Dacia Sandero rises, Tesla Model Y falls, adding drama to race for Europe's top-seller

The Dacia Sandero is in position to finish October as Europe's top-seller. If so, the small hatchback will earn the honor for the third time in 10 months.

The Sandero, which registered 38 percent sales surge to 21,139 in October, will end a two-month win streak for the Tesla Model Y, which stumbled to No. 24 in sales based on preliminary figures from market researcher Dataforce.

Tesla, however, sold 271 percent more Model Ys last month (9,660) than it did in October 2022, according to data representing 92 percent of sales in the European Union, the EFTA countries and the U.K.

The Sandero's closest competitor for the October sales title is the Renault Clio, which is more than 6,600 sales behind its sibling model. Both the Sandero and Clio, which grew 20 percent to 12,534, are Renault Group brands.

Rounding out the top three is the Toyota Yaris Cross, which could rise to No. 2 for the month once all sales for the region are tallied given that it trails the Clio by just 99.

Yaris Cross sales were up 27 percent to 14,435 last month, based on the preliminary figures.

The Peugeot 2008 and Citroen C3 are also within reach of the No. 2 spot as just 361 sales separate second place from fifth place. That means there could be some movement in the second- to fifth-place ranking once all markets have reported their figures for October.

Another tight race is for seventh place, with the Volkswagen Polo ahead of the Ford Puma by just 57 sales, based on the preliminary figures.

Other cars poised to make big sales gains in October are the Fiat Panda (+30 percent), Kia Sportage (+27 percent) and Audi A3 (+21 percent).

Sandero takes the overall lead

The Sandero's 11,479 sale advantage over the Model Y in October pushed it ahead of the full-electric midsize SUV for the lead in Europe after 10 months. The Sandero is ahead 184,088 to 183,799, based on the preliminary figures.

It has been common for the sales of the Model Y to be significantly lower in the first month of a quarter. In July is was No. 17 after winning the months of May and June. In January it ranked No. 32 and then went on to win the months of February and March.

If that trend continues, the Sandero will have much stiffer competition from the Model Y during the final two months of the year.

This year the Model Y has been Europe's top-seller six times (February, March, May, June, August and September) while the Volkswagen T-Roc was No. 1 in July. The Sandero's other wins came in January and April.