The European Union made global headlines several times in 2011 because of the severe economic woes that it is experiencing.
The crisis has taken a heavy hit on the EU’s new car market, which according to JATO Dynamics has dropped by 1.2 percent to 13,543,179 cars sold. This marks the market’s fourth consecutive year in decline, though the drop wasn’t as bad as it was in 2010.
The 1.2 percent decrease is a mix of southern Europe’s low performance, and northern Europe’s high performance.
One of the hardest-hit countries was Portugal, where new car sales slid by 31.1 percent to just 153,491 units. The Greek market experienced a similar decline, down 30.7 percent to 97,528 cars. Italy, Spain, and France all went down as well, though France remains the EU’s second-largest market.
The situation is different in Germany, where sales went up by 8.8 percent, reaching 3.17 million cars. That statistic makes Germany the biggest new car market in the EU. Belgium, Holland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania also saw increases.
To put these numbers into perspective, Leftlane has compiled a list of the best-selling cars in Europe in 2011.
The cars on the list don’t come as much of a surprise since the majority of them also had a spot on the same list in 2010. The exception to that is the Volkswagen Passat, which has broken in at number ten and ousted the Fiat Punto. That consequently takes the Fiat group as a whole off of the top ten list.
The Volkswagen Golf is the best-seller for the fourth consecutive year. The Renault Clio, one of the Golf’s arch enemies, dropped to number five, and the Peugeot 207 slid from sixth to eighth place. All three of these cars are scheduled to be replaced next year.
Europe’s top 10 cars for 2011
1. Volkswagen Golf, 484,547 sold, -1.6% compared to 2010
2. Volkswagen Polo, 356,490 sold, +0.5%
3. Ford Fiesta, 348,465 sold, -13.3%
4. Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, 313,325 sold, -1.7%
5. Renault Clio, 294,172 sold, -13.1%
6. Opel/Vauxhall Astra, 287,249 sold, -1.3%
7. Ford Focus, 280,209 sold, +7.0%
8. Peugeot 207, 242,385 sold, -20.6%
9. Renault Mégane, 239,329 sold, -8.3%
10. Volkswagen Passat, 233,330 sold, +46.5%
We have also compiled a list of the best-selling car brands in the European Union for 2011.
The trend seen here is similar to the one seen in the list of individual models. It again reflects the general economic situation in Europe: Most German brands have posted an increase in sales, while other European brands are sinking. This is perfectly illustrated by comparing how many luxury Audis were sold with how many economy Fiats were sold. Fiat should be placed well above Audi, but in 2011 the two were almost on par.
Europe’s top 10 brands for 2011
1. Volkswagen, 1,622,045 cars sold, +8.8% compared to 2010
2. Ford, 1,046,711 cars sold, -3.2%
3. Renault, 1,026,179 cars sold, -9.2%
4. Opel/Vauxhall, 968,728 cars sold, -1.8%
5. Peugeot, 889,073 cars sold, -9.6%
6. Citroën, 754,087 cars sold, -8.2%
7. Fiat, 671,131 cars sold, -17.3%
8. Audi, 654,337 cars sold, +9.0%
9. BMW, 617,906 cars sold, +4.9%
10. Mercedes-Benz, 575,243 cars sold, +0.8%
