The Dacia Sandero is currently in its third-generation and is principally known for being a running joke on Top Gear. It was also the best-selling car in Europe in July.
That’s according to a new report from the automotive data firm JATO Dynamics, which says that the Sandero took the top spot from the Volkswagen Golf in July, with the Toyota Yaris in third, followed by Volkswagen Polo, Volkswagen T-Roc, Hyundai Tucson, Volkswagen T-Cross, Dacia Duster, Ford Puma, and the Peugeot 2008.
The plug-in hybrid electric and battery electric lists, meanwhile, were a bit more interesting:
Surely a lot of this has to do with price as the Sandero starts at £7,995, or about $11,000. What you get for that is a car that James May says is even better than his $10,000 bicycle. Also another thing to appreciate about the Sandero is that in the U.K. it comes in three trims, the most expensive of which is named “Comfort,” with the middle trim named “Essential,” and the base trim named “Access,” which I guess is less than essential. JATO says it helped that the third-generation Sandero was launched last year.
In July’s model rankings, the Dacia Sandero secured the top spot for the first time since its launch back in 2008. Thanks to the new generation, the subcompact posted significant gains in Germany (+15%), Romania (+24%), and topped the rankings in France and Spain – alongside being the 8th best-selling car in the year-to-date rankings.
The Sandero’s volume fell by only 2% compared to July 2019, while other leaders such as the Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Polo, Dacia Duster, Toyota Corolla, Volkswagen Tiguan, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, Skoda Octavia, Peugeot 208, Mercedes A-Class and Renault Clio, posted drops between 17% and 52%.
Disturbingly, JATO also said that Europe is more in on SUVs than ever.
Last month, there were also strong performances in the SUV segment as both the Hyundai Tucson and Ford Puma entered the top 10. JATO data shows that SUVs recorded the highest ever monthly market share in Europe during July at 46.1%. Although the registrations volume fell by 15%, these vehcicles gained market share at the expense of larger declines posted by the traditional cars (-28%), MPVs (-48%) and sport cars (-37%).
Overall, new car registrations in Europe were down nearly a quarter, according to the report, which is attributed to the uneven pandemic recovery, while EVs made up 17 percent of new car registrations in Europe last month, or almost double what that number was last year. But: Sandero.