The new Renault Clio led the European ranking by models, outselling the popular Volkswagen Golf in May, according to figures from JATO, which are calculated about a month behind real time.
Both models recorded double-digit declines last month, but the Clio’s availability supported its success, giving it top spot in Europe for the second time this year.
The Renault Clio’s model switch is a significant contributing factor as the latest generation is now fully available in many markets. JATO says the fifth generation contributed to 80 per cent of its registrations in May.
In contrast, the Volkswagen Golf, which also faced model changeovers at the same time, did not benefit from its latest generation as the company had to interrupt deliveries due to a software error in mid-May. The lack of availability of the new Golf, which accounted for 17 per cent of its registrations during the month, explains the bigger decrease.
The Clio was not the only French model to occupy an important position. Thanks to a new generation, the Peugeot 208 ranked third with almost 11,000 units. Four SUVs also hit the top 10, ensuring these vehicles continued to dominate European roads.
Last month, four out of 10 new cars registered were SUVs, according to JATO, with the volume havimg decreased by 53 per cent to 250,000 units in May 2020. This segment was led by the Renault Captur, Volkswagen T-Roc, Dacia Duster, Volkswagen Tiguan and Peugeot 2008.
Other SUVs that performed well in May were the Ford Puma with 5,523 units, Skoda Kamiq with 4,036 units, Mazda CX-30 with 2,936 units, Mercedes GLE up by 116 per cent to 2,919 units, and Audi Q3 Sportback with 2,825 units.
The worst performing segments were the MPVs, city-cars, luxury sedans, compact cars and executive sedans. JATO says MPV registrations fell so heavily that they were outsold by the vans (LCV-derived ), now more popular among European consumers.
