Yet more worries for new car sales in Finland at -5.1% year-on-year in January to just 5,374 units. Toyota (-7.4%) reclaims the brands top spot with 15.1% share vs. 11.2% in December, distancing Skoda (+9.8%) at 11.5% vs. 10% last month. Volvo (-1.3%) advances two ranks on last month to #4 whereas Volkswagen (-10.7%), leader in December, falls to #5. Tesla (+286.2%) compensates on a particularly low January 2025 result (-65.7%) and ranks inside the Top 10 at #9. Other great performers below include Seat (+500%), Smart (+295.2%), Mini (+100%), BYD (+98%) and Xpeng (+87.5%).
Over in the models charts, the Tesla Model Y (+550%) surges to pole position which is unusual for a quarter start. Selling exactly the same amount is the Toyota Yaris Cross (+14.5%), leader over the Full Year 2025. At #3, the Toyota bZ4X (+101.1%) posts a fantastic result and climbs onto the Finnish podium for the first time β and in the Top 10 for the first time also. The Nissan Qashqai (-35.1%) was #1 a year ago and pays it this month. Another excellent month for the Skoda Elroq (+1176.9%) celebrating one year in market with a 5th position. The good surprise of the month is the 9th place of the Mercedes CLA (+633.3%), inside the Top 10 for the 2nd month in a row after ranking #10 in December β making Finland the only market in the world where the CLA is in the Top 10. For its part the new Smart #5 continues to shine at #20 even though this is significantly below the #7 it reached last month. Finland remains the only market in the world where the #5 is met with success.
Audi holds 4.9% of the Croatian market in January.
The Croatian new car market suffers in January at -11.5% year-on-year to 3,946 units. Skoda (-2.6%) and Volkswagen (-6.2%) both improve their share and are separated by only one sale. Toyota (+13.8%) defies the negative context at #3 like last month, followed by Suzuki (-25%) and Opel (-26.9%) both cratering. Audi (+9.7%) is the only gainer in the remainder of the Top 10, reaching a record 6th place (previous best: #7 in March 2025). Renault (-50.6%), Dacia (-49%), Ford (-30.7%) and Hyundai (-25%) are hit particularly hard below. MG (+120%), Forthing (+106.7%) and Volvo (+24.2%) shine.
Model-wise, the VW T-Cross (-27.8%) is the best-seller like one year ago but sees its sales plunge. The Skoda Octavia (-11.4%) follows the market at #2 while the Suzuki Vitara (-29.8%) is in trouble at #3. In contrast, the VW Tiguan (+37.3%), Skoda Kamiq (+25%) and Suzuki S-Cross (+16.7%) all deliver excellent performances. The MG ZS (+142.9%), Toyota Yaris (+121.7%) and Skoda Karoq (+97.1%) all impress.
The Kia K4 SW ranks inside the Top 10 for its first month of sales.
New car sales in Sweden are down a daunting -18.3% year-on-year to 16,041 units.Β The decrease is due, among other things, to the large increase in ethanol cars in January last year, ahead of changed tax rules that came into effect on February 1, 2025. This resulted in a record high share of ethanol cars of 8.5%, which will fall back to 0.5% this year. It also resulted in a surprise third place of Subaru in the brands ranking. The share of plug-in cars is at 64.2% vs. 51.6% a year ago, with BEVs up 18.6% to 41.8% share vs. 28.8% a year ago while PHEVs drop -18.8% to 3,582 but keep their share stable at 22.3% vs. 22.7% last year.
Local behemoth Volvo (-25.9%) drops faster than the market to a weak 14.3% share to be compared with 19.3% in December and 17.9% over the Full Year 2025. Volkswagen (-35.2%) fares even worse to 11.5% vs. 15.9% last month. Toyota (+0.9%) is stable, a good performance in the current context and reaches 10% share vs. 8.1% over FY 2024. However the next two carmakers do much better: Kia is up 12.6% and Mercedes up 46.5%. Tesla (+26.4%), Skoda (+10.8%) and BMW (+0.2%) are also up in the remainder of the Top 10. Below, Seat (+120.8%), Citroen (+112.9%), Fiat (+98.1%) and Renault (+59.9%) are among the best performers.
The Volvo EX/XC40 (+115.1%) surges to the pole position for the second time in the past 3 months with 5.1% share, albeit below the 5.8% it commanded in December. Leader over the Full Year 2025, the Volvo XC60 (-54.8%) collapses year-on-year but still manages a strong 2nd place. The Tesla Model Y (+68%) bounces back up to #3, distancing the VW ID.7 (-42.7%) and Polestar 4 (+123.3%) faring in totally opposed ways. The Toyota bZ4X (+260.5%) is up 27 spots to break into the Top 10 for the first time at #8. The Kia K4 SW does the same for its very first appearance in the charts at #9, probably all demo sales as the model hasnβt officially launched just yet. Notice also the Renault 5 (#19), BMW iX1 (#22), VW Tayron (#24) and Mercedes A Class (#29).