It’s no secret that the Duster is Dacia’s best-selling model in Europe, followed closely by the Sandero hatchback.

But did you know these two were among the top five best-selling models in the European Union in August? Actually, the Duster finished the month in second place, with 19,451 units sold (up 10.8 percent year-over-year), according to data from JATO Dynamics.

It was only beaten by the VW Golf, which sold 26,411 units. However, sales of the German compact car fell 23.6 percent compared to August 2018, as some buyers likely delayed a purchase until the arrival of the all-new Golf Mk8.

Also Read: 2020 Dacia Duster Gains More Economical TCe 100 1.0L 3-Cylinder Turbo

Third place went to the much newer VW T-Roc, with 18,262 sales (+27.8 percent), followed closely by the Dacia Sandero with 17,764 units (+2.5 percent).

Another VW model, the Polo supermini, came in fifth place with 16,692 units sold (-21.2 percent), although the sharp decrease for a product launched in 2018 is a bit surprising, to say the least. The Polo’s biggest fault is probably the fact that it’s not a crossover or SUV.

Interestingly, Dacia’s excellent results did not propel it into the top five car brands in the EU in August 2019, with the Romanian brand taking ninth place with 51,692 units (+5.5 percent). This is likely due to the fact that the Renault-owned brand offers a limited number of models, of which only one is an SUV.

The Renault brand, on the other hand, finished fourth with 61,294 units sold, down a massive 38.9 percent year-over-year. Remarkably, Dacia isn’t that far behind its parent company, and if the French brand continues to decline so abruptly, the budget marque could overtake it and become the Group’s best-selling division.

Elsewhere in the chart we can see that Renault’s alliance partner Nissan is doing even worse in the European Union, with sales down 47.1 percent, to 23,775 units. The biggest gains were recorded by Smart (+102 percent) and Suzuki (+40.5 percent).

Note: One-off Dacia Duster unveiled at the inauguration of Renault Bucharest Connected, the carmaker’s new head office in Romania, pictured

Dacia Duster Was EU’s Second Best-Selling Car In August Behind The VW Golf – See How The Rest Fared
Dacia Duster Was EU’s Second Best-Selling Car In August Behind The VW Golf – See How The Rest Fared
Dacia Duster Was EU’s Second Best-Selling Car In August Behind The VW Golf – See How The Rest Fared
Dacia Duster Was EU’s Second Best-Selling Car In August Behind The VW Golf – See How The Rest Fared
Dacia Duster Was EU’s Second Best-Selling Car In August Behind The VW Golf – See How The Rest Fared
Dacia Duster Was EU’s Second Best-Selling Car In August Behind The VW Golf – See How The Rest Fared