The best-selling car models in April paint a sad picture of Europe’s progress under the EU umbrella

How much more will it take for the thinking leaders to understand where the current development of the European automotive industry is heading? And what will be the result? New cars are getting harder and harder to come by, and people are desperately buying the last thing they can afford that will still serve them well.

Over the years, studies of Europe’s best-selling car models have produced an interesting, if hackneyed, track record. For decades, the sales charts were dominated by the Volkswagen Golf, which was rarely beaten every month, not to mention annual figures – this happened only five times in its existence. But that status lasted until last year, when Golf fell to fifth place, recording the worst result in its history.

We wrote that the Golf – at VW’s own will – was headed for the dustbin of history, but we didn’t know then what the results of the first few months of this year would be. Now we have the numbers for April and for the rest of the year, provided by their traditional distributor, JATO Dynamics, and they are disappointing in many ways. That’s especially true for Golf – not only is it no longer in the lead, it’s not even in the top three or five. The German legend narrowly clings to the top 10, taking eighth place. And while more than 13,000 sales per month doesn’t sound like much, sales growth of just 1% year-over-year from January to April shows that salvation is not at hand for the icon.

Perhaps worse than Golf’s results is the shape of the ten most sought-after models. The Dacia Sandero, essentially the ultimate affordable compact for the continent, seems to be sitting pretty high. We mentioned early last year that it could be drawing its victory, but in the end it had to bow to the Peugeot 208. But it has lost ground this year, and no one comes close to the results of Dacia – not even April, the second. -car set was almost 2,000 less than Sander’s total sales.

This second car is the VW T-Roc, followed by the Opel Corsa. Other premium cars are listed below, but we’ll let you know right away that these are ‘normal’ cars, mostly small and cheap, with a compact model mix that offers good value for money. . Again, there is no electric revolution, although some would argue that the sixth is the Fiat 500, which is now electric. It does, but sales of the entire model are completely dominated (around 10,000 cars) by its internal combustion predecessor, which is now 16 years old. And the electric Corsa? It doesn’t make the list of the 20 best-selling electric cars of all time, which is interesting.

The entire list is one chapter. Next to the above mentioned cars, only cheap small cars can be found. And especially the cheapest of all time. A similar position was the VW Golf compact in heaven, but nothing like it tops the list anymore. It’s a sad reflection of the direction the whole of Europe is heading under the EU umbrella: even standard mid-size cars are becoming so unaffordable for the masses that they’ve been overtaken by the cheapest cars of all time. If it was new, so much the better, but many car manufacturers do not hide that cheap small cars will not last to push the EU for low emissions and electrification, because they would be too expensive. For many, offering such cars is a must-have feature, and they still dominate the sales charts. So what’s the next step?

If the Dacia Sandero reaches its peak this year, as it is gently heading there, it will be a demonstration of the fact that new cars have become beyond the reach of ordinary people. But we’ve been warning about the impact of European regulations for years, and evolution is moving in the same direction, perhaps even faster. But we don’t expect leaders to stumble on the carpet and change anything. Ultimately, that may be their goal.

The 10 best-selling cars in Europe in April 2023

1. Dacia Sandero – 18,659 cars sold
2. Volkswagen T-Roc – 16,746
3. Vauxhall Corsa – 16,578
4. Renault Clio – 15,792
5. Peugeot 208 – 15 026
6. Fiat 500 – 13,775
7. Toyota Yaris Cross – 13,626
8. Volkswagen Golf – 13,209
9. Dacia Duster – 12,953
10. Skoda Octavia – 12,817

Source.

All articles on Autoforum.cz are opinions that reflect the opinion of the editorial staff or the author. Except for articles marked as advertising, the content is not sponsored or influenced in any way by third parties.