Europe sales by model, Dec. and 12 months: Jaguar, Rolls-Royce, Seat rise; VW ID3, Tesla Model 3 make top 3

Jaguar increased European sales 36 percent in December because of strong demand for the I-Pace. The full-electric crossover's volume rose 289 percent to 4,472 units during the final month of 2020.

Lotus, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Jaguar, Rolls-Royce, Toyota, Jeep and Tesla were among the 23 brands that increased European sales in December in a market that was down 3.5 percent.

The decline was less than the 13 percent drop in November sales, which coincided with new coronavirus restrictions that closed dealerships in many parts of Europe.

Lotus' December sales rose 56 percent, Lamborghini and Ferrari were up 44 percent, Jaguar grew 36 percent, Rolls-Royce increased sales 29 percent, Toyota brand jumped 24 percent, Opel/Vauxhall made a 19 percent gain, while Volkswagen brand and Porsche both climbed 18 percent.

The models that propelled the brands' growth in December were the Lotus Elise, Lamborghini Aventador and Ferrari F8, Jaguar I-Pace full-electric crossover, Rolls-Royce Ghost, Toyota Yaris, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, and the full-electric VW ID3 and Porsche Taycan, according to figures from market researcher JATO Dynamics.

The other brands that recorded gains last month included Lancia (+21 percent), Seat (+12 percent), Jeep (+8.5 percent), Tesla (+8.2 percent), Lexus (+5.2 percent) and Skoda (+5.1 percent).

Meanwhile, four brands including Hyundai and Land Rover reported month-on-month sales declines but still beat the overall market.

A large number of models increased sales in December despite retail challenges caused by the pandemic, including the Renault Zoe, which rose more than 230 percent to 16,288 sales.

The full-electric Nissan Leaf was up more than 90 percent to 5,325, and Volvo increased sales of the XC40 compact SUV by 63 percent to 14,614.

For the full year the biggest brand winners were MG Motor, with an 81 percent increase on 2019, and Ferrari, which grew 8.1 percent last year. It's also worth noting that Volvo Cars subsidiary Polestar finished its first full year on the market with 8,878 sales, of which 8,810 units were the Polestar 2 full-electric sedan.

The Volkswagen Golf was Europe's No. 1 seller for the sixth consecutive month in December with a volume of 29,949.

For the first time in 2020, the Golf’s closest competitor in the monthly sales race was a car that is expected to put a lot of pressure on its sibling in the years to come: the ID3. VW sold 26,987 ID3s in December, making it Europe's top-selling full-electric car for the month.

The Tesla Model 3 was Europe's No. 3-selling model overall for the month with a volume of 23,900, according to JATO figures.

The Renault Clio, which finished No. 1 for the month three times in 2020, ranked fourth in December while the Peugeot 208 rounded out the top five.

The Golf won the month despite a 1.7 percent sales decline. The ID3 has no monthly comparative data because it hasn't been on the market long enough. Tesla Model 3 sales rose 8.1 percent last month.

The Peugeot 208 and 2008, Toyota Yaris, and Skoda Octavia were the other models in Europe's top 10 that increased sales in December.

The 2008 was up 47 percent, the Focus rose 17 percent and the 208 gained 1.7 percent.

Through 12 months, the Golf was No. 1 with 281,082 sales, a decline of 31 percent, followed by the Clio (244,363, down 22 percent) and the 208 (198,112, down 11 percent).

Rounding out the top five were the Corsa (196,790, down 11 percent) and Toyota Yaris (177,440, down 16 percent).