Best-Selling Car Makers & Brands in Europe, 2009

Volkswagen Remains Top New Passenger Auto Manufacturer and Marque

Jan 15, 2010
Henk Bekker

Volkswagen – Best-Selling Car Brand in Europe 2009 - © Volkswagen Media Services

Volkswagen easily remained the top motor manufacturing group and car brand in Europe in 2009. VW was followed by Peugeot and Ford as the best-selling automobile groups.

The Volkswagen Group strengthened its position as the top motorcar manufacturer in Europe in 2009 by increasing its market share by half a percent to 21.1%. VW was followed by Peugeot, Ford, and Renault – all improved market penetration as well. Volkswagen also easily maintained its position as the best-selling car brand or marque in Europe and was followed by Ford, Renault, Opel / Vauxhall, and Fiat. The European new car market declined by 1.6% to 14,481,545 new passenger car registrations in 2009.

In 2010, Volkswagen was again the strongest car manufacturer and brand in Europe.

List of the Ten Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in Europe in 2009

The top car manufacturing groups in Europe (EU plus EFTA) in 2009 according to the ACEA were:

Manufacturing Group … No of Cars Sold in 2009 … % Market Share … % Change from 2008

VW … 3,062,774 … 21.1 … +0.7
PSA … 1,865,263 … 12.9 … -0.0
Ford … 1,486,338 … 10.3 … +2.0
Renault … 1,335,766 … 9.2 … +3.9
GM … 1,284,283 … 8.9 … -8.7
Fiat … 1,254,829 … 8.7 … +6.3
Toyota … 730,831 … 5.0 … -4.7
BMW … 708,109 … 4.9 … -13.6
Daimler … 689,177 … 4.8 … -13.0
Nissan … 366,711 … 2.5 … +9.0

List of the 25 Best-Selling Car Brands in Europe in 2009

The top car brands or marques in Europe (EU plus EFTA) in 2009 according to the ACEA were:

Car Brand (Group)… No of Cars Sold in 2009 … % Market Share… % Change from 2008

Volkswagen (VW) … 1,649,931 … 11.4 … +4.8
Ford … 1,283,602 … 8.9 … +4.1
Renault … 1,097,854 … 7.6 … -0.4
Opel / Vauxhall (GM) … 1,064,723 … 7.4 … -7.8
Fiat … 1,016,340 … 7.0 … +6.1
Peugeot (PSA) … 995,130 … 6.9 … -1.3
Citroen (PSA) … 870,133 … 6.0 … +1.4
Toyota … 710,369 … 4.9 … -3.8
Audi (VW) … 612,393 … 4.2 … -7.8
Mercedes (Daimler) … 593,088 … 4.1 … -13.8
BMW … 572,091 … 4.0 … -15.4
Skoda (VW) … 481,458 … 3.3 … +4.1
Nissan … 366,711 … 2.5 … +9.0
Hyundai … 341,837 … 2.4 … +26.6
Seat (VW) … 316,928 … 2.2 … -5.8
Kia … 252,403 … 1.7 … +5.8
Suzuki … 250,309 … 1.7 … +0.6
Honda … 244,693 … 1.7 … -7.7
Dacia (Renault) … 237,912 … 1.6 … +29.2
Mazda … 211,100 … 1.5 … -13.5
Volvo (Ford) … 202,736 … 1.4 … -9.3
Chevrolet (GM) … 190,715 … 1.3 … +5.5
Mini (BMW) … 136,018 … 0.9 … -5.5
Lancia (Fiat) … 121,549 … 0.8 … +6.6
Alfa Romeo (Fiat) … 110,545 … 0.8 … +8.1

European Car Market and Best-Selling Brands in 2009

The European car market declined by 1.6% to 14,481,545 new passenger car registrations in 2009, compared to 14,717,358 in 2008. Car scrapping incentives in especially Germany, France, and the United Kingdom prevented what would have otherwise been a dismal year for new car sales in Europe. As a result of the ending of car scrapping incentives, 2010 is expected to be a very bad year for car sales in Europe.

Although Volkswagen did well in Europe in 2009 by increasing both market share and number of cars sold, other German brands and manufacturers suffered with mostly double digit losses. Troubled Swedish car manufacturer Saab saw sales decline by 59.1% while Volvo lost 9.3%.

Manufacturers of cheaper car brands did generally better. The best performers in Europe in 2009 were Renault’s budget Dacia brand (+29.2%) and Hyundai (+26.6).

The VW Golf, the top seller in Germany in 2009, was again the best-selling car model in Europe in 2009 followed by the Ford Fiesta.

Note:

Europe is defined by ACEA for statistical purposes as the European Union (EU) and EFTA (Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland) but excluding the small Malta and Cyprus markets.