The Dacia Sandero small hatchback was Europe’s top-selling automotive in July as general registrations within the area fell 24 p.c, ending 4 months of progress.

New-car gross sales fell to 967,830 final month from 1.27 million in July 2020, based on knowledge from 26 European markets collected by JATO Dynamics.

The Sandero had the No. 1 spot for the primary time since its launch in 2008. The Volkswagen Golf, which often tops the rankings, was in second place, adopted by the Toyota Yaris.

Registrations fell in most European markets in July, because the pandemic continued to weigh on client confidence and the worldwide scarcity of microchips hit the provision of many fashions.

The French market plunged 35 p.c, the UK and Spain each noticed gross sales fall 30 p.c and the German market was down 25 p.c. Gross sales in Italy declined by 19 p.c.

Winners/losers

Hyundai and Suzuki have been amongst manufacturers that gained quantity in July, with Hyundai’s registrations up 5.5 p.c and Suzuki gaining 4.7 p.c.

All different main manufacturers noticed gross sales decline, with Renault down 54 p.c, Ford down 46 p.c, Nissan down 37 p.c, Peugeot down 34 p.c and Citroen down 31 p.c.

VW, Europe’s top-selling model, noticed registrations drop 19 p.c.

Helped by the Sandero’s recognition, Dacia’s 16 p.c decline was lower than the general market.

The Sandero’s third era, launched final 12 months, is boosting the gross sales and the funds hatchback is Europe’s best-selling automotive amongst non-public retail prospects, JATO analyst Felipe Munoz mentioned.

“Dacia is kind of providing it on the identical value of the earlier one,” Munoz mentioned.

Gross sales of electrified vehicles have been a shiny spot throughout July.

Registrations of battery-powered and plug-in hybrid vehicles had their finest July outcomes thus far, and the second-highest month-to-month market share this 12 months after June, JATO Dynamics mentioned.

A complete of 160,646 battery-powered and plug-in hybrid vehicles automobiles have been registered in July, accounting for nearly 17 p.c of complete registrations.

“Shoppers proceed to reply positively to the offers and incentives connected to EVs which have made these automobiles much more aggressive by way of their pricing,” Munoz mentioned.

The VW ID3 hatchback was Europe’s top-selling full-electric automotive in July whereas the Ford Kuga was the best-selling plug-in hybrid. (See chart under)

Munoz mentioned  client uptake of electrified fashions has not been sufficient to offset the large drops posted by diesel vehicles.

The month-to-month market share for diesel vehicles declined to 22 p.c from 30 p.c in July 2020 and 32 p.c in July 2019. The share for gasoline vehicles was 59 p.c, down from 60 p.c in July 2020 and 63 p.c in July 2019.

Final month’s 17 p.c share for electrified vehicles was up from 9 p.c in the identical month final 12 months and three p.c in July 2019.

July gross sales have been nonetheless under pre-pandemic numbers for the month. Registrations have been 1.27 million in July final 12 months and 1.32 million in July 2019.

European registrations for the primary 7 months of this 12 months are up 24 p.c to 7.38 million.