Peugeot’s 208 subcompact has ended the Volkswagen Golf’s reign as Europe’s most popular car. The French supermini notched up 206,816 sales during 2022 to put it back on top for the first time since 2007, and enjoyed a 5 percent sales uplift versus 2021.
So the Golf was knocked from pole position, but it didn’t just get demoted to second place. It was pushed all the way down to fifth. Dacia’s bargain-priced Sandero re-secured second place, having come runner up in 2021. And just to rub salt in the Golf’s wounds, its T-Roc crossover cousin, Europe’s best selling SUV, grabbed third place.
Fiat’s 500 came home in fourth, in no small part due to the success of the electric 500e, and Hyundai’s Tucson put in an impressive performance, nabbing eighth place, and becoming Europe’s most popular C-segment SUV in the process. The top 10 was rounded out by a second outing for Dacia, whose Duster SUV placed ninth, and Renault’s highest ranking car, the Clio, at number 10.
Tesla’s Model Y was the best selling car of any power source in Europe at certain points during 2022, but the full-year figures put in 13th spot thanks to 138,128 registrations. Not coincidentally, the same company’s Model 3 sedan, fell from 17th place in the 2021 list to 33 in the 2022 list.
Related: Europe’s Best-Selling Vehicle Looks Ridiculous Next To America’s
The figures also show Tesla’s share of new-car registrations grew by 38 percent to 233,307 units, and the same chart provided some more good news for VW execs disappointed at the Golf’s fall from favor. Volkswagen was easily the most popular brand in Europe during 2002, registering 1,198,296 sales, putting it miles ahead of second-place Toyota on 766,227.
The fact that Volkswagen’s sales were down 6 percent on 2021, while Toyota’s grew by 8 percent won’t have gone unnoticed at Wolfsburg, but the German automaker will console itself with the knowledge that Stellantis performed even worse.
Source: Jato
