Several brands posted sales increases in September.
Among volume brands, Skoda sales were up 10 percent, Kia by 9.7 percent and Fiat by 10 percent. Jeep sales rose 5.2 percent, Dacia sales increased by 4.5 percent and Nissan gained 1.1 percent.
Among premium brands, DS sales increased by 30 percent and Lexus gained 3.1 percent.
Sales at Spanish market-leader Seat fell 22 percent. Within the Volkswagen Group, VW brand sales were down 11 percent, and Audi was down 28 percent.
BMW lost 13 percent of sales for the month, with Mercedes-Benz down 1.4 percent. Volvo lost 5.6 percent.
At PSA Group, Opel lost 43 percent, Peugeot was down 21 percent and Citroen fell by 16 percent. Renault brand sales fell by 34 percent, and Ford lost 24 percent.
Among Asian brands, Mazda was down 31 percent, Toyota lost 5.7 percent and Hyundai fell by 2.8 percent
Demand for alternative-fuel vehicles, including battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles and those powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) continued to be strong, with a total 25 percent market share. That figure is 10 percentage points higher than in September 2019.
Electrified vehicles continued to make big gains in September, with sales of full-electric cars up 152 percent to 2,378 compared with the same period in 2019. Tesla’s Model 3 was the most popular nameplate, with 267 sales, followed by the Renault Zoe, the Hyundai Kona and the Volkswagen ID.3, new to the market with 164 sales for the month.
Registrations of plug-in hybrids increased 266 percent to 1,974 units. The Volvo XC-60 midsize crossover was the most popular, followed by the Kia Niro and Kia XCeed compact crossovers.
Registrations of diesel-powered vehicles dropped 11 percent, to a 29 percent share, 0.9 percentage points higher than in September 2019. Sales of gasoline-powered cars were down 30 percent for a 46.4 percent market share, a drop of 10.8 percentage points from September 2019, and 5.5 percentage points from August.