Photo: JATO Dynamics
The coming into force of the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP), rumors of diesel cars being banned from city centers and of course Brexit. All these events and many others could have sabotaged the European car market last year. They didn’t.
With the first month of 2019 almost over, JATO Dynamics - a group that has made a business from dealing with numbers related to the auto sector – announced the 2018 sales results for Europe, and the data is more than encouraging.
15.6 million vehicles were sold on the Old Continent last year; that’s only 346 cars more than in 2017, but enough to make for the best results since 2007. Also, enough to make Europe the third largest car market after China and the U.S.
Just as like year, the decline of diesel cars continued, this type of propulsion recording its lowest market share in 17 years – 36 percent of all registrations.
“Throughout 2018 we continued to see the effects of the diesel crisis, as announcements of policy changes by governments led to confusion and panic among consumers,” said in a statement Felipe Munoz, JATO global analyst.
At the opposite end, cars powered by alternative means of propulsion have grown to a market share of 6.1 percent, or nearly one million cars. Leading the charge were, of course, electric cars, with EV sales growing by 47 percent.
As for car companies and car models, Volkswagen was once again the favorite brand for Europeans, followed by Renault and Ford. The Golf continues to be Europe’s favorite car, selling 445,754 units in 2018, with the Renault Clio and Volkswagen Polo trailing behind with 336,268 and 299,920 units, respectively.
SUVs were once more at the top of the consumers' shopping list, with 5.4 million such cars being registered last year across the continent, up 19 percent over 2017.
Probably the same trends will be visible when the global sales figures are released in the coming weeks.
15.6 million vehicles were sold on the Old Continent last year; that’s only 346 cars more than in 2017, but enough to make for the best results since 2007. Also, enough to make Europe the third largest car market after China and the U.S.
Just as like year, the decline of diesel cars continued, this type of propulsion recording its lowest market share in 17 years – 36 percent of all registrations.
“Throughout 2018 we continued to see the effects of the diesel crisis, as announcements of policy changes by governments led to confusion and panic among consumers,” said in a statement Felipe Munoz, JATO global analyst.
At the opposite end, cars powered by alternative means of propulsion have grown to a market share of 6.1 percent, or nearly one million cars. Leading the charge were, of course, electric cars, with EV sales growing by 47 percent.
As for car companies and car models, Volkswagen was once again the favorite brand for Europeans, followed by Renault and Ford. The Golf continues to be Europe’s favorite car, selling 445,754 units in 2018, with the Renault Clio and Volkswagen Polo trailing behind with 336,268 and 299,920 units, respectively.
SUVs were once more at the top of the consumers' shopping list, with 5.4 million such cars being registered last year across the continent, up 19 percent over 2017.
Probably the same trends will be visible when the global sales figures are released in the coming weeks.
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