With srappage schemes boosting sales across key European markets, VW's Golf reclaimed its crown from Ford's highly successful Fiesta as Europe's best-selling car in April. According to the data provided by Jato Dynamics, the sixth-generation Golf's sales totaled 49,488 units in April representing a 10.9% increase over the same month a year ago. The Fiesta, that topped the European charts in March, finished second continuing to increase its sales across the continent, up 26.7% year-to-date and 59.2% for the month of April for a total of 43,253 sales.
Beyond the VW Golf and Ford Fiesta, small cars dominated the list with the ten best selling cars in Europe in the month of April with the Opel - Vauxhall Corsa taking third place with 35,754 units (+3,7%), the Fiat Punto finishing fourth with 34,340 cars sold (+12.1%) and the Peugeot 207 fifth with 32,310 units that represents a significant -24.9% drop in sales from a year ago. The VW Polo, Fiat Panda, Ford Focus, Opel - Vauxhall Astra and the Renault Clio complete the top-ten list.
Brand wise, VW retained its postion as Europe's best-selling marque in April but with sales down 1.2%, versus 2008. Ford maintained a close second, while Fiat moved up to take third place from Opel - Vauxhall, recording a 6% rise in total sales for April, the only brand to do so this month.
"National government scrappage schemes are really starting to have an impact, both in the sales volumes in different markets and in the type of cars being sold", commented David Di Girolamo, Head of JATO Consult. "The bigger picture shows the size of the drop in new car sales across Europe and we'll continue to monitor this closely for signs of a wider improvement."
