After four months of growth, new car sales in Europe dropped 24% in July compared to the same period last year, in a month where Dacia Sandero was “king and lord”.
In total, 967 830 new cars were sold last July (in July 2020 1.27 million had been sold), according to data collected by JATO Dynamics in 26 European markets.
The weight of the Covid-19 pandemic, which still affects consumer confidence, and the global shortage of chips, which has been affecting manufacturers and restricting car production, contributed to this drop compared to the same period of 2020.
Immune to almost all of this, the Dacia Sandero was the best-selling model in Europe in July and dethroned the Volkswagen Golf, which usually tops the monthly sales rankings.
This was the first time that the Sandero reached the top of the list of best-selling cars in the old continent, with 20 446 units sold. The Golf appears just below, in second position, with 19,425 copies sold. The Toyota Yaris closes the podium with 18 858 units registered in July.
Despite the very positive result of Sandero, whose sales grew 15% (compared to July 2020) in Germany and 24% in Romania, the utility saw sales fall 2% compared to the same period in 2019.
But in this chapter, the worst performance was the Volkswagen Golf, whose sales fell 37% compared to July 2020 and 39% compared to July 2019. The Dacia Duster, which was the eighth best-selling model in July this year in Europe, on the other hand, recorded a decrease of 19% compared to July 2020 and 14% compared to July 2019.
As far as the markets are concerned, in July the biggest drop in new car sales in Europe happened in France, which registered a 35% drop. The UK and Spanish markets saw new car sales drop 30% and the German market dropped 25%.
In terms of brands, Hyundai (+5.5%) and Suzuki (+4.7%) are among those that gained volume in Europe last July. Renault, on the other hand, suffered a fall of 54%, Ford of 46%, Nissan of 37%, Peugeot of 34% and Citroën of 31%. Volkswagen recorded a decline in sales of 19%.
PHEV and electrics to grow
Sales of plug-in hybrids and electric cars had their best July ever in Europe, with a total of 160,646 cars sold, a record that represents almost 17% of all new cars registered in that month.
With 4247 units sold, the Ford Kuga was the best-selling plug-in hybrid in Europe in July, even though it recorded a 33% drop compared to the same period in 2020. The Peugeot 3008 (+62% compared to July 2020) and the Volvo XC40 (-12%) are the models that close the podium.
In electric cars, the big winner of the month was the Volkswagen ID.3, with 5433 units registered. The Renault Zoe comes in second, with 3976 units sold, and the Kia Niro in third (3953).
