VOLKSWAGEN sold the most new cars across Europe last year and the Opel/Vauxhall Astra was the best-selling model, latest figures show.

The German manufacturer registered 1,669,837 vehicles last year, up 7.5% from 1,554,034 units the previous year. Automotive data company JATO Dynamics has issued details of the best-selling models across Europe and the best-selling brands.

Although sales of the Astra were more than 6% down on the previous year, it knocked the Volkswagen Golf off the top spot, selling 437,673 units, down 6.2% on 466,841 recorded the previous year.

Second was the Renault Clio, followed by the Ford Focus and then the Volkswagen Golf in fourth position.

Last week, figures published by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) showed new car sales across Western Europe totalled 2,077,406 units, up 5.6% on the previous year.

Top 10 manufacturers

Marque		2006		2005		Variance
Volkswagen		1,669,837		1,554,034		+7.5%
Opel/Vauxhall		1,320,913		1,370,348		-3.6%
Renault		1,285,878		1,471,164		-12.6%
Ford		1,271,732		1,265,897		+0.5%
Peugeot		1,107,218		1,131,593		-2.2%
Citroën		910,906		933,692		-2.4%
Fiat		893,622		752,643		+18.7%
Toyota		873,492		810,862		+7.7%
Mercedes-Benz		724,579		703,702		+3.0%