Good news for the European car market: who is the big winner

Bentley, Kia, DS, Dacia and Porsche also saw large increases. In the meantime, nine brands have slipped into negative territory, but have outperformed the overall market.

MG Motor increased sales in Europe by almost 145% in March, helped by strong demand for the HS compact crossover.

Polestar also saw a three-digit increase in on-demand sales for Polestar 2.

Cupra, Tesla, Bentley, Kia, DS, Dacia and Porsche recorded double-digit sales growth in the overall European market, which fell by 19%.

Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini and Honda were also among the 25 brands that made gains during the month, according to data from market researcher Dataforce.

The shortage of semiconductors and supply constraints caused by the war in Ukraine were the main reason for declining sales in the region.

What the data shows

Copper grew 99 percent, boosted by sales of the Formentor compact SUV, the flagship model of the Volkswagen Group subsidiary.

Tesla rose 75 percent, helped by strong demand for the Model 3 and Model Y, which were the No. 1 and No. 2 electric vehicles sold in Europe in March, respectively.

Other brands that gained volume were Bentley (35%), Kia (32%), DS and Dacia (both 20%) and Porsche (14%).

According to data aggregated by Jato Dynamics, at the end of March 2022, Dacia Sandero lost the first position in the ranking of the best-selling cars on the market in Europe.

On the other hand, the Dacia Sandero continues to enjoy the privileged position of being the only car with increasing sales this year in Europe. Unfortunately, in the context of the significant decrease of the car market, a decrease for the Romanian brand was almost inevitable.

However, if we limit ourselves to sales in March, Dacia Sandero is on the top five, down four places.

Brands that fell but beat the market include Hyundai, Mazda, Lotus and Toyota.