In May, automobile sales in Europe recorded their highest monthly growth rate in more than a decade, at just over 15%, which also makes it the 33rd straight month of growth. A total of 1.315.772 sales is also very close to the figure of May 2008, just before the market started its decline from the financial crisis in Europe. The year-to-date figure of 6.532.869 is up 9,5% on the first five months of last year. Again, the Southern European countries are showing the fastest growth rates, at +27,3% in Italy, +22,3% in France and +20,9% in Spain. German car sales were also strong at +11,9%, while the growth in the UK stalled after a few years of robust gains. Analysts expect the Brexit vote to have a negative effect on car sales in the UK, which may result in slower growth of the European market in the second half of 2016. In May, only Switzerland and Ireland showed modest declines.
As a result, manufacturers that are strong in southern countries benefit the most, as Renault-Nissan adds almost as many units as Volkswagen Group, with PSA and Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles also adding some good volume. Only three manufacturers lose volume in May: Mitsubishi Motors, Tesla Motors and Fuji Heavy Industries, Subaru‘s parent company. Relatively, AvtoVAZ shows the fastest growth from a low base on its new models, which are available in just a handful of European countries so far. Mahindra & Mahindra are still boosted by the resurrection of the SsangYong brand, while Lotus continues to alternate between big gains and big losses from one month to the other.
At brand level, Renault adds the most volume of any brand in Europe, with over 25.000 additional sales compared to last year, way ahead of Fiat and BMW, while Mitsubishi, Seat and Tesla lose volume. Infiniti and Jaguar are among the fastest growing brands, as they’ve launched important new products to expand their narrow line-up.
May 2016 winners and losers
| Manufacturer biggest volume increase | Volkswagen Group | 35.807 | Manufacturer biggest volume lost | Mitsubishi Motors | -1.211 | |
| Renault-Nissan | 33.320 | Tesla Motors | -454 | |||
| PSA | 20.965 | Fuji H.I. (Subaru) | -193 | |||
| Manufacturer biggest % increase | AvtoVAZ (Lada) | 170,7% | Manufacturer biggest % lost | Tesla Motors | -46,8% | |
| Mahindra & Mahindra | 55,6% | Mitsubishi Motors | -10,8% | |||
| DRB-Hicom (Proton / Lotus) | 34,5% | Fuji H.I. (Subaru) | -6,1% | |||
| Brand biggest volume increase | Renault | 25.399 | Brand biggest volume lost | Mitsubishi | -1.211 | |
| Fiat | 15.585 | Seat | -705 | |||
| BMW | 12.727 | Tesla | -454 | |||
| Brand biggest % increase | Lada | 170,7% | Brand biggest % lost | Tata | -94,4% | |
| Infiniti | 149,8% | Great Wall | -75,0% | |||
| Jaguar | 121,0% | Tesla | -46,8% |
Year-to-date, Renault-Nissan is back among the biggest winners thanks to its excellent performance in May, while Tesla is now the fastest declining manufacturer at -15% as customers are waiting for deliveries of the updated Model S and the new Model X. At brand-level, Renault shows the biggest growth in the first five months of the year, closely followed by Fiat and Mercedes-Benz, while Mini, Mitsubishi and Seat lose the most volume so far this year.
January – May 2016 winners and losers
| Manufacturer biggest volume increase | Volkswagen Group | 73.727 | Manufacturer biggest volume lost | Mitsubishi Motors | -3.909 | |
| Renault-Nissan | 69.111 | Tesla Motors | -749 | |||
| Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles | 67.989 | Aston Martin | -34 | |||
| Manufacturer biggest % increase | AvtoVAZ (Lada) | 75,6% | Manufacturer biggest % lost | Tesla Motors | -15,0% | |
| Mahindra & Mahindra | 72,1% | Mitsubishi Motors | -6,9% | |||
| Tata Motors | 36,5% | Aston Martin | -4,7% | |||
| Brand biggest volume increase | Renault | 54.565 | Brand biggest volume lost | Mini | -4.690 | |
| Fiat | 53.283 | Mitsubishi | -3.909 | |||
| Mercedes-Benz | 43.568 | Seat | -2.873 | |||
| Brand biggest % increase | Infiniti | 119,1% | Brand biggest % lost | Tata | -96,2% | |
| Jaguar | 111,4% | Chevrolet | -44,6% | |||
| Lada | 75,6% | DR | -18,9% |
So it’s obvious Renault has had a blockbuster month of May, but how big was it exactly? Well, the French brand grew by more than a third on its volume of May 2015, to sell over 100.000 units and add more than a percentage point of market share, which helped it become the #2 brand behind VW with a big margin to the numbers 3 and 4. Its closest competitors all lost share, most notably Volkswagen with a loss of 1,3 percentage points. Fiat is the second fastest growing brand in the top-10, moving past Mercedes-Benz, with BMW not far behind either as Audi consolidates its position as the leading luxury brand in Europe. Nissan continues to lose out on Toyota after outselling its main Japanese rival for the first time in more than a decade last year.
May 2016 brand ranking
| Brand | May 2016 | May 2015 | change | 2016 share | 2015 share | |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 147.690 | 142.616 | 3,6% | 11,2% | 12,5% |
| 2 | Renault | 100.545 | 75.146 | 33,8% | 7,7% | 6,6% |
| 3 | Ford | 86.634 | 82.412 | 5,1% | 6,6% | 7,2% |
| 4 | Opel/Vauxhall | 86.420 | 77.309 | 11,8% | 6,6% | 6,8% |
| 5 | Peugeot | 79.516 | 67.381 | 18,0% | 6,1% | 5,9% |
| 6 | Audi | 75.003 | 62.449 | 20,1% | 5,7% | 5,5% |
| 7 | Fiat | 73.186 | 57.601 | 27,1% | 5,6% | 5,0% |
| 8 | Mercedes-Benz | 69.732 | 61.213 | 13,9% | 5,3% | 5,4% |
| 9 | BMW | 69.704 | 56.977 | 22,3% | 5,3% | 5,0% |
| 10 | Skoda | 58.147 | 51.502 | 12,9% | 4,4% | 4,5% |
| 11 | Citroën | 51.133 | 43.236 | 18,3% | 3,9% | 3,8% |
| 12 | Toyota | 49.528 | 41.219 | 20,2% | 3,8% | 3,6% |
| 13 | Nissan | 44.583 | 43.648 | 2,1% | 3,4% | 3,8% |
| 14 | Hyundai | 42.067 | 36.546 | 15,1% | 3,2% | 3,2% |
| 15 | Kia | 38.150 | 31.023 | 23,0% | 2,9% | 2,7% |
| 16 | Dacia | 36.864 | 30.609 | 20,4% | 2,8% | 2,7% |
| 17 | Seat | 30.597 | 31.302 | -2,3% | 2,3% | 2,7% |
| 18 | Volvo | 23.693 | 21.605 | 9,7% | 1,8% | 1,9% |
| 19 | Mazda | 18.672 | 14.205 | 31,4% | 1,4% | 1,2% |
| 20 | Suzuki | 16.767 | 13.928 | 20,4% | 1,3% | 1,2% |
| 21 | Mini | 15.178 | 15.446 | -1,7% | 1,2% | 1,4% |
| 22 | Land Rover | 14.374 | 12.329 | 16,6% | 1,1% | 1,1% |
| 23 | Honda | 12.307 | 9.230 | 33,3% | 0,9% | 0,8% |
| 24 | Smart | 10.324 | 9.254 | 11,6% | 0,8% | 0,8% |
| 25 | Mitsubishi | 10.004 | 11.215 | -10,8% | 0,8% | 1,0% |
| 26 | Jeep | 9.815 | 7.499 | 30,9% | 0,7% | 0,7% |
| 27 | Lancia-Chrysler | 7.496 | 5.670 | 32,2% | 0,6% | 0,5% |
| 28 | Porsche | 6.393 | 6.293 | 1,6% | 0,5% | 0,6% |
| 29 | DS | 5.946 | 5.013 | 18,6% | 0,5% | 0,4% |
| 30 | Jaguar | 5.692 | 2.576 | 121,0% | 0,4% | 0,2% |
| 31 | Alfa Romeo | 5.541 | 5.512 | 0,5% | 0,4% | 0,5% |
| 32 | Lexus | 3.526 | 2.739 | 28,7% | 0,3% | 0,2% |
| 33 | Subaru | 2.972 | 3.165 | -6,1% | 0,2% | 0,3% |
| 34 | SSangYong | 1.686 | 1.059 | 59,2% | 0,1% | 0,1% |
| 35 | Infiniti | 1.219 | 488 | 149,8% | 0,1% | 0,0% |
| 36 | Maserati | 562 | 562 | 0,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 37 | Tesla | 516 | 970 | -46,8% | 0,0% | 0,1% |
| 38 | Lada | 444 | 164 | 170,7% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 39 | Ferrari | 309 | 289 | 6,9% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 40 | SAIC MG | 296 | 270 | 9,6% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 41 | Bentley | 273 | 166 | 64,5% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 42 | Aston Martin | 138 | 137 | 0,7% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 43 | Chevrolet | 118 | 210 | -43,8% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 44 | Lamborghini | 93 | 85 | 9,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 45 | Lotus | 74 | 55 | 34,5% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 46 | Rolls Royce | 73 | 64 | 14,1% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 47 | Dodge | 66 | 42 | 57,1% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 48 | Mahindra | 46 | 54 | -14,8% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 49 | Cadillac | 44 | 40 | 10,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 50 | DR | 16 | 14 | 14,3% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 51 | Great Wall | 2 | 8 | -75,0% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 52 | Tata | 1 | 18 | -94,4% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
Year-to-date, Renault is closing in on Ford with just 5.000 units separating the two brands, while Opel-Vauxhall is falling further behind for the #3 position despite a 10,3% gain and a growing market share. Fiat is closing in on the #8 spot of BMW and Citroën has passed Nissan for a top-12 position in the first five months of 2016.
January – May 2016 brand ranking
| Brand | 2016 sales | 2015 sales | change | 2015 rank | 2016 Market share | 2015 Market share | |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 737.759 | 729.894 | 1,1% | 1 | 11,3% | 12,2% |
| 2 | Ford | 463.923 | 441.636 | 5,0% | 2 | 7,1% | 7,4% |
| 3 | Renault | 458.831 | 404.266 | 13,5% | 4 | 7,0% | 6,8% |
| 4 | Opel/Vauxhall | 434.825 | 394.189 | 10,3% | 5 | 6,7% | 6,6% |
| 5 | Peugeot | 391.895 | 362.211 | 8,2% | 6 | 6,0% | 6,1% |
| 6 | Audi | 366.328 | 323.779 | 13,1% | 7 | 5,6% | 5,4% |
| 7 | Mercedes-Benz | 344.321 | 300.753 | 14,5% | 8 | 5,3% | 5,0% |
| 8 | BMW | 341.171 | 299.287 | 14,0% | 9 | 5,2% | 5,0% |
| 9 | Fiat | 339.863 | 286.580 | 18,6% | 10 | 5,2% | 4,8% |
| 10 | Skoda | 280.486 | 255.966 | 9,6% | 11 | 4,3% | 4,3% |
| 11 | Toyota | 260.698 | 238.822 | 9,2% | 13 | 4,0% | 4,0% |
| 12 | Citroën | 252.369 | 233.494 | 8,1% | 14 | 3,9% | 3,9% |
| 13 | Nissan | 246.401 | 248.472 | -0,8% | 12 | 3,8% | 4,2% |
| 14 | Hyundai | 210.701 | 193.254 | 9,0% | 15 | 3,2% | 3,2% |
| 15 | Kia | 187.855 | 164.010 | 14,5% | 16 | 2,9% | 2,8% |
| 16 | Dacia | 176.908 | 163.036 | 8,5% | 17 | 2,7% | 2,7% |
| 17 | Seat | 146.653 | 149.526 | -1,9% | 18 | 2,2% | 2,5% |
| 18 | Volvo | 119.194 | 108.023 | 10,3% | 19 | 1,8% | 1,8% |
| 19 | Mazda | 103.451 | 80.534 | 28,5% | 20 | 1,6% | 1,4% |
| 20 | Suzuki | 82.370 | 73.963 | 11,4% | 22 | 1,3% | 1,2% |
| 21 | Land Rover | 78.075 | 63.686 | 22,6% | 23 | 1,2% | 1,1% |
| 22 | Honda | 73.862 | 55.177 | 33,9% | 25 | 1,1% | 0,9% |
| 23 | Mini | 69.888 | 74.578 | -6,3% | 21 | 1,1% | 1,3% |
| 24 | Mitsubishi | 53.042 | 56.951 | -6,9% | 24 | 0,8% | 1,0% |
| 25 | Smart | 47.545 | 41.518 | 14,5% | 26 | 0,7% | 0,7% |
| 26 | Jeep | 44.900 | 35.956 | 24,9% | 27 | 0,7% | 0,6% |
| 27 | Lancia | 34.414 | 29.596 | 16,3% | 30 | 0,5% | 0,5% |
| 28 | DS | 32.055 | 32.071 | 0,0% | 28 | 0,5% | 0,5% |
| 29 | Porsche | 30.737 | 30.202 | 1,8% | 29 | 0,5% | 0,5% |
| 30 | Alfa Romeo | 26.335 | 25.519 | 3,2% | 3 | 0,4% | 0,4% |
| 31 | Jaguar | 25.380 | 12.005 | 111,4% | 33 | 0,4% | 0,2% |
| 32 | Lexus | 18.587 | 15.837 | 17,4% | 31 | 0,3% | 0,3% |
| 33 | Subaru | 16.237 | 15.774 | 2,9% | 32 | 0,2% | 0,3% |
| 34 | SSangYong | 8.294 | 4.731 | 75,3% | 35 | 0,1% | 0,1% |
| 35 | Infiniti | 5.050 | 2.305 | 119,1% | 37 | 0,1% | 0,0% |
| 36 | Tesla | 4.242 | 4.991 | -15,0% | 34 | 0,1% | 0,1% |
| 37 | Maserati | 2.639 | 2.766 | -4,6% | 36 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 38 | SAIC MG | 1.562 | 1.439 | 8,5% | 38 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 39 | Ferrari | 1.435 | 1.279 | 12,2% | 39 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 40 | Lada | 1.410 | 803 | 75,6% | 42 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 41 | Bentley | 1.398 | 1.007 | 38,8% | 41 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 42 | Aston Martin | 688 | 722 | -4,7% | 43 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 43 | Chevrolet | 598 | 1.080 | -44,6% | 40 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 44 | Lamborghini | 379 | 402 | -5,7% | 44 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 45 | Lotus | 341 | 351 | -2,8% | 45 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 46 | Cadillac | 307 | 194 | 58,2% | 49 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 47 | Rolls Royce | 278 | 263 | 5,7% | 46 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 48 | Dodge | 270 | 196 | 37,8% | 48 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 49 | Mahindra | 261 | 241 | 8,3% | 47 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 50 | DR | 107 | 132 | -18,9% | 50 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 51 | Great Wall | 38 | 43 | -11,6% | 52 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 52 | Geely | 5 | 0 | – | – | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 53 | Tata | 4 | 106 | -96,2% | 51 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 54 | Bugatti | 3 | 3 | 0,0% | 53 | 0,0% | 0,0% |
My apologies for the delay in writing this report, I have been traveling and then experienced some technical issues which couldn’t be resolved until after my return.