Overview of the most important markets: These are the best-selling cars in Europe in 2023

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Little Switzerland is also a big special case when it comes to cars: nowhere in Europe does more money be spent on a new car than here – around 60,000 francs on average. In percentage terms, cars from so-called premium manufacturers are nowhere near as sold – BMW is the second most popular brand (21,290 new registrations), followed by Audi (20,313) and Mercedes (19,971) in fourth and fifth place. not national If you own a car brand, one in eight jobs is directly or indirectly linked to the car – Switzerland is one of the most important innovators internationally in the automotive industry.

Swiss car buyers are also open to the technology: last year, Tesla’s Model Y once again took first place among around 250,000 new cars registered, followed by Skoda’s compact SUV Enyaq, another pure electric car. So which models do our European neighbors like? We examined Europe’s five largest automobile markets and compiled the best sellers of 2023.

Fewer than a million cars (950,000) were newly registered in the EU’s fourth most populous country last year. This means a significant growth in Europe’s fifth largest car market compared to 2022, when Spain, like many countries, was hit hard by the Ukrainian war and the chip crisis. However, around 300,000 new cars (more than the entire Swiss market) are still expected to be missing in 2023 to return to pre-Corona levels.

Surprisingly, no domestically produced vehicle in the Spanish kingdom has taken the best-selling automotive crown: the title goes to the Dacia Sandero, as in 2020. The small car from Renault’s cheap Romanian subsidiary Dacia has become the second best-selling car in Europe, beaten only by Tesla’s Model Y in 2023 – the first time in history that an electric car has become Europe’s best-seller rising to the top in statistics! City SUV Seat Arona is second in the Spanish sales charts; Another Seat is in 10th place with the small car Ibiza; In the brand rankings, the Spanish VW subsidiary ranks only 5th, behind Toyota, Kia, VW and Hyundai. Interesting: MG ZS ranks fourth with sales of nearly 20,000 models; The traditional British brand, which was taken over by the Chinese group SAIC in 2006, is celebrating its sales success across Europe with a number of inexpensive models. MG is not yet represented in Switzerland.

Spain’s best-selling cars 2023:

In 2023, a milestone occurred in Europe’s fourth largest car market (about 1.6 million new registrations): Fiat’s best-selling small car, the 500, is now among the ten best-selling cars in Italy for the first time since the new edition not included. In 2007. This may be because the Cinquecento has only been available as a hybrid or all-electric 500e since last year; both are more expensive than the petrol previous model. The best-selling car remains Fiat: the Panda, with 107,520 models, is by far the number one in the bestsellers chart, as it was many years ago. Panda will also be electric this year, but the internal combustion engine versions will remain the same for now.

Basically, Italians like small and cheap; Half of all vehicles sold come from the mini or small car segment: in second place is the Sandero from Renault’s cheap Romanian subsidiary Dacia, which is also topped by another car, and the Duster is in 10th place. The Lancia Ypsilon comes right behind the Sandero; Yes, you read it correctly. Italy is the only market where the Lancia brand is currently active, but parent company Stellantis wants to change this in the next few years. The VW T-Roc is the only German car to come in fifth place, just behind the Toyota Yaris Cross in fourth place.

Italy’s best-selling cars 2023:

While the world’s most visited country is immensely popular with foreign tourists, it is even more feared by international automakers. Around 1.8 million cars (400,000 fewer than in pre-corona 2019) were newly registered in Europe’s third-largest car market last year. Among the 7 best-selling models, only domestic brands are included. With one exception: Renault subsidiary Dacia is breaking French dominance with the third-placed Sandero – but it’s part of the family, too.

Renault’s small car Clio, which has always been at the top of European sales lists in recent years, once again ranks first. The Peugeot 208 is a distant second, while in fourth place is the Citroën C3, which will also be available as the cheaper, fully electric ë-C3 from this spring. Tesla’s Model Y, Europe’s best-selling, sits in eighth place, ahead of Dacia’s budget SUV Duster and Fiat’s small 500. The first German-made car, followed by the VW Polo in 17th place (26,117 registrations).

France’s best-selling cars 2023:

Clocks always work slightly differently in the UK; this is also reflected in the ranking of best-selling cars. In Europe’s second-largest car market (1.9 million new sales), Ford has dominated the bestseller list for years, including 2023. The first two places are taken by the Puma city SUV and the Transit Custom small minivan, followed by Nissan’s compact SUV. Qashqai follows in third place. The Japanese, who have produced more cars than any other manufacturer in Great Britain since 1999, have another model in the top ten, with the Juke City SUV in ninth place.

At least two models of British origin are also among the top 10 best-selling cars: Opel subsidiary Vauxhall is in fourth place with the Corsa, and BMW subsidiary Mini is in eighth place with the One/Cooper. Surprising: after Ford (about 250,000 new registrations) and VW (197,000), premium manufacturer Audi ranks third among the most popular brands (137,000); It is even ahead of Vauxhall (135,000) and Japanese auto giant Toyota (129,000).

Britain’s best-selling cars 2023:

Crises, wars, declining consumption: The world’s third largest economy has had an eventful year. While the economy has rebounded strongly in most European countries, it has shrunk in its northern neighbor. This is also evident when looking at Europe’s largest car market: 2.84 million newly registered cars represent an increase of 7.3 percent compared to 2022 – but an extremely weak December (compared to December 2022) -23%) spoiled the mood again at the end of the year. The reason for this collapse may be the sudden halt of the environmental premium given to electric vehicles for years.

When you look at the best-selling models, it’s no surprise that it remains at number 1 once again: the VW Golf has been at the top of the German sales charts for fifty years (41 consecutive years in Switzerland from 1975 to 2016) – and has done it again in 2023 . It remains the third best-selling car of all time, well ahead of its brand siblings T-Roc and Tiguan. Only the Opel Corsa in 4th place can break VW’s dominance before another VW takes over the 5th place with the Passat.

Interesting: The five largest German brands Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Opel and VW together have a market share of exactly 50 percent. More than two-thirds of all new cars are registered as commercial; only a third were privately registered. Although media reports often suggest the opposite: Chinese manufacturers have so far played almost no role in the German car market. The best-selling Chinese brand in 2023 was again MG: However, more than 21,000 new registrations correspond to a market share of only 0.7 percent.

Source: Blick