% | 3,6% | 3,8% |
| 14 | Citroën | 40.921 | 48.887 | -16,3% | 3,6% | 4,2% |
| 15 | Kia | 36.456 | 34.003 | 7,2% | 3,2% | 2,9% |
| 16 | Dacia | 36.403 | 32.556 | 11,8% | 3,2% | 2,8% |
| 17 | Seat | 29.565 | 29.401 | 0,6% | 2,6% | 2,5% |
| 18 | Volvo | 21.337 | 22.253 | -4,1% | 1,9% | 1,9% |
| 19 | Mazda | 17.477 | 17.958 | -2,7% | 1,5% | 1,5% |
| 20 | Suzuki | 16.276 | 13.892 | 17,2% | 1,4% | 1,2% |
| 21 | Mini | 12.648 | 13.439 | -5,9% | 1,1% | 1,1% |
| 22 | Land Rover | 11.460 | 8.607 | 33,1% | 1,0% | 0,7% |
| 23 | Honda | 10.944 | 9.479 | 15,5% | 1,0% | 0,8% |
| 24 | Mitsubishi | 8.265 | 10.251 | -19,4% | 0,7% | 0,9% |
| 25 | Jeep | 8.147 | 7.295 | 11,7% | 0,7% | 0,6% |
| 26 | Smart | 7.261 | 8.248 | -12,0% | 0,6% | 0,7% |
| 27 | Jaguar | 5.514 | 4.158 | 32,6% | 0,5% | 0,4% |
| 28 | Alfa Romeo | 5.165 | 4.698 | 9,9% | 0,5% | 0,4% |
| 29 | DS | 4.924 | 5.845 | -15,8% | 0,4% | 0,5% |
| 30 | Lancia | 4.578 | 4.782 | -4,3% | 0,4% | 0,4% |
| 31 | Porsche | 4.472 | 7.108 | -37,1% | 0,4% | 0,6% |
| 32 | Lexus | 3.098 | 2.726 | 13,6% | 0,3% | 0,2% |
| 33 | Subaru | 2.437 | 2.673 | -8,8% | 0,2% | 0,2% |
| 34 | Infiniti | 1.762 | 551 | 219,8% | 0,2% | 0,0% |
| 35 | SSangYong | 1.528 | 1.527 | 0,1% | 0,1% | 0,1% |
| 36 | Tesla | 618 | 1.090 | -43,3% | 0,1% | 0,1% |
| 37 | Maserati | 606 | 579 | 4,7% | 0,1% | 0,0% |
| 38 | Bentley | 325 | 225 | 44,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 39 | SAIC MG | 305 | 239 | 27,6% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 40 | Ferrari | 253 | 262 | -3,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 41 | Lada | 152 | 155 | -1,9% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 42 | Chevrolet | 105 | 181 | -42,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 43 | Lamborghini | 92 | 86 | 7,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 44 | Rolls Royce | 82 | 48 | 70,8% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 45 | Aston Martin | 75 | 133 | -43,6% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 46 | Dodge | 50 | 99 | -49,5% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 47 | Lotus | 46 | 73 | -37,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 48 | Cadillac | 38 | 49 | -22,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 49 | Mahindra | 37 | 45 | -17,8% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 50 | DR | 29 | 18 | 61,1% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 51 | Great Wall | 15 | 13 | 15,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
The year-do-date ranking is very stable, with no position changes in the top-35, as Renault holds on to its #2 spot above Ford and Opel/Vauxhall, and Audi remains the luxury leader above Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Toyota expands its lead over Nissan as Europe’s biggest Asian brand, and Kia maintains its top-15 spot ahead of Dacia.
January – July 2016 brand ranking
| Brand | YTD 2016 | YTD 2015 | change | 2015 rank | YTD 2016 share | YTD 2015 share | |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 1.038.084 | 1.047.799 | -0,9% | 1 | 11,3% | 12,3% |
| 2 | Renault | 663.123 | 585.227 | 13,3% | 3 | 7,2% | 6,9% |
| 3 | Ford | 647.442 | 629.544 | 2,8% | 2 | 7,1% | 7,4% |
| 4 | Opel/Vauxhall | 612.557 | 569.710 | 7,5% | 4 | 6,7% | 6,7% |
| 5 | Peugeot | 540.881 | 516.975 | 4,6% | 5 | 5,9% | 6,1% |
| 6 | Audi | 508.156 | 468.890 | 8,4% | 6 | 5,5% | 5,5% |
| 7 | Mercedes-Benz | 489.658 | 434.132 | 12,8% | 7 | 5,3% | 5,1% |
| 8 | BMW | 482.168 | 428.359 | 12,6% | 8 | 5,3% | 5,0% |
| 9 | Fiat | 472.913 | 408.851 | 15,7% | 9 | 5,2% | 4,8% |
| 10 | Skoda | 394.242 | 370.906 | 6,3% | 10 | 4,3% | 4,3% |
| 11 | Toyota | 358.801 | 335.392 | 7,0% | 13 | 3,9% | 3,9% |
| 12 | Citroën | 350.330 | 340.781 | 2,8% | 12 | 3,8% | 4,0% |
| 13 | Nissan | 338.438 | 345.485 | -2,0% | 11 | 3,7% | 4,0% |
| 14 | Hyundai | 299.429 | 275.279 | 8,8% | 14 | 3,3% | 3,2% |
| 15 | Kia | 265.615 | 235.769 | 12,7% | 15 | 2,9% | 2,8% |
| 16 | Dacia | 256.072 | 235.031 | 9,0% | 16 | 2,8% | 2,8% |
| 17 | Seat | 210.197 | 213.905 | -1,7% | 17 | 2,3% | 2,5% |
| 18 | Volvo | 169.707 | 156.939 | 8,1% | 18 | 1,9% | 1,8% |
| 19 | Mazda | 144.032 | 117.244 | 22,8% | 19 | 1,6% | 1,4% |
| 20 | Suzuki | 117.806 | 103.352 | 14,0% | 21 | 1,3% | 1,2% |
| 21 | Land Rover | 103.546 | 85.669 | 20,9% | 22 | 1,1% | 1,0% |
| 22 | Mini | 102.868 | 108.081 | -4,8% | 20 | 1,1% | 1,3% |
| 23 | Honda | 99.629 | 75.001 | 32,8% | 24 | 1,1% | 0,9% |
| 24 | Mitsubishi | 71.964 | 80.028 | -10,1% | 23 | 0,8% | 0,9% |
| 25 | Smart | 65.603 | 58.894 | 11,4% | 25 | 0,7% | 0,7% |
| 26 | Jeep | 62.918 | 51.587 | 22,0% | 26 | 0,7% | 0,6% |
| 27 | Lancia-Chrysler | 44.755 | 40.776 | 9,8% | 29 | 0,5% | 0,5% |
| 28 | DS | 44.582 | 46.268 | -3,6% | 27 | 0,5% | 0,5% |
| 29 | Porsche | 41.002 | 43.717 | -6,2% | 28 | 0,4% | 0,5% |
| 30 | Alfa Romeo | 38.216 | 35.714 | 7,0% | 30 | 0,4% | 0,4% |
| 31 | Jaguar | 37.583 | 20.000 | 87,9% | 33 | 0,4% | 0,2% |
| 32 | Lexus | 25.734 | 21.794 | 18,1% | 31 | 0,3% | 0,3% |
| 33 | Subaru | 22.090 | 21.496 | 2,8% | 32 | 0,2% | 0,3% |
| 34 | SSangYong | 11.727 | 7.647 | 53,4% | 35 | 0,1% | 0,1% |
| 35 | Infiniti | 8.661 | 3.383 | 156,0% | 37 | 0,1% | 0,0% |
| 36 | Tesla | 6.601 | 8.128 | -18,8% | 34 | 0,1% | 0,1% |
| 37 | Maserati | 3.932 | 3.989 | -1,4% | 36 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 38 | SAIC MG | 2.203 | 1.912 | 15,2% | 38 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 39 | Bentley | 2.045 | 1.486 | 37,6% | 40 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 40 | Ferrari | 1.995 | 1.820 | 9,6% | 39 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 41 | Lada | 1.973 | 1.120 | 76,2% | 42 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 42 | Aston Martin | 909 | 1.020 | -10,9% | 43 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 43 | Chevrolet | 826 | 1.403 | -41,1% | 41 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 44 | Lamborghini | 611 | 584 | 4,6% | 44 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 45 | Lotus | 439 | 528 | -16,9% | 45 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 46 | Rolls Royce | 438 | 365 | 20,0% | 46 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 47 | Cadillac | 404 | 284 | 42,3% | 49 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 48 | Dodge | 400 | 350 | 14,3% | 47 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 49 | Mahindra | 339 | 337 | 0,6% | 48 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 50 | DR | 157 | 166 | -5,4% | 50 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 51 | Great Wall | 60 | 61 | -1,6% | 52 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 52 | Geely | 14 | 0 | – | – | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 53 | Tata | 4 | 143 | -97,2% | 51 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 54 | Bugatti | 3 | 11 | -72,7% | 53 | 0,0% | 0,0% |