EU's best-selling car brands: new registrations in 2019

Volkswagen was the best-selling car brand in November 2019, based on new registrations in the European Union. About 145,000 new Volkswagen-branded cars were registered in the EU in November 2019. Renault, Peugeot, Mercedes-Benz, and Ford rounded off the top five most sought-after brands.

Volatility in monthly sales

Many brands recorded significant growth in November registrations between 2018 and 2019. Although coming from a low base, Porsche made the most notable jump with registrations increasing by a whopping 290.3 percent: European customers bought 7,455 Porsche vehicles in November 2019, up from just 1,910 in November 2018. Registrations of Porsche vehicles were also considerably higher in September 2019 than one year before. In September 2018, the European Union began new emissions standards, increasing the price of some models. Motorists rushed to buy new cars in August 2018 before the standards began.

Volkswagen keeps sales crown

In November 2019, the Volkswagen Group sold about 145,000 passenger cars under its namesake brand. Additionally, the company sold some 51,400 Audi sedans, almost 38,500 Seat cars, over 58,800 Skoda vehicles, and just under 7,500 Porsche sports cars to customers across the European Union. In November 2019, the Volkswagen brand had a market share of around 12.3 percent. The brand's November 2019 sales rose by almost 10 percent year-on-year, but year-to-date sales were down 0.6 percent.

Overall EU auto sales rebounded a little bit from last year's slump: Europe's auto industry recorded an increase in auto sales of 4.9 percent across the 28 member states between November 2018 and 2019; however, year-to-date sales were down 0.3 percent.