The EU-5 True Fleet market remained positive in October according to latest Dataforce figures despite the challenges seen in some markets.

The +3.1% increase for the EU-5 true fleet market in October helped push YtD growth to +7.4%.

The data for October shows that Italy, Spain and the UK all recorded improvements to October 2015 figures with Italy once again the leader in growth for the month. Overall, the sector saw 3.1% growth in October, helping to push the year-to-date growth rate +7.4%. 

France

Although the true fleet market in France was up 9.5% YtD, it recorded its second month of negative growth for 2016 in October, down -0.7% but still faring better than July’s drop of -1.3%. The overall market saw a drop in all but one of the key channels. Private, true fleets and dealership/manufacturer all showed negative figures with the exception of the rentals (short term) market, which posted a 13.4% gain for October.

Both Korean brands saw strong performance. Kia moved into 12^th position with a 33.1% growth followed by Hyundai jumping a couple of places into 16th, showing a 39.9% increase.

SUVs continued to dominate the vehicle segment ranking YtD, with both the small and compact car segments following closely behind. However with the forthcoming release of the new Peugeot 3008 the SUV looks poised to take the number one positon for 2016.

Other highlights saw the Opel Astra jump from 5^th to 1^st in the ranking with a 370% increase while the VW Touran went from 6^th to 4^th in the VW ranking with a 390% increase. But these were topped by the Toyota Rav4, which recorded a jump of 657%, moving it from 9^th to 2^nd within Toyota ranking.

Germany

In Germany the market was up +6.1% YtD but October was down -2.1%, marking the second month in 2016 to bring a drop in True Fleet registrations. However, there were two less working days less than October 2015. In addition the True Fleets share of the commercial segment was the highest so far this year. This was due in part to the declining share from short term rental registration, which showed a drop of -14.4% when compared with October 2015 data.

Several brands saw increased volume over last year. Nissan generated another strong result with +69.5%, putting it 10^th in the ranking. Opel remained in seventh position but showed a strong performance with +18.1% and its highest market share since August 2013. The Astra represented an especially significant share of this growth jumping to third position within the compact car segment (behind Volkswagen Golf and Skoda Octavia) and claiming its best market share in the segment in more than four years (May 2012). Interestingly almost nine out of 10 Astra fleet customers opt for the Estate version Sports Tourer.

Another notable result was in the Small Car segment where the Ford Fiesta recorded an all-time high market share and for the first time since April 2015 took the lead within the segment. 

Italy

The Italian market momentum continued unabated and again Italy remained the leader of the EU-5 pack in terms of true fleet growth, up +28.1% in October and +18.6% YtD. The top five brands remain the same with Fiat in first place. VW however generated a 46.2% surge moving it into second place at the expense of Mercedes and Audi which both dropped a place while BMW remained in the fifth spot.

Private market registrations took a slight tumble with a -4.3% for October and generating the second negative performance for 2016. YTD though remains a healthy 14.1% over 2015 and the market is highly likely to breach the million registrations mark a full month earlier than last year.

Inside the private market top 10 there were some remarkable individual results from the manufacturers. Toyota managed a 22.5% increase and both Ford and Hyundai recording 9.0% and 9.8% respectively. The SUV segment in True Fleet also produced some standout rank increases, VW Tiguan jumped from 17^th position to fourth, Nissan X-Trail from 28^th to 11^th but BMW stole the show with the X1 moving from 27^th to fifth, more than quadrupling registrations when compared to October 2015.

Within special channels, the short term rental segment also looks set to have its best year since 2008 and could possibly have it best year since Italian Dataforce statistics started in 2004. While undoubtedly the rental car companies will end 2016 on high perhaps others might also share the good fortune from the channel.   

Spain

With 10 months of political uncertainty over and Spain finally installing a new government the automotive market has seemingly weathered the storm. The True Fleet Market continues to grow, with October’s 7.8% increase helping to push the YTD to 13.5%.

Within the top 20 brands for true fleet, Mercedes, Opel and Kia all climbed four places in the October ranking. Mercedes from eight to fourth, Opel from ninth to fifth with Kia scoring the biggest growth rate of 44.1% moving them from 17^th to 13^th. Opel also entered the top 10 on a model level with the Insignia posting 43.6% increase and Corsa recording 78.9%.

The alternative fuel segment is also continuing to grow and with an 18.8% increase YTD the future looks to be somewhat greener. Manufacturers seem to be announcing new EV/Hybrid vehicles being added to their future line-ups on an almost daily basis and it possibly comes as no surprise to see Toyota Motor Company dominating the top 10 with six places (four from Toyota and two from Lexus). As more manufacturers enter this space Dataforce expects the competition to become a little less one-sided.

UK

For a third time in a row the UK shows a growth for true fleets and a loss for the private market. The surplus of 0.7% in October keeps the YTD growth rate for true fleets at +2.7%.

The well-established battle between Opel/Vauxhall and Ford goes on. In the current month Ford was slightly ahead again with a market share of 12.1% vs. 11.6% for Opel/Vauxhall. Beside the Ford Fiesta the small SUV Ford Ecosport was the next largest contributor to the good result for the brand while the new entry Ford Edge is also generating some additional volume.

In general the SUV segment is performing exceptionally well. It’s not only the strongest vehicle segment in True Fleet since March 2015 but even achieved an all-time high in terms of market share in October, at +31.5%. The Kia Sportage and Nissan Qashqai ranked at four and five respectively in the true fleet model ranking and with Opel Mokka, Ford Kuga and Hyundai Tucson also appearing there are now five SUVs within the top 15.

The increasing importance of SUV models is also visible by looking on the registration volume per make. Not only do both Kia (Sportage) and Nissan (Qashqai) have an SUV as their strongest model within the brand, but the same now also applies for Hyundai (Tucson), Volvo (XC60) and Renault (Kadjar).