Photo: JATO Dynamics
And the numbers are in... It has been a very lucrative year for the European automotive industry, according to data released on Monday by JATO Dynamics. In all, 15,57 million cars were sold in 2017 on the Old Continent, the highest volume of registrations since 2007.
The number of vehicles sold last year is 3,1 percent higher than in 2016, but that is not the exciting part. 2017 saw the lowest number of diesel car registrations in more than a decade: 6,76 million, a decline of 7,9 percent compared to the previous year.
Of course, the drop in interest for diesel vehicles worked wonders for gasoline-powered cars, whose number on European roads rose by 760,000 units, or 10,9 percent.
The highest volume of registrations since 2007 was achieved last year with the hefty contribution of the SUV segment, one that saw an all-time record spike: 4.56 million registrations in 2017, 19.5% higher than in 2016.
"As a result, market share for SUVs has jumped from 25.2% in 2016 to 29.3% in 2017,” says Felipe Munoz, Global Automotive Analyst at JATO Dynamics. “A sharp contrast to 2007, when SUVs represented just 8.5% of market share. This growth was possible thanks to the strong performances of the D-SUV, C-SUV and B-SUV sub-segments, which grew by 34%, 21%, and 17.5% respectively.”
"The monumental growth of SUVs impacted the MPV segment, as MPV registrations decreased by 15.1% in 2017 - the lowest market share of the century," added Munoz.
The overall increase in car sales in Europe is attributed to Eastern and Southern European countries. In the top ten states with the most significant market increase in 2017, nine are from those parts of the continent: Lithuania, Hungary, Croatia, Poland, Greece, Estonia, Slovenia, Romania, and Slovakia.
Separately, JATO data showed that Opel's acquisition by PSA did not make a big difference in the French manufacturer's sales reports. In fact, the growth registered by Peugeot and Citroen was canceled by the decline of the German brand.
Of course, the drop in interest for diesel vehicles worked wonders for gasoline-powered cars, whose number on European roads rose by 760,000 units, or 10,9 percent.
The highest volume of registrations since 2007 was achieved last year with the hefty contribution of the SUV segment, one that saw an all-time record spike: 4.56 million registrations in 2017, 19.5% higher than in 2016.
"As a result, market share for SUVs has jumped from 25.2% in 2016 to 29.3% in 2017,” says Felipe Munoz, Global Automotive Analyst at JATO Dynamics. “A sharp contrast to 2007, when SUVs represented just 8.5% of market share. This growth was possible thanks to the strong performances of the D-SUV, C-SUV and B-SUV sub-segments, which grew by 34%, 21%, and 17.5% respectively.”
"The monumental growth of SUVs impacted the MPV segment, as MPV registrations decreased by 15.1% in 2017 - the lowest market share of the century," added Munoz.
The overall increase in car sales in Europe is attributed to Eastern and Southern European countries. In the top ten states with the most significant market increase in 2017, nine are from those parts of the continent: Lithuania, Hungary, Croatia, Poland, Greece, Estonia, Slovenia, Romania, and Slovakia.
Separately, JATO data showed that Opel's acquisition by PSA did not make a big difference in the French manufacturer's sales reports. In fact, the growth registered by Peugeot and Citroen was canceled by the decline of the German brand.
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