Renault drives European car sales

On-fire Renault has driven Europe’s new-vehicle sales to 1.19 million in November.

The French car-maker saw its sales jump 20 per cent in November, with new models like the Kadjur SUV, its Espace MPV and the Megane leading the way. Dacia sales rose 7.7 per cent to help the Renault Group to a 17 per cent rise.

Premium car-makers Mercedes-Benz and BMW continued to close in on the rest of Europe’s volume car-makers, while Seat and Hyundai also had big months.

The biggest losers looked like the PSA Group (Peugeot, Citroen and DS), Opel, Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover, all of which suffered falling sales figures.

According to figures released by the European car industry’s peak body, the ACEA, sales across both Europe and its free-trade partner countries were up 7.1 per cent this year so far, with just December sales to come.

The Volkswagen Group clawed its way back in November, with its market share rising by 6.3 per cent – the first time it has had positive share growth since the Dieselgate scandal hit in September 2015.

Seat, under the leadership of former Audi marketing boss Luca di Meo, saw it sales scream up 29 per cent, while Porsche grew 21 per cent. Audi danced around continued criticism of its handling of repeated emissions scandals to rise by 6.8 per cent.

The Volkswagen brand itself grew its sales by 0.8 per cent, though that saw its share of the European market drop from 12.3 per cent a year ago to 11.7 per cent. The Group’s share rose from 24.6 per cent in November, 2015 to 24.8 per cent.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles also made hay while Volkswagen burned, with Fiat’s sales up eight per cent and Jeep jumping 11 per cent.

Daimler did better still, with bigger margins, with Mercedes-Benz up 13 per cent and smart up five per cent, while BMW rose 13 per cent.

A stunning 35 per cent drop by its premium badge DS pulled the entire PSA Group down 4.2 per cent, while Volvo fell 7.1 per cent and JLR sales were off 8.9 per cent.