Porsche increased European sales 1.4 percent in January because of strong demand for the Taycan. The full-electric sedan's volume rose 380 percent to 1,017 in the first month of 2021.
Lotus, MG Motor, Volvo, Porsche and Lamborghini were among the 11 brands that increased European sales in January in a market that was down 26 percent.
The decline underlined the negative effect of coronavirus restrictions that closed dealerships in many parts of Europe.
Lotus's January sales rose 135 percent, Smart surged 207 percent, MG was up 4.3 percent, Volvo grew 2.7 percent, Porsche gained 1.4 percent and Lamborghini finished the month with a 1.1 percent increase.
The models that propelled the brands' growth in January were the Lotus Exige, Smart ForTwo, MG HS, Volvo XC40, Porsche Taycan and the Lamborghini Aventador, according to figures from market researcher JATO Dynamics.
Meanwhile, 16 brands including Suzuki, Maserati, Toyota, Jeep, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Dacia and Tesla reported month-on-month sales declines but still beat the overall market.
A number of models increased sales in January despite retail challenges caused by the pandemic, including the Ford Kuga, Smart ForFour and Land Rover Defender, which rose more than 350 percent to 871 sales from a low base the year before.
The Toyota Yaris was Europe's No. 1 seller in January with a volume of 18,094. The small-segment hatchback was followed by the Peugeot 208 and the Dacia Sandero at second and third place, respectively.
Europe's perennial market leader, the Volkswagen Golf, finished fourth with a volume of 15,228, according to JATO figures.
Rounding out the top five was the Corsa, with sales of 14,951 last month.
The Yaris won the month by increasing year-on-year sales 2.9 percent.
The Dacia Sandero, Peugeot 2008 were the other models in Europe's top 10 that increased sales in January. The 2008 was up 87 percent and the Sandero rose 13 percent.
