The 1.4% loss over July 2015 has reduced the year-to-date growth rate to + 8.1% overall. The performance however was different in the individual markets where both positive and negative results were posted.

France

The French Fleet Market showed a minor loss of – 1.3% for July which means around 450 units less compared to last year. This performance is much better than the one for the Private Market where the registrations dropped by no less than – 15.5%.

Within the top-10 brands in fleet, Renault and Mercedes showed particularly positive results. Renault was able to raise its registrations by 19.2% extending its leadership with a share of more than 20%. Kadjar and all new Talisman contributed strongly, already ranked in fourth place within the Middle Class segment behind its competitors Peugeot 508, Audi A4 and Volkswagen Passat. Mercedes grew by 17.3% and in terms of percentage growth, the most successful Mercedes models in July were two SUVs, GLC class and GLE class respectively.

Germany

Having two less working days when compared to July last year impacted the sales and registrations figures for the month -this also holds true for the other markets in this analysis. This was one of the reasons that the current month reported lower figures (- 7.3%) for the first time in 2016. Despite these challenging circumstances Audi performed very well. With a market share of 16.6% in True Fleets, Audi actually reached its highest share since December 2010. The main driver for Audi’s successful July was A4, scoring its highest monthly volume in almost eight years. Nissan ended July very strong as well, with a growth of + 52.6%.

 Italy

The Italian Fleet Market is still on the rise and outperformed the other four countries with a growth rate of + 11.4% (+ 15.6% year-to-date) and to a certain extent is likely to be receiving a moderate boost with the current government depreciation initiative (expiring Dec 2016). At the same time the Private Market suffered by – 6.0%. In fleet the market leader Fiat (+ 33.4%), BMW (rank number four, + 47.9%) and Renault (rank number seven, + 54.0%) achieved the most impressive results in July. Within the Fiat model range, Panda performed well and remained at the top of the model ranking for True Fleets. For BMW the models 3 Series and X1 were both high-flying in terms of total volume and percentage growth rate. The top four Renault models (Clio, Captur, Kadjar and Espace) all improved their fleet volume over last year’s July.

Spain

Spain was the only country beside Italy that produced a positive result for the fleet channel. Volkswagen at number one and SEAT (10th) were the only brands that kept the same rank as last year’s July. Opel jumped from eighth position to second place, achieving the same volume as Peugeot. The Corsa in particular more than doubled its registrations. This resulted in a jump to number five in the model ranking behind SEAT Leon, Nissan Qashqai, Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf. Mercedes gained four positions (from rank number nine up to rank number five), with the largest portion of this achievement due to the GLC Class. It finished July ranking in fourth place within the SUV segment just behind Nissan Qashqai, Volkswagen Tiguan and Peugeot 2008.

UK

After a slight drop by – 0.8% in June, the July registrations also declined by – 1.5%. Given that these are the first month’s figures post Brexit voting, Dataforce does not believe the drop to be too significant. On the other hand, the year-to-date volume growth of + 5.5% until the end of May has now come down to 3.5% including July. However there are a number of winners and not only within the top-10 brands. The premium brands Mercedes (rank number four, + 17.3%) and BMW (rank number seven, + 30.7%) increased their registrations but the biggest improvement was achieved by Kia with + 40.8% over July 2015. The Korean manufacturer reached a new record share of almost 4%. Sportage is Kia’s Top-seller and number three in the SUV segment overall, only 25 units behind Vauxhall Mokka in second place.