Photo: Jato Dynamics
After crossovers and SUVs became the must-have cars in Europe, the compact hatchback segment continues to dwindle. In fact, compact cars represent the third largest segment on the Old Continent, accounting for 18.7 percent of the market. The thing is, though, the most popular model in this segment is becoming less enticing with each and every year.
Automotive business intelligence supplier JATO Dynamics reports that January 2016 sales of the Volkswagen Golf accounted for 18.37 percent of the compact segment in Europe. That is less than the 20.79 percent segment share it held in January 2015 and the 21.33 share reported in January 2014. Any way you look at it, there’s an obvious negative trend going on with the seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf.
Happily for the German company, results for January 2017 could take a turn for the better because there’s a facelift in the pipeline. As Volkswagen puts the finishing touches on the successor of the current Golf, segment rivals keep getting stronger and stronger. More to the point, the Peugeot 308 and Opel Astra posted the highest share gains since January 2014, jumping from 5.4 percent to 8.2 percent and from 5.5 percent to 7.8 percent, respectively, in January 2015. Then again, the 308 and Astra took together don’t equal total Volkswagen Golf registrations.
From the markets analyzed by JATO Dynamics on a monthly basis, European new car sales accounted for 14.2 million units in 2015. That’s the highest result since the global economic crisis hit the Old Continent hard at the end of the previous decade. The biggest share winners were, as expected, all-new and updated models, with an emphasis on SUVs.
The Fiat 500X and the Jeep Renegade, Renault Kadjar, and Volkswagen Passat posted the highest volume increase of all models in their segments. In terms of brands, Volkswagen still leads the ranking with 1.72 million units and 12.11 percent market share. Ford is second and Renault comes in third, with the latter outselling Opel and Vauxhall.
Happily for the German company, results for January 2017 could take a turn for the better because there’s a facelift in the pipeline. As Volkswagen puts the finishing touches on the successor of the current Golf, segment rivals keep getting stronger and stronger. More to the point, the Peugeot 308 and Opel Astra posted the highest share gains since January 2014, jumping from 5.4 percent to 8.2 percent and from 5.5 percent to 7.8 percent, respectively, in January 2015. Then again, the 308 and Astra took together don’t equal total Volkswagen Golf registrations.
From the markets analyzed by JATO Dynamics on a monthly basis, European new car sales accounted for 14.2 million units in 2015. That’s the highest result since the global economic crisis hit the Old Continent hard at the end of the previous decade. The biggest share winners were, as expected, all-new and updated models, with an emphasis on SUVs.
The Fiat 500X and the Jeep Renegade, Renault Kadjar, and Volkswagen Passat posted the highest volume increase of all models in their segments. In terms of brands, Volkswagen still leads the ranking with 1.72 million units and 12.11 percent market share. Ford is second and Renault comes in third, with the latter outselling Opel and Vauxhall.
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