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

Volkswagen was the best-selling car brand in December 2019, based on new registrations in the European Union. About 130,000 new Volkswagen-branded cars were registered in the EU in December 2019. Renault, Ford, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz rounded off the top five most sought-after brands.

Volkswagen keeps sales crown

In December 2019, the Volkswagen Group sold about 55,000 Audi sedans, over 31,700 Seat cars, roughly 54,600 Skoda vehicles, and around 6,700 Porsche sports cars to customers across the European Union. Additionally, the company sold some 130,000 passenger cars under its namesake brand. In December 2019, the Volkswagen brand had a market share of around 10.7 percent. The brand's December 2019 sales rose by around 13 percent year-on-year, but year-to-date sales were roughly equal.

Volatility in monthly sales

Many brands recorded significant growth in December registrations between 2018 and 2019. Although coming from a low base, Smart made the most notable jump with registrations increasing by 127 percent: European customers bought 15,244 Smart vehicles in December 2019, up from just 6,719 in December 2018. Registrations of other brands, such as Porsche, were also considerably higher in September to December 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.

Overall EU auto sales rebounded a little bit from last year's slump: Europe's auto industry recorded an increase in auto sales of 22 percent across the 28 member states between December 2018 and 2019; this lifted year-to-date sales 1.2 percent above 2018.