European new car sales boomed in March 2017. “For the first time in seven years, the Volkswagen Golf has been overtaken by the Ford Fiesta as Europe’s best-selling car model. There are several reasons behind this shift, one of which is that the Volkswagen Golf is also experiencing a natural lull in sales, as it runs down on stock of its pre-facelift range. On top of this, Ford’s incentive programme has been more aggressive when compared to Volkswagen. There’s also been a general slowdown on diesel registrations across the continent, which has had a notable impact on the Golf, but has left smaller segments, where the Fiesta sits, relatively unaffected. This change in position may only be temporary, as we expect the updated Golf model to reinvigorate sales once it becomes more readily available in the market.
Top selling brands
SUVs continued to dominate the market, thanks in particular to a more active VW Group, which is expected to continue this trend as it launches several more SUV models in coming months. New SUV launches also benefited brands such as Maserati, Jaguar and Seat.
Top selling models
The big story of the month was the Ford Fiesta overtaking the Volkswagen Golf as Europe’s most popular car. The Golf has held the top position for several years, and was last overtaken in March 2010.
