The European new car market fell by 25.3% in November to 924,936 units in comparison to 1,238,297 in the same month last year.

Volkswagen once more triumphed as Europe’s top-selling car brand during November, ahead of Ford, Renault, Opel/Vauxhall and Fiat.

Top market performers year-to-date are Volkswagen, Ford, Opel/Vauxhall, Renault and Peugeot.

In such a depressed market, Audi stands out for posting sales of just 1.1% less than November 2007, whilst enjoying a 0.2% (1,457 units) sales increase year-to-date, largely buoyed by the strong performance of its new A4 model.

Few other brands have recorded increased sales during the last month, though with a 27.9% up-turn to 10,163 units, Dacia stands out from the rest, following the introduction of its new Sandero model. YtD this figure increases further, to 42.6% (from 68,149 to 97,206).

Other manufacturers worthy of note for their YtD numbers are Nissan (up 9.9%, 28,971 units), Mazda (up 2.4%, 5,356 units), Smart (up 12.1%, 10,486 units), Subaru (up 10.5%, 4,439 units) and Jaguar (up 13.3%, 4,120 units).

David Di Girolamo, business manager for JATO Consult, the business which collated the Europe wide figures, said: “The market is usually less buoyant at this time of year.

“Though this is an unprecedented drop in sales, it’s not wholly unexpected, given the current economic climate. There has been some movement between brands in the top 10 table, but Volkswagen maintains its increasingly secure grip on the top spot.”

Top models

 

The Volkswagen Golf has maintained its lead as Europe’s top-selling car during November (up 5.5% year-to-date when compared to the same period last year).

Sitting at the top of the table, the Golf leads the new Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 207, Ford Focus, Renault Clio, Volkswagen Passat, Opel / Vauxhall Corsa, Volkswagen Polo, Audi A4 and Fiat Punto.

Other new models performing well in the European new car market include the Hyundai i10, Dacia Sandero, Ford Kuga, Alfa Romeo Mito, Lancia Delta, Suzuki Splash, Renault Koleos, Audi Q5 and BMW X6.