As the European car market undergoes changes due to the Tesla boom and the entry of Chinese brands, there have been significant shifts among the traditional segment leaders. Europe, known for its competitive market and high safety/emissions standards, is the third largest car market in the world, after China and the United States, and second in electric vehicle adoption. Over the past 20 years, certain brands have emerged as winners while others have faced challenges.
Between 2003 and 2023, there was a notable change in brand dominance in the European automotive market. The region has typically been led by seven major automakers: Fiat (Italy), Citroen, Peugeot, and Renault (France), Volkswagen and Opel (Germany), and Ford (UK). In 2003, these seven brands, including Opel and Vauxhall, controlled nearly 58 percent of new car registrations in Europe across 29 markets. Their strong presence in their respective home markets gave them an advantage over Japanese and Korean brands. For example, Opel held a market share of 10 percent in Germany, while Renault held 27 percent in France. Although these figures were lower compared to the 1990s, they remained satisfactory at the time as Korean brands were not yet prominent and Japanese brands were working to win over European consumers.
The introduction of SUVs brought about a change in this landscape, primarily influenced by the success of the first-generation Nissan Qashqai. Additionally, Hyundai and Kia established plants in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, producing competitive cars that appealed to local drivers. As a result, by 2013, the “Big-7” accounted for around 49 percent of car sales volume in Europe, representing a 9-point decrease from a decade earlier. During the period between 2003 and 2013, six of these brands experienced a decline in market share, ranging from 0.9 points for Fiat to 4 percentage points for Renault. The only exception was Volkswagen, which increased its market share from 9.8 percent in 2003 to 12.6 percent in 2013.
In June of this year, the situation worsened for these brands. Fiat, Citroen, Opel/Vauxhall, Ford, and Peugeot reached their lowest market share in 20 years. Renault had the second-lowest market share, although it gained 0.2 points from the previous year when it had hit an all-time low. On the other hand, Volkswagen managed to maintain or slightly increase its market share. In the first half of 2023, its market share was 10.6 percent, a 2-point decrease from 2013 but an 0.8-point increase from 2003. Despite the Dieselgate scandal, Volkswagen’s high-quality cars and ability to introduce products in the right segments at the right time helped them offset the negative impact.
In the past 20 years, the clear winners have been the German premium brands, Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, and more recently, Tesla. These brands possess greater flexibility compared to the major European brands, enabling them to offer fresh and tailored products that better meet consumer needs. Moreover, they were less affected by the European crisis between 2011 and 2014 and leveraged their strong global presence to save costs. It remains to be seen if their struggling counterparts will take note of their success.
The article is authored by Felipe Munoz, an Automotive Industry Specialist at JATO Dynamics.