The firm noted that the figures built on the already strong performance seen in January. France, Germany, Italy and Spain reached growth rates between 13.7% and 20.5%. The UK fleet market was up by 4.8% but Dataforce added that comparative values are already on a very high level.

France:

True Fleets in France are gaining momentum. After a solid start in January (+9.2%) fleet registrations grew by 17.5% over February 2015. While Special Channel registrations (Short Term Rentals, Dealership & Manufacturer) rose 17.8%, the increase of private households was 8.1%. As a result the share of the Private Market was the lowest ever (46.8%) whilst the percentage of True Fleets (24.4%) was only beaten by December 2015 so far.

Within the fleet market Renault, Peugeot and Citroen maintained their leading positions and several top 10 brands achieved extraordinary growth rates:

• BMW: fifth / +45.6%
• Nissan: sixth / +46.0%
• Mercedes: seventh / +32.0%
• Ford: ninth / +64.4%
• Fiat: tenth / +47.0%

Germany:

In Germany True Fleets were up 15% while 12 out of the top 15 brands scored a double-digit growth rate over February 2015. The biggest improvements (in percentage growth) were achieved by Mazda (1fifth, +74.9%), Hyundai (12th, +71.7%) and especially Nissan, jumping from 11th position to rank number 9 with an impressive increase of 96.3%. The market share of 2.21% is the highest the Japanese brand ever achieved in the German fleet market and is very much driven by their SUV (Qashqai, X-Trail) and crossover (Juke) models respectively.

Another interesting development can be observed in the middle class, which has been dominated since years by Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C-Class and the undisputable segment leader Volkswagen Passat but the Skoda Superb is also rising fast. Since the third generation of Superb is available in the market, its volume is growing continuously and in February 2016 the Superb’s share was the highest ever.

Italy:

Double-digit growth of 13.7% was seen February. The breakdown by brands shows a mixed picture. Not all top brands were able to increase their registrations. Six out of the top 15 even recorded declining volumes compared to February 2015.

Audi (+42.1%) reached third position in the ranking behind the market leader Fiat (+20.7%) and Volkswagen (+42.5%). Ford and Toyota performed exceptionally well in February. Especially Fiesta and Focus boosted Ford (+60.6%) from ninth position to rank number four. Within Toyota (from rank number 14 to 9; +66.9%) the Aygo (number five in the Mini Car segment) and Yaris (number four in Small) accounted for the biggest part of the growth.

Outside the top 10 there was another noteworthy performance with Land Rover (rank number 13, +88.5%). The Range Rover Evoque ranked number four in the SUV segment in February and the all-new Discovery Sport followed in sixth place and is the most successful new entry in SUV.

Spain:

After a promising start of the year for the Spanish True Fleet Market (with an increase of 18.0% in January), the second month of 2016 was even stronger. Compared to February 2015, the growth rate amounted to 20.5%.

Within the brand ranking there was a lot of movement compared to last year: Volkswagen (+21.4%) won back the first position followed by Peugeot (+36.8%; ranked fourth in February 2015). Mercedes showed a very impressive performance jumping from 11th position to third place with a growth of remarkable 91.0% and reaching its highest share in the Spanish Market ever! Especially the SUV models GLC and GLA were shining, both in the SUV segment (ranking in second and third position overall behind the Nissan Qashqai) as well as within the Mercedes brand. The GLC was Mercedes’ strongest seller in True Fleets in February followed by GLA and C-Class both reaching exactly the same volume.

Within the top 15 brands there were outstanding results also for Ford (seventh, +41.0%), Citroen (10th, +59.6%) and Volvo (13th, +105.5%).

UK: A very close battle for pole position

After a flat January the True Fleet Market returned to growth again with +4.8% over February 2015. Opel/Vauxhall remained on top but Ford was able to almost close the gap. In the end, no more than 17 registrations were missing. Volkswagen and Nissan stayed in third and fourth position followed by Audi, BMW and Citroen. The French brand increased its fleet registrations by 47.3%. C4 Cactus, C4 Picasso and C1 (number one in the Mini Car segment in February) performed very well and helped Citroen to achieve the best market share since August 2010.

Behind Mercedes and Peugeot Hyundai entered the top 10 with a growth rate of 42.3%. First and foremost the SUV Tucson was responsible for this positive result, ranking on third position within the SUV segment behind Nissan Qashqai and Vauxhall Mokka. At the same time the Tucson is currently Hyundai’s top seller in fleet.