As the Toyota Yaris sets a new record by positioning as the top-selling car in Europe in January, I have decided to have a look at the historical data regarding the best-sellers in the continent. During the last 30 years, there’s no doubt that Europe is the land of the Volkswagen Golf, the absolute leader by far.
January 2021 was a very bad month for new car registrations in Europe. Within this context, the Toyota Yaris ranked first and became the first time that a Japanese car leads the overall ranking by models. It is also the first time that any Toyota model is ahead of any other car available in Europe. Of course, the latest generation is responsible for a big part of this ever-time high.
But looking backwards, the situation is quite different. Since 1990, the Volkswagen Golf has led the monthly registrations ranking by model 290 times, leaving the rest of months to other 8 models. In other words, the Golf has been the top-seller in Europe, 78% of the months between January 1990 and January 2021.
The Opel/Vauxhall Astra occupied the second position with 18 times topping the list. It was followed by the Peugeot 206/207 and Fiat Uno/Punto, with 16 times each. Then it comes the Renault Clio (12 times), Ford Fiesta (10), and the Ford Escort/Focus (6). The Opel/Vauxhall Corsa occupied the first position 3 times, while the Renault Megane and Toyota Yaris once each. Interesting, no?
Fiat Group World 