The subcompact car segment in Europe was stable at nearly 2,79 million sales in 2018, with sales up by just 800 cars. Europe’s largest segment by volume still accounts for 18% of the total market. The top-3 positions remain the same as they were for the last two years and the top-5 rankings are unchanged from last year. That means the Renault Clio celebrates three years on top of the segment, while it’s due for a redesign in 2019 and its closest two rivals have already been updated last year. As a result, the Volkswagen Polo and Ford Fiesta are closing in in the top spot, but have been unable to knock the French model off its throne. The Clio is one of only two models in the top-10 that’s available as a station wagon (together with the Fabia), but that version is expected to be cut for the next generation, so we will see how that influences the fight for the top spot. The Peugeot 208 consolidates its 4th place despite a 5% loss as its closest rival Opel/Vauxhall Corsa is down 7%.
That allows the Toyota Yaris and the Dacia Sandero to close in on the Corsa, both with 9% gains, as the former is within 300 sales of the top-5 position. They also both pass the Citroën C3 which improves further on its impressive rebound from last year and celebrates 2 consecutive years above 200.000 sales. The Sandero has never been above that figure and sets a new annual sales record for the fifth consecutive year and has been on a 7-year winning streak starting at 71.700 sales in 2011 and nearly tripling its sales in the last seven years. An incredible success story for the value brand and it will be interesting to follow how high the Sandero can go. The Dacia Logan, which is the sedan and station wagon versions of the Sandero, also continues to outperform the segment at +16% in 13th place. When combining these two nameplates, Dacia would be in third place ahead of the Ford Fiesta with over 274.000 sales.
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