According to preliminary data from market research firm Dataforce, car sales in the European market (including the EU, European Free Trade Association countries, and the UK) saw a slight year-on-year increase of 0.4% in July 2024.
Overall, 35 brands outpaced the market's growth rate, while 34 brands experienced a decline in sales. Among them, eight brands, including Omoda, Geely, XPeng, Zeekr, Voyah, Lotus, and Hongqi, achieved triple-digit or higher growth rates.
Last month, BMW's sales in Europe increased by nearly 13% year-on-year to 63,622 units, moving up from fifth to third place in the sales rankings, surpassing Audi and Skoda. Notably, BMW's pure electric iX1 luxury compact SUV saw a 30% year-on-year sales increase to 4,453 units, while the i4 midsize luxury sedan sales rose by 17% to 3,991 units.
Benefiting from strong demand for its SUV product line, Mercedes-Benz's sales increased by nearly 12% year-on-year to 59,573 units, moving up from sixth to fifth place, also surpassing Audi. Among its models, the GLC's sales grew by 46% year-on-year to 9,026 units, ranking second in its segment, while the GLA crossover saw a 20% increase to 5,306 units, ranking third in its segment.
Another brand that saw a sales increase was Volvo Cars. In July, its European sales grew by 41.6% to 30,228 units, climbing from eighteenth to fourteenth place, surpassing Fiat and Nissan. The main driver of this growth was the brand's pure electric small SUV, the EX30, which sold 7,306 units last month.
In contrast, Audi, Renault, and Tesla experienced declines in sales. Audi's European sales in July fell by 2.5% year-on-year to 59,289 units, dropping from third to sixth place. One significant reason for this decline was a 21% year-on-year drop in sales of the compact A3 model.
Renault's sales declined by 8.3% to 48,598 units, causing its ranking to fall from seventh to ninth place. The Megane model saw a substantial 74% year-on-year decrease in monthly sales, while the all-electric Megane E-Tech's sales dropped by 31%.
Tesla's sales fell by 16% year-on-year to 15,298 units, dropping from twentieth to twenty-second place. Last month, sales of the Model Y and Model 3 decreased by 16% and 15%, respectively.
In July, the Chinese brands MG and BYD made it into the top 20 and top 30 in European sales, respectively. In June, BYD's sales ranking in Europe jumped from fortieth in June 2023 to thirty-fourth. Last month, BYD saw a significant improvement in ranking, climbing from forty-eighth place in July 2023 to thirtieth place.
SAIC's MG brand remains the best-selling Chinese brand in the European market, with sales up 16% year-on-year to 20,492 units last month, moving up from twenty-first to nineteenth place in the rankings. The best-selling model was the ZS, with monthly sales reaching 8,310 units, a 23% increase from the same period last year. In the first seven months of this year, ZS sales rose by 45% year-on-year to 63,342 units, ranking eighth in the small SUV market.
Looking at individual models, eight out of the ten best-selling models in Europe in July saw year-on-year sales growth. The Dacia Sandero was not only the best-selling model in Europe in July but also the top-selling model in the January-July period. The model has claimed the monthly sales champion title five times in the first seven months of this year.
Notably, Tesla's Model Y fell out of the top 20, ranking twenty-fourth, while the Model 3 ranked seventieth.
