July marks the third consecutive month of growth for European car sales, and the sixth this year. A total of 1,19 million cars were registered in the 28 countries of the European Union and EFTA, an increase of 3,2% on last year. This brings the year-to-date tally to 9,56 million sales, up 4% on the first seven months of 2016. Among the five biggest markets, Italy (+15,8%) and Spain (+13%) showed the strongest improvements, as France (+9,4%) and Germany (+3,5%) also outgrew the market, but the United Kingdom (-6,4%) suffered another blow. Including the smaller markets, Greece (+19,7%) was once again the best performer, while Ireland (-7,2%), Switzerland (-4,6%) and Denmark (-3,3%) are the only other three markets to lose volume on last year.
Among manufacturers, Toyota Motor is the best performer in terms of absolute growth, although Renault-Nissan is only a handful of sales behind and Daimler AG remains pretty close as well. The first two add more than 10.000 sales to their July volume of last year, while the latter grows by close to 9.600 sales. On the other end of the scale, Ford Motor Company loses more than 7.000 sales as its best seller Fiesta is in a model change phase which temporarily hurts its deliveries. BMW Group loses almost 1.200 sales and Honda continues to lose volume for the 7th month this year. In relative terms, Aston Martin is the only manufacturer to more than double up, while Tesla Motors adds 63% and General Motors‘ US brands Cadillac and Chevrolet (sports cars and SUVs) grows by almost 50% from its low base. Mahindra & Mahindra is hurt by slowing sales of its South-Korean SUV brand SsangYong and is the fastest declining manufacturer, followed by Ford Motor Company and Honda.
Looking at brand level, Toyota is still the biggest gainer, followed by Mercedes-Benz and Peugeot, the latter helped by its recently introduced SUV models 3008 and 5008. Behind Ford, the biggest loser, Volkswagen and Opel/Vauxhall are also among the brands hurting the most in July, each losing about 6.000 sales or more. Relatively, Cadillac more than doubles its European sales, albeit to still a lowly 89 (eighty nine) units, making it the fastest growing brand but still an utter wallflower compared to the German luxury brands and even to niche players like Lexus, Infiniti and DS which have never been able to break the German dominance on their home soil. In fact, Infiniti is the fastest declining brand with a loss of more than a third of its volume now that the Q30 and QX30 have been unable to put the brand on the map in Europe and DS also loses more than a quarter of its volume. So does Chinese/Italian small player DR which assembles Chery models in Italy in very low numbers.
July winners and losers
| Manufacturer biggest volume increase | Toyota Motor | 10.187 | Manufacturer biggest volume lost | Ford Motor Comp. | -7.053 | |
| Renault-Nissan | 10.176 | BMW Group | -1.193 | |||
| Daimler AG | 9.592 | Honda | -656 | |||
| Manufacturer biggest % increase | Aston Martin | 105,3% | Manufacturer biggest % lost | Mahindra & Mahindra | -18,7% | |
| Tesla Motors | 63,0% | Ford Motor Comp. | -8,5% | |||
| General Motors | 48,8% | Honda | -6,0% | |||
| Brand biggest volume increase | Toyota | 9.975 | Brand biggest volume lost | Ford | -7.053 | |
| Mercedes-Benz | 9.350 | Volkswagen | -6.361 | |||
| Peugeot | 6.354 | Opel/Vauxhall | -5.981 | |||
| Brand biggest % increase | Cadillac | 134,2% | Brand biggest % lost | Infiniti | -35,9% | |
| Aston Martin | 105,3% | DR | -26,9% | |||
| Tesla | 63,0% | DS | -26,4% |
Renault-Nissan remains the manufacturer that has added the most volume in Europe so far in 2017 with almost 70.000 additional sales, but Toyota Motor has now moved ahead of Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles as both add almost 60.000 sales to their figure of the first seven months of 2016. Honda has declined every month so far this year, for a total of just over 12.500 lost sales, while Mazda is down by just over 7.100 sales and Subaru by almost 1.700. In relative figures, both Tesla Motors and Aston Martin continue to almost double up, while GM keeps growing by more than 50% now that it is reduced to a niche player in Europe due to its sale of Opel/Vauxhall to PSA. Honda and Subaru remain the biggest relative losers, and are now joined by Mahnindra & Mahindra in third place, with Mazda being the fourth and last manufacturer to lose volume so far in 2017.
In terms of brands, Opel/Vauxhall is now the biggest loser in 2017 with over 20.000 lost sales, while PSA’s luxury brand DS is also down by almost 16.000 sales. Miraculously, PSA remains in the positive thanks to excellent growth figures of its French mainstream brands Peugeot and Citroën. In relative growth, Maserati now outpaces Chevrolet thanks to a 62,6% growth curve, helped by the Levante SUV.
January-July winners and losers
| Manufacturer biggest volume increase | Renault-Nissan | 69.430 | Manufacturer biggest volume lost | Honda | -12.560 | |
| Toyota Motor | 59.466 | Mazda | -7.107 | |||
| Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles | 58.094 | Subaru Corp. | -1.686 | |||
| Manufacturer biggest % increase | Tesla Motors | 94,9% | Manufacturer biggest % lost | Honda | -12,6% | |
| Aston Martin | 92,4% | Subaru Corp. | -7,6% | |||
| General Motors | 52,4% | Mahindra & Mahindra | -7,3% | |||
| Brand biggest volume increase | Toyota | 59.380 | Brand biggest volume lost | Opel/Vauxhall | -20.204 | |
| Mercedes-Benz | 56.376 | DS | -15.902 | |||
| Fiat | 44.596 | Honda | -12.560 | |||
| Brand biggest % increase | Tesla | 94,9% | Brand biggest % lost | DS | -35,7% | |
| Aston Martin | 92,4% | Mahindra | -25,1% | |||
| Maserati | 62,6% | Dodge | -14,5% |
Market leader Volkswagen loses 4,7% of its volume in July, which reduces its market share by 0,9 percentage points. It’s still firmly in control, ahead of Renault and Ford, while Mercedes-Benz equals its highest-ever ranking in 4th place, which it also hit in August 2016 for the first and only time ever before. That leaves Opel/Vauxhall in 5th place,with a loss of 7,9%, and less then 200 sales ahead of stablemate Peugeot and less than 400 sales ahead of Audi in 7th place. Audi moves Fiat down into #8 and BMW down into 9th place compared to their June rankings, and Toyota moves back in the top-10 ahead of Skoda. The Japanese brand is the fastest growing brand in the top-25 thanks to the successful launch of its C-HR crossover. Compared to last year, Citroën leapfrogs Hundai and Nissan, while Kia is ahead of Dacia for the first time since last March. Suzuki is the #3 Japanese brand for the 6th time this year, ahead of Mazda, while Mitsubishi closes in on Honda. Also for the 6th time this year Jaguar is outsold by Alfa Romeo and by quite a large margin, with Porsche in between the two rivals.
July brands ranking
| Brand | July-17 | change | 2017 share | 2016 share | |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 129.660 | -4,7% | 10,9% | 11,8% |
| 2 | Renault | 76.825 | 8,4% | 6,5% | 6,2% |
| 3 | Ford | 75.638 | -8,5% | 6,4% | 7,2% |
| 4 | Mercedes-Benz | 73.614 | 14,5% | 6,2% | 5,6% |
| 5 | Opel/Vauxhall | 69.755 | -7,9% | 5,9% | 6,6% |
| 6 | Peugeot | 69.578 | 10,0% | 5,9% | 5,5% |
| 7 | Audi | 69.374 | 4,5% | 5,9% | 5,8% |
| 8 | Fiat | 58.097 | -1,3% | 4,9% | 5,1% |
| 9 | BMW | 57.484 | -1,4% | 4,8% | 5,1% |
| 10 | Toyota | 54.123 | 22,6% | 4,6% | 3,8% |
| 11 | Skoda | 52.383 | 7,2% | 4,4% | 4,3% |
| 12 | Citroën | 44.392 | 8,5% | 3,7% | 3,6% |
| 13 | Hyundai | 42.479 | 2,0% | 3,6% | 3,6% |
| 14 | Nissan | 41.101 | 0,3% | 3,5% | 3,6% |
| 15 | Kia | 40.200 | 10,3% | 3,4% | 3,2% |
| 16 | Dacia | 39.978 | 9,8% | 3,4% | 3,2% |
| 17 | Seat | 32.267 | 9,1% | 2,7% | 2,6% |
| 18 | Volvo | 21.709 | 1,1% | 1,8% | 1,9% |
| 19 | Suzuki | 18.878 | 16,0% | 1,6% | 1,4% |
| 20 | Mazda | 17.638 | 0,9% | 1,5% | 1,5% |
| 21 | Mini | 14.708 | -2,7% | 1,2% | 1,3% |
| 22 | Land Rover | 12.540 | 9,4% | 1,1% | 1,0% |
| 23 | Honda | 10.288 | -6,0% | 0,9% | 1,0% |
| 24 | Mitsubishi | 9.321 | 12,8% | 0,8% | 0,7% |
| 25 | Jeep | 8.037 | -1,4% | 0,7% | 0,7% |
| 26 | Smart | 7.503 | 3,3% | 0,6% | 0,6% |
| 27 | Alfa Romeo | 7.422 | 43,7% | 0,6% | 0,4% |
| 28 | Porsche | 6.160 | 21,6% | 0,5% | 0,4% |
| 29 | Jaguar | 4.635 | -15,9% | 0,4% | 0,5% |
| 30 | Lancia-Chrysler | 4.275 | -6,6% | 0,4% | 0,4% |
| 31 | DS | 3.626 | -26,4% | 0,3% | 0,4% |
| 32 | Lexus | 3.309 | 6,8% | 0,3% | 0,3% |
| 33 | Subaru | 2.314 | -5,0% | 0,2% | 0,2% |
| 34 | SSangYong | 1.235 | -19,2% | 0,1% | 0,1% |
| 35 | Infiniti | 1.130 | -35,9% | 0,1% | 0,2% |
| 36 | Tesla | 1.084 | 63,0% | 0,1% | 0,1% |
| 37 | Maserati | 830 | 37,0% | 0,1% | 0,1% |
| 38 | Lada | 420 | 39,1% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 39 | Bentley | 345 | 6,2% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 40 | SAIC MG | 305 | 0,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 41 | Chevrolet | 287 | 35,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 42 | Ferrari | 239 | -5,5% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 43 | Aston Martin | 154 | 105,3% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 44 | Lamborghini | 93 | 1,1% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 45 | Cadillac | 89 | 134,2% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 46 | Rolls Royce | 84 | 2,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 47 | Lotus | 73 | 58,7% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 48 | Dodge | 60 | 20,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 49 | DR | 38 | -26,9% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 50 | Mahindra | 37 | 0,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 51 | Geely | 15 | – | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 52 | Bugatti | 2 | – | 0,0% | 0,0% |
Volkswagen loses half a percentage point of market share in the first seven months of 2017 but is still the only brand above 10% share, while Renault remains the fastest growing the top-5 and the only to grow its market share. Opel/Vauxhall is losing its connection to the top-3 with sales down 3,3%, which makes it the biggest loses of the top-19. Toyota is the biggest winner in the top-10 which it enters to the detriment of Skoda, while Kia holds on to its 15th place ahead of Dacia thanks to its performance in July. Alfa Romeo gains 3 places by leapfrogging Porsche, Lancia and DS, and Jaguar also moves past those latter two. Tesla now outsells SSangYong and Infiniti, and Bentley has sold more cars in Europe than SAIC MG has sold in the UK so far this year.
January – July brands ranking
| Brand | Jan-July 2017 | change | 2017 share | 2016 share | 2016 rank | |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 1.028.075 | -1,0% | 10,8% | 11,3% | 1 |
| 2 | Renault | 693.573 | 4,6% | 7,3% | 7,2% | 2 |
| 3 | Ford | 654.425 | 1,1% | 6,9% | 7,0% | 3 |
| 4 | Opel/Vauxhall | 591.845 | -3,3% | 6,2% | 6,7% | 4 |
| 5 | Peugeot | 564.469 | 4,4% | 5,9% | 5,9% | 5 |
| 6 | Mercedes-Benz | 546.034 | 11,5% | 5,7% | 5,3% | 7 |
| 7 | Fiat | 517.509 | 9,4% | 5,4% | 5,1% | 9 |
| 8 | Audi | 509.246 | 0,2% | 5,3% | 5,5% | 6 |
| 9 | BMW | 489.982 | 1,6% | 5,1% | 5,2% | 8 |
| 10 | Toyota | 418.182 | 16,5% | 4,4% | 3,9% | 11 |
| 11 | Skoda | 416.459 | 5,6% | 4,4% | 4,3% | 10 |
| 12 | Citroën | 365.140 | 4,2% | 3,8% | 3,8% | 12 |
| 13 | Nissan | 353.347 | 4,4% | 3,7% | 3,7% | 13 |
| 14 | Hyundai | 307.087 | 2,6% | 3,2% | 3,3% | 14 |
| 15 | Kia | 282.504 | 6,4% | 3,0% | 2,9% | 15 |
| 16 | Dacia | 280.769 | 9,6% | 2,9% | 2,8% | 16 |
| 17 | Seat | 242.717 | 15,5% | 2,5% | 2,3% | 17 |
| 18 | Volvo | 181.933 | 7,1% | 1,9% | 1,8% | 18 |
| 19 | Suzuki | 143.707 | 22,0% | 1,5% | 1,3% | 21 |
| 20 | Mazda | 136.925 | -4,9% | 1,4% | 1,6% | 19 |
| 21 | Land Rover | 105.413 | 1,8% | 1,1% | 1,1% | 22 |
| 22 | Mini | 125.366 | 1,8% | 1,3% | 1,3% | 20 |
| 23 | Honda | 87.069 | -12,6% | 0,9% | 1,1% | 23 |
| 24 | Mitsubishi | 70.466 | -2,1% | 0,7% | 0,8% | 24 |
| 25 | Jeep | 61.753 | -1,9% | 0,6% | 0,7% | 26 |
| 26 | Smart | 60.337 | -8,0% | 0,6% | 0,7% | 25 |
| 27 | Alfa Romeo | 53.755 | 40,7% | 0,6% | 0,4% | 30 |
| 28 | Porsche | 46.469 | 11,7% | 0,5% | 0,5% | 29 |
| 29 | Jaguar | 44.810 | 19,2% | 0,5% | 0,4% | 31 |
| 30 | Lancia-Chrysler | 41.591 | -7,1% | 0,4% | 0,5% | 27 |
| 31 | DS | 28.680 | -35,7% | 0,3% | 0,5% | 28 |
| 32 | Lexus | 25.821 | 0,3% | 0,3% | 0,3% | 32 |
| 33 | Subaru | 20.404 | -7,6% | 0,2% | 0,2% | 33 |
| 34 | Tesla | 13.058 | 94,9% | 0,1% | 0,1% | 36 |
| 35 | SSangYong | 10.932 | -6,8% | 0,1% | 0,1% | 34 |
| 36 | Infiniti | 8.851 | 2,2% | 0,1% | 0,1% | 35 |
| 37 | Maserati | 6.392 | 62,6% | 0,1% | 0,0% | 37 |
| 38 | Lada | 2.943 | 30,2% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 38 |
| 39 | Bentley | 2.484 | 21,5% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 40 |
| 40 | SAIC MG | 2.299 | 4,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 39 |
| 41 | Ferrari | 1.795 | -10,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 41 |
| 42 | Aston Martin | 1.749 | 92,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 43 |
| 43 | Chevrolet | 1.675 | 58,8% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 42 |
| 44 | Lamborghini | 594 | -2,8% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 44 |
| 45 | Cadillac | 578 | 43,1% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 47 |
| 46 | Lotus | 521 | 18,7% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 45 |
| 47 | Rolls Royce | 472 | 7,8% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 46 |
| 48 | Dodge | 342 | -14,5% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 48 |
| 49 | DR | 269 | -10,9% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 50 |
| 50 | Mahindra | 254 | -25,1% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 49 |
| 51 | Geely | 138 | 885,7% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 51 |
| 52 | Bugatti | 8 | 166,7% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 52 |
| 53 | Daihatsu | 1 | 0,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 53 |
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