According to the latest data released by JATO Dynamics, EU new car registrations totalled 15.14m units last year, a 6.5% increase over 2015.

European registrations of SUVs, such as Nissan Qashqai increased 21.4% in 2016.

The results show that the continuing SUV boom was the overwhelming trend of the year, with registrations growing by 21.4% – increasing from 3.2 million units registered in 2015 to 3.9 million last year.

In contrast, the traditional segments grew by 2.2%. JATO Dynamics found that European consumer preferences shifted further towards SUVs, and away from hatchbacks, sedans, station wagons and MPVs. SUVs accounted for more than a quarter of total registrations at 25.6%, an increase in market share of 3.1 percentage points when compared to 2015.

In contrast, MPVs lost 0.9 percentage points, with its market share falling to 9.5%, whilst subcompacts lost 0.8 percentage points and accounted for 21.2% of the market.

Volkswagen Group maintained its lead of the market, and despite 2016 being one of its most challenging years ever – the German car maker still managed to increase its registrations by 3.3%. However, the overall market grew by 6.5%, meaning that Volkswagen Group’s market share fell from 24.8% in 2015 to 24.0% last year. This was the highest market share decrease of all car groups.

In contrast, FCA, Daimler, Renault-Nissan and Tata Group all increased their market share, thanks to their wider SUV ranges and the increase in sales seen in Southern European markets.

“2016 was a great year for the industry, with the second highest volume of registrations since 2007. European car registrations have shown good momentum, with 27 out of 29 markets in Europe recording positive growth last year, and 14 of those markets posting double-digit increases. I believe car makers are now better prepared to face the challenging times ahead,” commented Felipe Munoz, JATO’s global automotive analyst.

“The challenges seen by VW benefitted mainstream brands such as Renault and Fiat. The premium brands also performed very well, increasing their market share by almost 1 percentage point from 23.0% in 2015 to 23.8% last year,” he added.

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