Dacia Sandero becomes Europe's best-selling car

The Dacia Sandero small hatchback was Europe's top-selling car in July as overall registrations in the region fell 24 percent, ending four months of growth.

New-car sales fell to 967,830 last month from 1.27 million in July 2020, according to data from 26 European markets collected by JATO Dynamics.

The Sandero had the No. 1 spot for the first time since its launch in 2008. The Volkswagen Golf, which usually tops the rankings, was in second place, followed by the Toyota Yaris.

Registrations fell in most European markets in July, as the pandemic continued to weigh on consumer confidence and the global shortage of microchips hit the availability of many models.

The French market plunged 35 percent, the UK and Spain both saw sales fall 30 percent and the German market was down 25 percent. Sales in Italy declined by 19 percent.

Winners/losers

Hyundai and Suzuki were among brands that gained volume in July, with Hyundai's registrations up 5.5 percent and Suzuki gaining 4.7 percent.

All other major brands saw sales decline, with Renault down 54 percent, Ford down 46 percent, Nissan down 37 percent, Peugeot down 34 percent and Citroen down 31 percent.

VW, Europe's top-selling brand, saw registrations drop 19 percent.

Helped by the Sandero's popularity, Dacia's 16 percent decline was less than the overall market.

The Sandero's third generation, introduced last year, is boosting the sales and the budget hatchback is Europe's best-selling car among private retail customers, JATO analyst Felipe Munoz said.

"Dacia is more or less offering it at the same price of the previous one," Munoz said.

Sales of electrified cars were a bright spot during July.

Registrations of battery-powered and plug-in hybrid cars had their best July results to date, and the second-highest monthly market share this year after June, JATO Dynamics said.

A total of 160,646 battery-powered and plug-in hybrid cars vehicles were registered in July, accounting for almost 17 percent of total registrations.

"Consumers continue to respond positively to the deals and incentives attached to EVs which have made these vehicles far more competitive in terms of their pricing," Munoz said.

The VW ID3 hatchback was Europe's top-selling full-electric car in July while the Ford Kuga was the best-selling plug-in hybrid. (See chart below)

Munoz said  consumer uptake of electrified models has not been enough to offset the big drops posted by diesel cars.

The monthly market share for diesel cars declined to 22 percent from 30 percent in July 2020 and 32 percent in July 2019. The share for gasoline cars was 59 percent, down from 60 percent in July 2020 and 63 percent in July 2019.

Last month's 17 percent share for electrified cars was up from 9 percent in the same month last year and 3 percent in July 2019.

July sales were still below pre-pandemic numbers for the month. Registrations were 1.27 million in July last year and 1.32 million in July 2019.

European registrations for the first 7 months of this year are up 24 percent to 7.38 million.