- In 2014, segment D accounted for 13% of the European car market, a volume of 1.6 million units, up 3,5% compared to 2013. In 2013 , the BMW 3 Series (192 000 sales) was far ahead of his two challengers the Volkswagen Passat (163 000 sales) and Skoda Octavia (150 000 sales).

- What about 2014? In 2014, there was a new leader in this trio. Indeed, the Skoda Octavia with 179 000 sales beat the BMW 3 Series (162 000 sales) and the Volkswagen Passat (159 000 sales). The Octavia is for the first time the best selling  D segment sedan in Europe.

- Why is the Skoda Octavia the leader? The Volkswagen group vehicle benefited from three favourable circumstances:

1.The 20% sales increase, for a product which reached the mature level of its life cycle (launched in December 2012)

2.A slight sales decline of the VW Passat that reached the end of its life cycle before being replaced by the end of 2014.

3.But also thanks to a redefinition of the BMW 3 Series range. In fact, the manufacturer has decided to create a new segment D family, the 4 Series, which includes the old Series 3 coupes and convertibles by adding a 5-door lowered sedan (called Gran Coupe). Hence, the 3 Series lost some of its volume in favour of the coupes and convertibles newly named Series 4 (52 000 sales), although BMW also added a GT version, a sort of intermediary between a sedan and an estate. If we consider the Series 3 and 4 as a range, sales actually exceed those of the Skoda Octavia (214 000 against 179 000 sales sales).

- In 2015, it is forecasted that the new VW Passat will again become the D segment leader with its recent launch and its many benefits that bring it closer to Premium cars for a lower selling price than the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C.

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- Which countries and carmakers export vehicles to the Euro zone? The two countries that have the highest export volume are two EU countries, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom, followed by Turkey and Japan.

- Regarding carmakers, the Czech brand Skoda (VW Group) is the first vehicle exporter to the Eurozone ahead of the Romanian Dacia (Renault-Nissan group). These two carmakers are in theory a little more under the influence of the Euro currency fluctuations because they put the sale price of their vehicles as an important differentiating factor compared to other generalist carmakers. Four other carmakers, Nissan (in UK), Fiat (in Poland and Serbia), Hyundai (in the Czech Republic and Turkey) and Toyota (in Czech Republic and Turkey) may also be influenced by the decision of the ECB.

- At the end, registration levels and thus future production will depend on the strategies adopted by each carmaker (mainly European and Asian), as they choose to update their prices upwards, take up the additional production costs or even to see production volumes in countries outside the euro zone decrease (by vehicle transfers or plant closures).

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- Brazil is the second largest market in America (behind the United States) and the fifth largest market worldwide with 3.3 million vehicles (PC + LUV) in 2014.

- The market decreased by 7% over the whole year 2014, compared to the same period in 2013. In a country with low economic growth and rising inflation, the car market can not escape an environment where households lack confidence. In addition, the market suffered from the increase in interest rates, reduced number of bank loans and rising vehicle prices caused by adding mandatory safety equipment to vehicles sold in Brazil (airbags and ABS). The World Cup effect and the number of vacation days, advanced by ANFAVEA are difficult to measure but may have an impact. Forecasts for Brazil aren't very optimistic in the short term because the market will probably have to wait until 2016 to see a real restart.

- The majority of vehicles sold are from segment B (53% market share), which is pretty standard for a developing country.

- Similarly, sedans are the most popular bodies of the market (72%), ahead of Pick-Up vans and SUVs, which are mainly offered on the upper segments (C and D).

- By brand, Fiat is the historical leader (20% market share, nearly 700 000 units) with 4 models in the Top 10 best selling cars in 2014. Followed by VW (18% of the market, or 618 000 units) and Chevrolet (17% of the market, nearly 580 000 units).

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