Audi (+20%), Suzuki (+19%), and Fiat (+9%) were among the brands with increased European sales in October in a market that was down 6.6%. The decline coincided with new coronavirus restrictions that hit the market following the first monthly sales increase of 2020 in September.
The other brands that recorded gains last month included Great Wall (+5.9%), Opel/Vauxhall (+4.1%), Renault brand (+1.4%),and Dacia (+1.1%) A growing number of models increased sales in October, including the Škoda Kamiq, Renault Zoe EV and BMW 2 Series.
The Volkswagen Golf was Europe’s № 1 seller for the fourth consecutive month in October with a volume of 27,000. For a period earlier this year the Golf was under pressure from the Renault Clio, which finished first for three separate months in 2020, but demand for the French small car cooled in September, dropping it to № 3 in the ranking behind the surging Opel/Vauxhall Corsa. The Clio, however, was able to pass the Corsa in October to retain second place with 22,276 sales. The Corsa was third with 21,283 sales.
The Golf won the month despite a 20% sales decline, while the Clio was up 14% in October and the Corsa’s volume surged 60%, according to JATO data.
The Fiat Panda, Renault Captur, and the Peugeot 208 and 2008 were the other models in Europe’s top 10 that increased sales in October. Bas du formulaire
Golf | Clio | Corsa | 208 | Tiguan | Octavia | Focus | Captur | Yaris | Polo |
228 | 206 | 162 | 160 | 167 | 146 | 144 | 143 | 139 | 138 |
For the first 10 months, the Golf was in first place with 228,000 sales, a decline of 33%, followed by the Clio (206,000; down 23%) and the Corsa (162,000; down 18%). Rounding out the top five were the 208 (160,168) and VW Tiguan (146,776).