- Tesla’s Model Y slipped from first to fourth in Europe’s 2024 best-sellers list.
- The Dacia Sandero took the top spot, followed by the Renault Clio and VW Golf.
- BYD outsold Alfa Romeo, Jaguar and Subaru; Xpeng also performed well.
The European car industry is famous for its premium sedans and SUVs and mega-buck supercars, but the list of best-selling cars in the region for 2024 reveals Europeans themselves prefer something more humble. The most-bought vehicle there last year was the no-frills, ICE-only Dacia Sandero, which starts at the equivalent of just $13,400.
Dacia sold 268,101 Sanderos, up 14 percent on 2023. Renault – which owns the budget Dacia brand – also grabbed second place with the Clio, itself up 7 percent to 216,317, but the VW Golf was right behind it at 215,715, that number up 17 percent compared to the year before.
Related: Tesla Sales Crash Up To 63% In European Markets, Is Musk Or New Model Y To Blame
Tesla’s Model Y, which was the overall champ in 2023, could do no better than fourth, its sales having dropped 17 percent to 209,214 in a year when total vehicle sales increased by 0.9 percent to 12.9 million. No other car in the top 30 lost so much ground, most having improved their sales, according to data from Jato Dynamics.
Reasons for the Model Y’s misfortune include the fact that EV sales as a whole in Europe are down (though only by 1.2 percent), as well as the SUV having been around for a while and some buyers rightly suspecting that a facelift was imminent. Some would-be customers were also potentially put of off by the antics of the company’s boss, Elon Musk, which included supporting far-right political parties in Germany.
More: EV And PHEV Sales Soar 18% Globally In January
Chinese-branded cars didn’t make much of a dent in the top 50 best-selling models list, MG’s ZS (number 34) being the exception. But that could change very soon if the figures for the best-selling brands are anything to go by.
Volkswagen, Toyota, BMW, Skoda and Mercedes locked out the first five places and all gained ground (though only 1 percent apiece in the case of VW and Benz). But further down the list there’s evidence of major future upheaval in the European car market.
BYD’s sales climbed 216 percent to 50,265, putting it ahead of Alfa Romeo (44,777 units) and Subaru (22,458), and KG Mobility grew 30 percent to 23,836. Omada hit the board for the first time, selling 14,254 cars and Xpeng’s 8,188 registrations represented a 304 percent improvement.
Not every Chinese brand was celebrating. Lynk & Co dropped 73 percent and Ora fell 41 percent, but the message for Europe’s legacy automakers is clear: the Chinese aren’t coming, they’re already here. You can check out the full model and brand tables below.
Europe Best Selling Models 2024
Europe Brand Sales 2024
