European sales of subcompact cars, Europe’s largest segment by volume, were down 25% in 2020 to 2.24 million units, which means the segment now makes up 18.7% of the European car market, down from 19.7% in 2019.
The top-4 players all gain market share, as the Renault Clio stays on top of the charts and adds half a percentage point of share despite a 22% decline in deliveries. Part of this decline is a result of the brand not launching a station wagon version of the new generation Clio. In 2021, the newly launched hybrid version of the Clio should help it defend its crown once more. The PSA twins Opel/Vauxhall Corsa and Peugeot 208 hold on to their podium places and both add about 1.5 percentage points of share. The French hatchback leapfrogged its German sibling in Q4. The Toyota Yaris moves up 3 spots into 4th place thanks to the new generation which has a 80% take rate for the hybrid version (up from 50-55% at the outgoing generation). In Q4, the Yaris was even the #2 seller of the class.
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