September’s introduction of the new WLTP fuel economy testing has had a significant impact on the sales of vehicles across Europe.

The new stricter guidelines on fuel economy figures has led to some car brands being unable to get their stock out of the door until they have received official approval on their actual fuel economy. This change has led to the Volkswagen Golf, which has occupied the No.1 sales spot since March 2017, producing a sales slump of 71 per cent and slipping to 13th in overall sales.

Data from industry analysts JATO has revealed that by the early weeks of October only 57 per cent of models sold across Europe had been approved by the new WLTP rules.

JATO’s Global Analyst said: “This is a huge drop, but it was somewhat expected across the automotive industry. We will continue to see registrations decline so long as a large portion of the market’s versions remain unavailable under the new test conditions. The big question now is how long the drop will last, which will depend on how long it takes car makers to homologate the models they want to keep on the market.”

Compared to September 2017, there were 343,000 fewer registrations, with only Volvo, Mitsubishi and Jaguar actually showing an increase in registrations.

Vauxhall, have been behind the WLTP regulations more than most and were publishing compliant results as far back as 2016 for the Astra, and speaking to Motoring Research, Marcus Schneider, Head of Product Marketing for Vauxhall said: “The WLTP results provide more transparency for customers about the fuel economy they can expect.

“The test cycle is based more closely on real driving behaviour than the NEDC – including the RDE road driving element, of course – and the fact that options on the car are accounted for, such as air conditioning or larger alloy wheels, also means a more realistic result.”

The top 10 models in full

Vauxhall/Opel Corsa – 24,752 registrations (up 5%)
Ford Fiesta – 22,478 (up 20%)
Renault Clio – 21,944 (down 18%)
Toyota Yaris – 19,479 (up 2%)
Peugeot 208 – 17,751 (down 12%)
Mercedes-Benz A-Class – 17,680 (up 7%)
Citroen C3 – 16,307 (up 1%)
Fiat 500 – 15,876 (down 16%)
Volkswagen Polo – 15,864 (down 21%)
Peugeot 3008 – 15,315 (up 8%)

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