The car market in Europe jumped 9.1% in sales in the month of July with Volkswagen leading with its New Passat, Golf and Polo.

This year-on-year increase represents the 23rd consecutive month in recovery of sales, offering the automotive companies some comfort with regard to reliable and stable growth in demand. The markets that bore the worst brunt of the economic meltdown of a few years ago, like Portugal, Ireland and Spain are the same ones that are presently the fastest growing among the European markets as consumer confidence is bouncing back, said Brian Waters, Vice President of Data at JATO Dynamics.

While many companies are mournfully talking about the end of the mid-size sedan era with Honda discontinuing the Accord completely and Toyota planning the same strategy with its Avensis, Volkswagen’s Passat is doing extremely well and jumped to the #5 position in terms of overall sales numbers just after Clio.

The top spots are mostly taken by German car makers reflecting Europe’s preference for the country’s established automotive technology. VW stood on top with an overall sales figure of a whopping 152, 160 cars in July, and a YOY increase of 7.7% and is claiming to have reached the magic figure of one million deliveries till date for 2015. Ford was second with Opel, Renault and Peugeot in the 3rd, 4th and 5th positions, respectively, in overall sales.

Based on the models, Golf remained the best selling car family in Europe registering sales of 46,567 cars in July, a year-on-year increase of 12%. Golf’s till-date sales number for this year was 322,517 cars. The Volkswagen Polo came a far second with just 25, 960 cars sold, reflecting a YOY increase of 14.6%. In the small car segment, the 3rd, 4th and 5th positions were taken by Fiesta, Clio and Passat respectively.

The new generation of Volkswagen’s mid-size vehicles registered a 50% increase in demand, a record for the entire industry. A mere 1000 cars separated VW’s mid-size car sales from the smaller and more economical Fiesta. Despite promotional campaigns claiming SUVs are the vehicles of the future, the Top 10 included only one, the car-like and ever-popular Nissan Qashqai. Although Volvo’s XC60 did not make it to the Top Ten list, it recorded a 35% increase in demand across Europe. It is rumored that the XC60 is the best-selling SUV in the continent.