Cars and Drivers

Ford, FCA Boost EU Market Share in March; GM Slides Ahead of Opel Sale

Paul Ausick

Published: April 19, 2017 8:35 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 12:53 pm

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) reported Wednesday that new vehicle registrations in the European Union rose 11.2% in March compared with new registrations in March of 2016. New registrations for the month totaled 1.89 million units, led by Italy with an increase of 18.2%, Spain (12.6%) and Germany (11.4%).

New car registrations have now posted year-over-year monthly increases for 31 consecutive months. For the first three months of 2017, new passenger car registrations are up 8.4%.

The top-selling maker in the EU is Volkswagen, which sold 403,289 vehicles in March, up 6.5% year over year for the month. VW’s market share for the month totaled 21.3%, down from 22.3% in March 2016 and down from 23.9% in February.

PSA Group, makers of Peugeot and Citroen, among other brands, and Renault Group each claimed a 9.5% share of the March 2017 market.

Of the Detroit Three, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) sold 156,523 units in March, up 16.7% year over year for the month. The company’s March market share came to 8.3%, up from 7.9% in March 2016.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) increased its market share in the EU from 6.4% to 6.8% year over year led by a 16.8% increase in sales of the company’s Fiat brand. FCA sold 129,126 units in March, up 17.7% compared with March 2016.

Opel Group, the General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) subsidiary in Europe until its sale to Peugeot is completed, posted a March market share decrease, slipping from 7.3% a year ago to 6.8% this year. Sales of the Opel/Vauxhall brands rose 3.4% year over year.

BMW Group’s market share in March also dipped year over year from 6.9% to 6.7%. The company sold 126,015 units last month. Daimler posted a market share gain, rising from 5.8% in March 2016 to 5.9% last month.

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) posted market share of 4.6% in March, up from 4.3% a year ago. Sales volume rose 19.2% to 86,216 units. The largest percentage increase came in the company’s Toyota division, up 20.5% year over year.