While Australia’s best-selling model last year was a pickup truck that can cost more than $90,000 by the time it hits the road, a much cheaper vehicle took the top spot in Europe in 2025.
For the second time in a row, the… Dacia Sandero was at the top of the charts in Europe – at least according to the Renault-owned brand, although JATO’s data is not yet publicly available.
Dacia says it has actually been the best-selling car in Europe since 2017 when only private sales are taken into account, but that the Sandero has taken over in 2024 when all-channel sales are counted. It is said that every 55th car sold in Europe was a Sandero.
However, there is still no breakdown of Sandero sales in Europe for 2025. Dacia itself claims to have sold 289,295 Sanderos worldwide, a decrease of 6.5 percent compared to last year. The Romanian brand’s total global sales amounted to 697,408, an increase of 3.1 percent.
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The Volkswagen Golf was Europe’s best-selling model from 2008 to 2021, the Peugeot 208 took over in 2022 and was displaced by the Tesla Model Y in 2023.
The Sandero, in turn, took the top spot in 2024, which it reportedly held in 2025.
In Germany, the Sandero range starts at €12,790 (~A$22,200), making it the brand’s cheapest model, although not the smallest – the Spring EV is smaller but starts at €16,900 (~A$29,400).
For comparison, the Volkswagen Golf range starts at 29,395 euros (~$51,200), while the Peugeot 208 starts at 24,130 euros (~$42,000).
The Sandero hatchback is 4,102 mm long, 1,853 mm wide and 1,495 mm high with a wheelbase of 2,604 mm. This makes it roughly the same size as the 208. The robust Stepway version is slightly taller.
It is offered with a choice of three powertrains: a 1.0-litre naturally aspirated three-cylinder engine with 48kW of power and 95Nm of torque; a turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder with 75kW and 200Nm; and the 89 kW Eco-G three-piston engine.
The latter starts with petrol power and then switches to liquid gas; When the LPG tank is empty, it switches back to gasoline operation. Dacia claims a total range of up to 1500 km with two full tanks.
The transmission options are a five-speed manual transmission, a six-speed manual transmission and a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT).
The Sandero shares a budget-oriented version of the CMF-B architecture with other models such as the Dacia Duster small SUV.
While the Duster is sold here with a Renault badge, the Sandero – which was first launched in 2008 and is now in its third generation in 2020 – has never been offered in Australia.
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