The fight to become the best-selling car in Spain in 2023 promises strong emotions. The pulse that the Seat Arona and the Dacia Sandero maintain to reach the top of the sales ranking at the end of the year has turned around again at the end of the first semester with a new change of leader.
If in March the model of the Spanish brand snatched the number 1 podium from Sandero, it is now the Renault group car that has delivered the most units in our country so far this year. This is confirmed by the data offered by the Europa Press agency based on the information provided by the sectoral associations that maintain Toyota as the first brand in number of sales.
The surprise carried out by the Dacia Sandero was motivated by the greater number of sales of the compact five-door compared to the Seat Arona in the month of June. The Sandero reached 2,838 registrations in the sixth month of the year and the Arona, 2,381, falling to third place, behind the Fiat 500 (2,400 units). In total, 101,085 passenger cars and SUVs were registered in the month of June, 13.26% more than a year ago, and 5% more than in May.
The Dacia Sandero once again leads the ranking of the best-selling models in 2023, with a total of 14,147 units until June. Followed very closely, yes, by the Seat Arona, which adds 14,078 registrations in the first six months. In third position is the Toyota C-HR, with 10,748 copies delivered during the first half of the year.
The rivalry between the Sandero and the Arona to become the best-selling car model in 2023 only reinforces the preference of the Spanish for these two versions of Dacia and Seat. In fact, the ‘low cost’ car of the Romanian manufacturer belonging to the French manufacturer was the sales leader in 2020 when the market was still under the effects of the covid pandemic and the Arona took over in 2021.
With regard to brands, Toyota remains in the lead as the manufacturer with the highest sales volume in Spain so far this year. The Japanese company, which in 2022 became the market leader in Spain for the first time, sold 7,212 units in June and reached 41,336 copies delivered during the first semester. This figure represents 11.2% more than in the same period of the previous year.
The next best-selling brands in June were Volkswagen (6,987 units), Kia (6,819), Hyundai (6,726), Renault (6,567) and Seat (6,319). In the accumulated of the first six months of the year, Toyota was also the brand that registered the most vehicles in Spain, with a total of 41,336 cars, followed by Peugeot (35,580 units) and Kia (34,880).
The French manufacturer thus breaks the dominance of Asian companies, which in 2022 took the top three positions in the sales ranking in Spain. Then Hyundai (59,503) was third, behind Toyota (73,505) and Kia (63,345).
It should be noted that sales of passenger cars and SUVs in the first half of the year have increased by 24% compared to the same period last year, reaching 505,421 registrations. A figure that, however, is still 27% lower than in 2019, before the pandemic. However, it must be stressed that in June the barrier of 100,000 registrations was exceeded for the first time in 29 months.
