Top 10 Models Europe : 2014 (& Past 19 Years)

The Skoda Octavia made history in 2014

The Top 10 in Europe for 2014 was has a few changes in it. Looking first at the left side of the box below, the Top 5 were the same in rank but the rest all moved. The GM Astra and BMW 3 Series departed and were replaced by the Skoda Octavia and Audi A3. The GM Astra has been in the top 10 for the past eighteen years that I have records for, so a big change. The Skoda Octavia's arrival was the first time that the brand has made the Top 10.

Now casting a look to the right side, we see how often a brand has had a model in the Top 10 since 1996. VW has had a model there 40 times in 19 years. GM slipped to second from first equal in 2014 with only one model for the year. Ford caught Renault with a two models to Reggie's one.

2014			1996-2014
1	VW Golf	523,729	1	VW	40
2	Ford Fiesta	308,345	2	GM	39
3	Renault Clio	299,623	3	Renault	33
4	VW Polo	279,463	3	Ford	33
5	GM Corsa	250,342	5	Peugeot	19
7	Ford Focus	222,297	7	BMW	6
6	Peugeot 208	214,547	6	Fiat	14
9	Skoda Octavia	205,071	9	Audi	2
8	Nissan Qashqai	202,914	8	Nissan	3
10	Audi A3	199,815	10	Skoda	1

If such data isn't enough for you, do not dispair. I have more! Looking at each model in this period, the 'Top 10' column shows how often a the model has been there. Only three have been each year as you can see, the Golf, Clio and Escort/Focus.

The 'Ist' column shows how often a model has been number one in a year. Only four have achieved that and the VW Golf has been on 13 occasions.

The 'High' refers to how high a model has been. The BMW 3 Series has been in the Top 10 six times but never higher than 9th.

Finally the 'Low' refers to the lowest point a model has been. Only three have always been there, so only three show a figure. The VW Golf never under 4th and the Ford Escort/Focus has never been lower than 8th in the 19 years. The Clio was 10th in 1997.

	By Model	Top 10	Ist	High	Low
1	VW Golf	19	13	1	4
2	Renault Clio	19	-	2	10
3	Ford Esc/Focus	19	-	3	8
4	GM Astra	18	2	1	-
5	GM Corsa	18	-	4	-
6	VW Polo	16	-	2	-
7	Peugeot 206/7/8	14	3	1	-
8	Ford Fiesta	14	-	2	-
9	Fiat Punto	13	1	1	-
10	Renault Mégane	12	-	2	-
11	BMW 3 Series	6	-	9	-
12	Peugeot 307	5	-	3	-
13	VW Passat	5	-	7	-
14	Nissan Qashqai	3	-	8	-
15	GM Vectra	3	-	9	-
16	Renault Scénic	2	-	9	-
17	Fiat Panda	1	-	8	-
17	Skoda Octavia	1		8
19	Audi A4	1	-	10	-
19	Audi A3	1	-	10	-

So twenty models have made the Top 10 in virtually two decades, two of those in 2014. It will be interesting to see what changes occur in 2015. For the full list, go to Left Lane.

In 1996, the Fiat Punto was the top model