After a few relatively stable months in April and May, with sales up 1,4% and down 1,3% respectively, European new car sales were down by 7,8% in June 2019, to 1,48 million sales. For the first half of the year, sales are down 3,6% to 8,3 million units. According to ACEA, the surprisingly heavy decline in June can be attributed to a negative calendar effect. On average, June only counted 19 working days across the EU in 2019, compared to roughly 21 days the year before. As a result, the five major EU markets all posted declines, especially France (-8,4%) and Spain (-8,3%), whereas the UK (-4.9%), Germany (-4,7%) and Italy (-2,1%) performed better than the overall market. Just five out of the 30 countries of the EU and EFTA showed growth in March, with the fastest growing markets Lithuania (+41,1%), Romania (+15%) and Ireland (+12,7%), while Greece (+4,5%) and Cyprus (+0,9%) are the remaining countries in the plus. Biggest losing markets in June were Sweden (-52%) and Iceland (-47,7%), the former influenced by an artificially high month of June in 2018 which pulled forward registrations in anticipation of a new tax system in July of last year. In the first half each of the big EU markets recorded a slight decline with the exception of Germany (+0,5%).
In June, for the first time this year all three vehicle categories are down, as crossovers and SUVs are down by 0,8% as well, leading to a 37,5% market share, up 2,7 percentage points. June 2019 was still the third highest month ever for crossover and SUV sales (after March 2018 and March 2019). Sales of car models (hatchbacks, sedans, station wagons, coupes and convertibles) were down 10,5% to 54,8% market share while MPVs continued to slide, down 18,9% to 7,7% of the market. In the first half of the year, sales of crossovers and SUVS are up 4,4%, car models are down 6,7% and MPVs are down 16,2%.
Sales of EVs and PHEVs were up 24% in June, to about 47.000 sales, and up 34,5% in the first half of 2019, to nearly 250.000 sales. As a result, the share of electrified vehicles jumped from 2,1% in the first half of 2018 and 2,5% in all of 2018 to 3% in the first half of 2019. Meanwhile, diesel sales dropped 21% in June, with its share dropping to 31%, while in the Scandinavian markets electrified vehicles outsold diesel vehicles for the very first time.
Groups and brands
Big winner among manufacturers is once again Tesla Motors, both in absolute figures and in year-on-year growth as Tesla more than triples its volume on last year thanks to the Model 3. SAIC is also among the big gainers, adding almost a quarter to its volume, but none of the remaining manufacturers has showed a significant improvement in June. Among losers, Volkswagen Group, Renault-Nissan and PSA take the biggest volume hits with the former down more than 36.000 sales and the latter two around 20.000 fewer sales in June. Relatively, Subaru loses almost half of its sales on June 2018, with Mahindra & Mahindra down by 23,8% and Geely down 22,2% as its Volvo brand is relatively strong in Sweden where sales plummeted this month.
Among brands, Tesla adds the most volume with over 10.000 additional sales, with only Seat and Toyota managing to add over 2.000 sales as well. In relative terms, behind Tesla as the obvious winner, DR Motor and Bugatti also at least double their minor volumes. Volkswagen loses the most volume at -25.000 sales, with Nissan and Fiat among the big losers as well, each down by more than 12.000 sales on June 2018, while Infiniti is still the fastest declining brand, losing almost half of its sales compared to last June and the brand has announced it will withdraw from the European market. Subaru and Bentley also lose more than 40% of their sales in June.
June winners and losers
| Manufacturer biggest
volume increase |
Tesla Motors | 10.080 | Manufacturer biggest
volume lost |
Volkswagen Group | -36.359 | |
| Toyota Motor | 2.695 | Renault-Nissan | -20.413 | |||
| Suzuki | 260 | PSA | -19.751 | |||
| Manufacturer biggest
% increase |
Tesla Motors | 250,4% | Manufacturer biggest
% lost |
Subaru Corp. | -44,1% | |
| SAIC | 23,8% | Mahindra & Mahindra | -23,8% | |||
| Aston Martin | 3,9% | Geely Group | -22,2% | |||
| Brand biggest
volume increase |
Tesla | 10.080 | Brand biggest
volume lost |
Volkswagen | -25.023 | |
| Seat | 2.844 | Nissan | -12.635 | |||
| Toyota | 2.572 | Fiat | -12.111 | |||
| Brand biggest
% increase |
Tesla | 250,4% | Brand biggest
% lost |
Infiniti | -49,1% | |
| DR Motor | 177,7% | Subaru | -44,1% | |||
| Bugatti | 100,0% | Bentley | -42,2% |
Year-to-date, Tesla is the big winner among manufacturers as well, with over 31.000 additional deliveries thanks to the arrival of the Model 3, with Chinese manufacturer SAIC also strong, although at a much lower level as Tesla, with just over 2.000 additional sales, a plus of nearly 50%. Volkswagen Group (-91.700), Renault-Nissan (-77.400), FCA (-64.600), and Ford Motor Company (-48.200) each lose significant volume on the first half of 2018. Relatively, besides Subaru and Mahindra & Mahindra, Honda is also among the big losers at -14,2%. Among brands, besides Tesla and Dacia, Citroën is a surprise winner at over 17.000 extra sales, while Nissan shows it’s the main culprit for the losses of its parent group, as Volkswagen and Fiat are for their respective groups. Alfa Romeo joins Infiniti among the fastest shrinking brands in 2019, with a loss of over 40%.
2019 H1 winners and losers
| Manufacturer biggest
volume increase |
Tesla Motors | 31.797 | Manufacturer biggest
volume lost |
Volkswagen Group | -91.733 | |
| Toyota Motor | 2.086 | Renault-Nissan | -77.394 | |||
| SAIC | 2.001 | Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles | -64.573 | |||
| Manufacturer biggest
% increase |
Tesla Motors | 236,8% | Manufacturer biggest
% lost |
Subaru Corp. | -24,0% | |
| SAIC | 46,7% | Mahindra & Mahindra | -14,3% | |||
| Aston Martin | 22,1% | Honda | -14,2% | |||
| Brand biggest
volume increase |
Tesla | 31.797 | Brand biggest
volume lost |
Nissan | -66.725 | |
| Dacia | 18.765 | Volkswagen | -59.507 | |||
| Citroën | 17.467 | Fiat | -51.671 | |||
| Brand biggest
% increase |
Tesla | 236,8% | Brand biggest
% lost |
Infiniti | -46,4% | |
| DR Motor | 146,5% | Alfa Romeo | -40,2% | |||
| Mahindra | 131,5% | Dodge | -29,1% |
In June, Volkswagen shows weakness with a 13,2% loss leading to a 0,7 percentage point drop in market share, while its nearest rival Renault improves its share thanks to a loss of just 5,9%, making it the best performer in the top-8 together with Ford. The latter is outsold by Peugeot in five of the last six months with the obvious exception being March, when the UK market is traditionally stronger. Opel/Vauxhall is back above Mercedes after being outsold by the German luxury brand two months in a row, while BMW outsells its rival for the first time since last September, despite showing the largest year-on-year decline in the top-10 where Toyota is the only brand to improve its volume. The Japanese brand thus leapfrogs both Skoda and Fiat to enter that top-10. Dacia is now well clear of the two Korean brands and Seat and is closing in on Citroën for 12th place. Further below, Porsche, Jaguar and DS overtake Alfa Romeo, with Lexus not far behind either.
June brands ranking
| Brand | Jun-19 | Jun-18 | change | 2019 share | 2018 share | |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 165.215 | 190.238 | -13,2% | 11,2% | 11,9% |
| 2 | Renault | 126.545 | 134.528 | -5,9% | 8,6% | 8,4% |
| 3 | Peugeot | 89.334 | 98.744 | -9,5% | 6,1% | 6,2% |
| 4 | Ford | 87.930 | 93.435 | -5,9% | 6,0% | 5,8% |
| 5 | Opel/Vauxhall | 80.801 | 89.535 | -9,8% | 5,5% | 5,6% |
| 6 | BMW | 77.815 | 87.698 | -11,3% | 5,3% | 5,5% |
| 7 | Mercedes-Benz | 73.603 | 80.388 | -8,4% | 5,0% | 5,0% |
| 8 | Audi | 71.359 | 78.749 | -9,4% | 4,8% | 4,9% |
| 9 | Toyota | 69.182 | 66.610 | 3,9% | 4,7% | 4,2% |
| 10 | Skoda | 67.568 | 72.835 | -7,2% | 4,6% | 4,5% |
| 11 | Fiat | 60.875 | 72.986 | -16,6% | 4,1% | 4,6% |
| 12 | Citroën | 60.275 | 62.278 | -3,2% | 4,1% | 3,9% |
| 13 | Dacia | 57.845 | 56.587 | 2,2% | 3,9% | 3,5% |
| 14 | Seat | 50.274 | 47.430 | 6,0% | 3,4% | 3,0% |
| 15 | Hyundai | 47.342 | 50.594 | -6,4% | 3,2% | 3,2% |
| 16 | Kia | 43.963 | 45.820 | -4,1% | 3,0% | 2,9% |
| 17 | Nissan | 34.147 | 46.782 | -27,0% | 2,3% | 2,9% |
| 18 | Volvo | 29.293 | 37.672 | -22,2% | 2,0% | 2,4% |
| 19 | Suzuki | 23.948 | 23.688 | 1,1% | 1,6% | 1,5% |
| 20 | Mini | 22.013 | 24.094 | -8,6% | 1,5% | 1,5% |
| 21 | Mazda | 21.116 | 21.730 | -2,8% | 1,4% | 1,4% |
| 22 | Jeep | 16.263 | 15.832 | 2,7% | 1,1% | 1,0% |
| 23 | Tesla | 14.105 | 4.025 | 250,4% | 1,0% | 0,3% |
| 24 | Mitsubishi | 12.992 | 13.850 | -6,2% | 0,9% | 0,9% |
| 25 | Land Rover | 11.935 | 13.322 | -10,4% | 0,8% | 0,8% |
| 26 | Honda | 9.736 | 12.264 | -20,6% | 0,7% | 0,8% |
| 27 | Smart | 8.858 | 10.713 | -17,3% | 0,6% | 0,7% |
| 28 | Porsche | 6.750 | 8.197 | -17,7% | 0,5% | 0,5% |
| 29 | Jaguar | 6.555 | 7.687 | -14,7% | 0,4% | 0,5% |
| 30 | DS | 6.137 | 5.741 | 6,9% | 0,4% | 0,4% |
| 31 | Alfa Romeo | 5.207 | 8.441 | -38,3% | 0,4% | 0,5% |
| 32 | Lexus | 4.575 | 4.452 | 2,8% | 0,3% | 0,3% |
| 33 | Lancia | 4.351 | 3.997 | 8,9% | 0,3% | 0,2% |
| 34 | Subaru | 2.277 | 4.074 | -44,1% | 0,2% | 0,3% |
| 35 | SSangYong | 1.088 | 1.457 | -25,3% | 0,1% | 0,1% |
| 36 | SAIC MG | 1.078 | 871 | 23,8% | 0,1% | 0,1% |
| 37 | Maserati | 560 | 730 | -23,3% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 38 | Lada | 467 | 557 | -16,2% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 39 | Ferrari | 399 | 366 | 9,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 40 | Alpine | 380 | 232 | 63,8% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 41 | Chevrolet | 333 | 378 | -11,9% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 42 | Infiniti | 262 | 515 | -49,1% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 43 | DR Motor | 261 | 94 | 177,7% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 44 | Lamborghini | 234 | 159 | 47,2% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 45 | Bentley | 219 | 379 | -42,2% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 46 | Aston Martin | 214 | 206 | 3,9% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 47 | Dodge | 118 | 202 | -41,6% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 48 | Mahindra | 93 | 92 | 1,1% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 49 | Lotus | 77 | 47 | 63,8% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 50 | Cadillac | 61 | 90 | -32,2% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 51 | Rolls Royce | 49 | 66 | -25,8% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 52 | Chrysler | 6 | 19 | -68,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 53 | Bugatti | 6 | 3 | 100,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
In the first half of the year, Volkswagen Group loses market share but still controls almost a quarter of the European car market. PSA improves its share to 16,5% as its volume is down just 1,4%, while Renault-Nissan is the big loser among top-5 manufacturers, mainly due to the latter of the two namesake brands. FCA and Ford drop both below Hyundai-Kia and BMW Group as the former two lose market share and the latter two gain share. BMW could even move ahead of the South-Koreans if it maintains its momentum. Meanwhile, Daimler AG is relatively stable at -0,7% while Toyota Motor, Geely Group and Suzuki each gain less than a percent of volume so far this year. Honda struggles while Subaru falls way behind Tesla and SAIC closes in on Mahindra & Mahindra despite still being only available in one market.
2019 first half groups ranking
| Group | 2019 | 2018 | change | 2019 share | |
| 1 | Volkswagen Group | 2.012.643 | 2.104.376 | -4,4% | 24,2% |
| 2 | PSA | 1.366.631 | 1.386.513 | -1,4% | 16,5% |
| 3 | Renault-Nissan | 1.190.531 | 1.267.925 | -6,1% | 14,3% |
| 4 | Hyundai-Kia | 535.997 | 551.888 | -2,9% | 6,5% |
| 5 | BMW AG | 534.939 | 542.271 | -1,4% | 6,4% |
| 6 | Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles | 527.654 | 592.227 | -10,9% | 6,4% |
| 7 | Ford Motor Comp. | 524.459 | 572.650 | -8,4% | 6,3% |
| 8 | Daimler AG | 507.165 | 510.899 | -0,7% | 6,1% |
| 9 | Toyota Motor | 407.224 | 405.138 | 0,5% | 4,9% |
| 10 | Geely Group | 173.237 | 171.847 | 0,8% | 2,1% |
| 11 | Suzuki | 135.777 | 134.849 | 0,7% | 1,6% |
| 12 | Tata Motors | 123.756 | 126.046 | -1,8% | 1,5% |
| 13 | Mazda | 121.631 | 124.230 | -2,1% | 1,5% |
| 14 | Honda | 67.040 | 78.147 | -14,2% | 0,8% |
| 15 | Tesla Motors | 45.223 | 13.426 | 236,8% | 0,5% |
| 16 | Subaru Corp. | 15.104 | 19.886 | -24,0% | 0,2% |
| 17 | Mahindra & Mahindra | 7.650 | 8.926 | -14,3% | 0,1% |
| 18 | SAIC | 6.287 | 4.286 | 46,7% | 0,1% |
| 19 | General Motors | 1.893 | 1.831 | 3,4% | 0,0% |
| 20 | Aston Martin | 1.394 | 1.142 | 22,1% | 0,0% |
Ford loses its third place to Peugeot, while BMW passes Audi for 7th place behind Mercedes-Benz. Toyota kicks Fiat out of the top-10 and closes in on Skoda. Dacia distances Hyundai while Seat closes in on Kia just as the latter two both pass tumbling Nissan. Mitsubishi leapfrogs Honda as it already did for the full year 2018, which was the first time since 2015 and the second time since 1991. Tesla moves up 7 places and is aiming for Smart’s #26 position as well. Lancia, with just one model and available in only one market, easily outsells sister brand Alfa Romeo, a very painful reality for the latter. Lexus has moved past DS but is unlikely to hold that position until the year end.
2019 first half brands ranking
| Brand | 2019 | 2018 | change | 2019 share | 2018 share | |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 922.909 | 982.416 | -6,1% | 11,1% | 11,4% |
| 2 | Renault | 582.443 | 621.608 | -6,3% | 7,0% | 7,2% |
| 3 | Peugeot | 527.550 | 538.962 | -2,1% | 6,4% | 6,3% |
| 4 | Ford | 524.459 | 572.649 | -8,4% | 6,3% | 6,6% |
| 5 | Opel/Vauxhall | 464.737 | 489.554 | -5,1% | 5,6% | 5,7% |
| 6 | Mercedes-Benz | 454.719 | 458.674 | -0,9% | 5,5% | 5,3% |
| 7 | BMW | 426.453 | 428.237 | -0,4% | 5,1% | 5,0% |
| 8 | Audi | 407.060 | 431.119 | -5,6% | 4,9% | 5,0% |
| 9 | Skoda | 385.457 | 394.087 | -2,2% | 4,6% | 4,6% |
| 10 | Toyota | 380.268 | 380.619 | -0,1% | 4,6% | 4,4% |
| 11 | Fiat | 366.060 | 417.731 | -12,4% | 4,4% | 4,8% |
| 12 | Citroën | 349.013 | 331.546 | 5,3% | 4,2% | 3,8% |
| 13 | Dacia | 304.571 | 285.806 | 6,6% | 3,7% | 3,3% |
| 14 | Hyundai | 275.265 | 284.918 | -3,4% | 3,3% | 3,3% |
| 15 | Kia | 260.732 | 266.970 | -2,3% | 3,1% | 3,1% |
| 16 | Seat | 258.985 | 250.238 | 3,5% | 3,1% | 2,9% |
| 17 | Nissan | 217.428 | 284.153 | -23,5% | 2,6% | 3,3% |
| 18 | Volvo | 172.872 | 171.453 | 0,8% | 2,1% | 2,0% |
| 19 | Suzuki | 135.777 | 134.849 | 0,7% | 1,6% | 1,6% |
| 20 | Mazda | 121.631 | 124.230 | -2,1% | 1,5% | 1,4% |
| 21 | Mini | 108.093 | 113.619 | -4,9% | 1,3% | 1,3% |
| 22 | Jeep | 90.318 | 89.115 | 1,3% | 1,1% | 1,0% |
| 23 | Land Rover | 80.172 | 84.355 | -5,0% | 1,0% | 1,0% |
| 24 | Mitsubishi | 78.765 | 69.588 | 13,2% | 0,9% | 0,8% |
| 25 | Honda | 67.040 | 78.147 | -14,2% | 0,8% | 0,9% |
| 26 | Smart | 52.446 | 52.225 | 0,4% | 0,6% | 0,6% |
| 27 | Tesla | 45.223 | 13.426 | 236,8% | 0,5% | 0,2% |
| 28 | Jaguar | 43.584 | 41.691 | 4,5% | 0,5% | 0,5% |
| 29 | Porsche | 35.060 | 43.990 | -20,3% | 0,4% | 0,5% |
| 30 | Lancia | 34.718 | 27.190 | 27,7% | 0,4% | 0,3% |
| 31 | Alfa Romeo | 30.081 | 50.331 | -40,2% | 0,4% | 0,6% |
| 32 | Lexus | 26.956 | 24.518 | 9,9% | 0,3% | 0,3% |
| 33 | DS | 25.331 | 26.451 | -4,2% | 0,3% | 0,3% |
| 34 | Subaru | 15.104 | 19.886 | -24,0% | 0,2% | 0,2% |
| 35 | SSangYong | 7.018 | 8.653 | -18,9% | 0,1% | 0,1% |
| 36 | SAIC MG | 6.287 | 4.286 | 46,7% | 0,1% | 0,0% |
| 37 | Maserati | 3.167 | 4.381 | -27,7% | 0,0% | 0,1% |
| 38 | Lada | 3.019 | 2.847 | 6,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 39 | Alpine | 2.540 | 632 | New | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 40 | Ferrari | 2.067 | 1.934 | 6,9% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 41 | Infiniti | 1.765 | 3.291 | -46,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 42 | Bentley | 1.753 | 1.621 | 8,1% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 43 | Chevrolet | 1.466 | 1.346 | 8,9% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 44 | Aston Martin | 1.394 | 1.142 | 22,1% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 45 | Lamborghini | 1.287 | 847 | 51,9% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 46 | DR Motor | 1.156 | 469 | 146,5% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 47 | Mahindra | 632 | 273 | 131,5% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 48 | Dodge | 594 | 838 | -29,1% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 49 | Cadillac | 422 | 457 | -7,7% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 50 | Rolls Royce | 393 | 415 | -5,3% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 51 | Lotus | 303 | 305 | -0,7% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 52 | Chrysler | 69 | 62 | 11,3% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 53 | Geely | 62 | 89 | -30,3% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 54 | Bugatti | 17 | 15 | 13,3% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
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