Still cheap, but no longer angry: Dacia Sandero surpassed VW Golf in sales

As a result of sales in July, Dacia Sandero turned out to be more popular in Europe than the “eternal bestseller” VW Golf – 20,446 and 19,425 units were sold. respectively. There are other interesting figures published by the analytical agency JATO Dynamics.

Statistics on the European car market is difficult and long to collect, so do not be surprised that the data for July is published only now, and even then JATO Dynamics usually publishes its analytics earlier than others – for example, than the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) or the Carsalesbase.com resource.

July turned out to be difficult for the leading European countries: sales of new cars in Germany fell by 25% (hereinafter compared to July 2020), in France – by 35%, in Italy – by 19%, in the UK and Spain – by thirty%. Sales growth was recorded in Greece, Ireland, Norway, Romania, Croatia and the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), but these countries account for only 8% of the European market, and the market as a whole decreased by 24% in July – 967,830 sold cars. The last time such low figures were recorded in July 2012, but according to the results of the first seven months of this year, the European market still shows an increase of 17% compared to January-July 2020, weighed down by covid lockdowns.

VW Golf

Now covid restrictions, if they remain somewhere, they are not as strict as last year, that is, go to the salon and buy what you have. The problem is that far from everything is there now: the global shortage of microchips provoked by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to chronic shutdowns of car factories and a shortage of individual models and trim levels. The VW Golf is technically more complex than the Dacia Sandero and suffers from a shortage of silicon more, but this is not the only thing that has made the Romanian subcompact the market leader.

Some of the former customers of the VW Golf are moving towards its electric alternative, the VW ID.3 hatchback, which became the best-selling EV segment (5,433 units sold), overtaking the Renault Zoe and Kia Niro. In turn, the Dacia Sandero, which changed generation last year, is no longer perceived as a frankly budget car, unless it is the basic version for 8690 euros (in Germany) with black bumpers. A well-equipped Sandero looks rich and stylish, while at the same time it costs at least half as much as the base Golf (from 27,110 euros in Germany). The dull design of the front of the new Golf is not liked by all representatives of its target audience, as well as the dominance of touch panels in the cabin.

The plug-in hybrid segment is dominated by the Ford Kuga crossover (4,247 units sold in July), while the traditional crossover segment is dominated by the VW T-Roc (16,496 units). In general, the share of crossovers in the sales structure amounted to 46.1%. The segment of “green models” (plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles) grew from 3 to 17% in just two years, while the share of diesel cars decreased from 32 to 22%.

The conclusion is that the future of Europe is electric crossovers, but the rise of the Dacia Sandero, which does not have an electric version and is not expected, casts doubt on such a prospect. The Dacia line already has an electric crossover called Spring, but Europeans don't really want it yet: in July, according to the manufacturer, only 372 copies were sold.