France April 2011: Dacia Duster #1 in weekly ranking!

* Many thanks to my dear Mum and Dad for sourcing and scanning Auto Plus mag! *

According to Dacia’s Facebook page, the Dacia Duster was the best selling car in France during the week of April 5th to April 11th! This is confirmed by official data published by French car weekly Auto Plus. The Duster leads with 1,251 sales and 3.6% share, ahead of the Renault Clio at 1,177 units and the VW Polo at 1,086.

This is an exceptional achievement by the French/Romanian SUV after it broke into the Top 10 for the first time and achieved its best ever month in France in March in 7th place with 6,634 units and 2.6% share. These records look like they will be obsolete by the end of the month. It is the first time a ‘terrain’ vehicle ever tops French car sales.

Only a handful of models have topped the French weekly charts in the last 5 years: the Peugeot 207, Renault Clio, Renault Twingo, Citroen C3, Dacia Sandero and Peugeot 308 have done so. The Duster is therefore the 7th model to shine and the second Dacia.

Complete Auto Plus article, Full Top 10 Ranking Table below.

Europe March 2011: VW Golf leads, Ford Focus up to #6

Ford Focus

Car sales are down 5% in Europe this month, dragged down by the 8% drop of the UK market, a traditional powerhouse in March due to the registration change.

The VW Golf still leads but is down 10% at 53,055 units, followed by the Ford Fiesta, up 2 spots on February but down 27% year-on-year at 50,534 sales. The Fiesta is back to #2 year-to-date, ahead of the VW Polo, #3 in March too at 39,311 units and +4% year-on-year.

Boosted by the new generation, the Ford Focus gains 6 spots on last month and ranks 6th with 36,339 sales, its best position in Europe over the last 12 months. The Citroen C3 is #10 and in the Top 10 for the third time in the last 5 months.

Full Top 10 Ranking Table below.

Germany March 2011: Opel Astra and Skoda Fabia shine

* Now with the Top 200 best selling models: click on ‘Read more’ at the end of the post *

The German car market is definitely back on track, up 11% in March at 327,911 registrations. Unsurprisingly, the VW Golf is in the lead at 7.5% share, and it is followed this month by the Opel Astra, up 2 spots on February with 9,242 sales and 2.8%.

The VW Polo at #3 and Passat at #4 are slightly weaker this month, and the Opel Corsa is stable in 5th place. The Skoda Fabia delivers the best performance of the month, up 12 spots at #6 with 7,075 sales and 2.2% share. The Mercedes B-Class is also handling extremely well at #9 with 6,212 units.

Mercedes B Class

The only foreign model in the Top 20 is the Nissan Qashqai, up 4 spots at #20 with 4,638 sales, the Hyundai i30 (#22) and Toyota Yaris (#31) follow. Notice the Ford C-Max up 27 spots at #27 with 3,056 sales. A few all-new models appear in the ranking: the Toyota Verso-S at #117 with 625 sales, the Citroen DS4 (17 sales), Audi Q3 (13), Hyundai Veloster (4) and Lexus LFA (3).

Full Top 200 Ranking Table below.

France March 2011: Citroen C3 and Dacia Duster beat records

Citroen C3

* See the Top 100 best selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ at the end of the post *

As cash-for-clunkers orders had a March 31 delivery deadline, this is the final month of artificially boosted sales for the French market at +6% and 257,631 registrations. In March and possibly for the first time ever all cars are under 5% share, and the models ranking is very eventful:

Just below the Renault Clio, best seller for the 3rd month in a row, we find the Citroen C3 in 2nd position at 12,565 units and an outstanding 4.9% share. That’s three C3 nameplate records beaten all at once: best volume ever (beating 8,656 in Dec 2010), best position ever (beating #3 in Aug 2006) and best market share ever (beating 4.5% in May 2005).

The Peugeot 207 drops to 3rd at 4.7%, hurt by the exceptional performance of its older sister the Peugeot 206+, at its best position ever in 4th place with 3.5% share. The Renault Megane and Peugeot 308 follow.

Dacia Duster

For the first time, the Dacia Duster ranks in the Top 10 in France, at a remarkable 7th place with 6,634 sales and 2.6% share. All these figures are new records.

Citroen C4

The Citroen C4 new generation jumps into the Top 10 for the first time at #9 with 6,300 sales and 2.4%. Other good performers include the Nissan Micra at #32, the Chevrolet Spark at #33 and the Peugeot 508 at #35.

Full Top 100 Ranking Table below.

Netherlands March 2011: Polo, Twingo and Punto on podium

* See the Top 100 best selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ at the end of the post *

Car sales in the Netherlands are up again, at +27% in March with 56,762 registrations. The VW Polo is the best selling car in the country for the 4th time in the last 6 months at 2,147 sales and 3.8% share. Just below are the Renault Twingo at 2,123 units (3.7%) and the Fiat Punto at 2,066 (3.6%).

The Peugeot 107 (2.9%), Ford Fiesta (2.7%) and Seat Ibiza (2.6%) follow. The Hyundai i10 is up 8 spots on February at #10, and the Citroen C3 is up 25 places at #20. Two new models break into the Top 40 for the first time: the Peugeot 508 is #35 with 446 sales and the Citroen DS3 is #37 with 434 units.

Full Top 100 Ranking Table below.

France LCV March 2011: Renault Kangoo & Citroen Berlingo on top

Renault Kangoo

See the Top 100 best selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ at the end of the post.

French Light Commercial Vehicle sales figures are very rare to come across, so when they are published it is well worth a full article. The market is up 9% over the first 3 months of the year at 110,396 registrations.

The best seller is not a surprise: the Renault Kangoo has been leading the ‘vehicules utilitaires’ ranking in France since the launch of the first generation in 1997. The current generation has been on sale since January 2008 and convinced 9,256 buyers over the period for a 8.4% market share.

Citroen Berlingo

The Citroen Berlingo takes the 2nd place, up from #3 in 2010, with 7,048 sales and 6.4%, just above the LCV version of the Renault Clio, down 1 spot in #2 with 6.2% of the market. The Fiat Ducato, #4, is the best selling foreign model at 6,378 units and 5.8%. The Renault Trafic is only 3 units below at 5.8% too, a full percentage point above its 2010 level. The only two other foreign models in the Top 15 are the Ford Transit (#9) and Mercedes Sprinter (#14).

Full Top 100 Ranking Table: click on ‘Read more’ below the Fiat Ducato picture.

Fiat Ducato

Slovenia February 2011: Clio and Megane stay on top

The car market is up 11% in Slovenia in February at 5,317 registrations. It’s a pretty uneventful month, with the usual models on top: the Renault Clio in 1st place with 326 sales (6.1%), ahead of the Renault Megane at 260 sales and 4.9%.

The VW Polo (3.9%) and Golf (3.4%) follow, while the Opel Astra gains 6 spots over January in 5th place, the Peugeot 207 gains 7 spots in 6th and the Citroen Berlingo gains 11 spots in 8th.

Full Top 15 Ranking Table below.

Denmark February 2011: Chevrolet Spark and Hyundai i10 on top

Hyundai i10

Car sales are up a whopping 34% in Denmark in February at 11,565 registrations. The Chevrolet Spark is #1 for the third time in 4 months, a significant achievement in a market as volatile as Denmark. Its 6% market share is also no mean feat given all models were under 3% in the Full Year 2010 ranking.

The Hyundai i10 takes the 2nd spot at a brilliant 4%, followed by the Opel Corsa and Toyota Aygo both at 3.4%. The Suzuki Swift is stabe at a solid 3% share, compared to 1.3% in 2010. The new Citroen C4 breaks into the Top 10 at #9.

Full Top 30 Ranking Table below.

Poland January 2011: Skoda Octavia at 6.8%, Kia Venga in Top 10

Kia Venga

Polish car sales are down 3% this month at 24,535 units. Skoda is in shape: the Octavia improves its share to a brilliant 6.8% at 1,661 sales and the Fabia climbs back to #2 at 1,162 sales and 4.7%. Both are way above their 2010 shares.

The Fiat Punto ranks 3rd at 3.4%, ahead of the Opel Astra (3.2%). The ranking takes a bit of shake up this month with no less than 9 new entries in the Top 20. Leading these, the Kia Venga breaks into the Top 10 for the first time in Poland as well as any country in the world (it is not sold in South Korea) at #8 with 522 sales and 2.1%.

More commentaries and full Top 20 Ranking Table below.

France February 2011: Clio leads again, C4 close to Top 10 Discover the Top 100 best selling models

Citroen C4

*Thanks to Enrique @ Autoblog for sharing the data! Click on ‘Read more’ below for the Top 100*

Still boosted by December 2010 orders being delivered now, the French car market is up 13% in February at a record-breaking 204,486 registrations. The Renault Clio is #1 for the second month in a row at 5.9% share, just ahead of the Peugeot 207 at 5.7%.

The Renault Twingo slows down but stays 3rd, followed by a very solid Citroen C3 at 3.7%. The Peugeot 206+ increases its share further to a best-ever 3.5%, and the Ford Fiesta is the best selling foreign model this month at #9, with the VW Polo at #10.

The new Citroen C4 continues its progression, now #11 at 4,704 sales and 2.3%, so does the Peugeot 508 at #37 with 1,673 units (0.8%). The Duster is now Dacia’s best seller at #16 and the new Nissan Micra is #42.

Full Top 100 Ranking Table below.