In the first half of 2021, 27% more exotic cars were delivered to customers in in Europe, almost in line with the overall market which is up 26%. The large sports car segment beat the overall market in the first quarter, but has fallen behind after six months with a 13% gain, while the compact sports car segment continues to lose share with a 4% increase in deliveries.
Among exotic cars, Ferrari continues where it left off in 2020, with three of the top-4 nameplates. The Italian brand even took the top spot in the first quarter of the year, and the Ferrari F8 only became more dominant in Q2, when it held a 46.5% share of the class, selling 1,083 copies while its nearest rival sold just 275 units. Year-to-date, the F8 holds 38.5% share of the segment, selling almost triple the volume of the Bentley Continental GT which is down 27% on last year. The Ferrari 812 Superfast is up 12% and was just 6 sales behind the Conti in Q2. The Ferrari SF90 Stradale is chased by the Lamborghini Huracan which outsold it in Q2 by 8 sales and is now just 7 sales behind YTD. A 35% drop in deliveries for the Aston Martin DB11 puts it on par with the Lamborghini Aventador for the year, while the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera also sees its sales drop, by 19%. The Rolls Royce Wraith is up 41%, outselling its open-top sibling Dawn. The Ferrari GTC4Lusso is now the slowest seller in the top-12 as it’s also the oldest nameplate in the Ferrari line-up now.
2021 first half – Exotic car sales Europe
| Exotic car segment | 2021-H1 | 2020-H1 | Change | 2021 share | 2020 share | |
| 1 | Ferrari F8 | 1.557 | 189 | 724% | 38,5% | 10,6% |
| 2 | Bentley Continental GT / GTC | 569 | 779 | -27% | 14,1% | 43,5% |
| 3 | Ferrari 812 Superfast | 489 | 438 | 12% | 12,1% | 24,5% |
| 4 | Ferrari SF90 Stradale | 349 | 0 | New | 8,6% | 0,0% |
| 5 | Lamborghini Huracan | 342 | 243 | 41% | 8,5% | 13,6% |
| 6 | Aston Martin DB11 | 181 | 279 | -35% | 4,5% | 15,6% |
| 7 | Lamborghini Aventador | 181 | 193 | -6% | 4,5% | 10,8% |
| 8 | Aston Martin DBS Superleggera | 163 | 202 | -19% | 4,0% | 11,3% |
| 9 | Ferrari 488 GTB | 104 | 691 | -85% | 2,6% | 38,6% |
| 10 | Rolls Royce Wraith | 41 | 29 | 41% | 1,0% | 1,6% |
| 11 | Rolls Royce Dawn | 36 | 47 | -23% | 0,9% | 2,6% |
| 12 | Ferrari GTC4Lusso | 28 | 81 | -65% | 0,7% | 4,5% |
| Segment total | 4.040 | 3.172 | 27% |
Large Sports car segment
The large sports car segment outperformed the market in the first quarter of 2021 but has fallen behind after six months, with sales up 13% so far in 2021. The Porsche 911 is up 23% and improves its share of the class to 64.7%, up from 59.1% in the first half of 2020 and from 60.6% in the 2020 full year. In Q2 its share was even up to 66%. It sells over five times as much as its nearest rival Jaguar F-Type, which is up 37% thanks to a facelift. That puts the F-Type ahead of the Mercedes-AMG GT, down 29% into third place. The roadster version of the GT will be renamed Mercedes-Benz SL as the next generation of the long-standing nameplate will arrive later this year. The current Mercedes-Benz SL is down 79% into 9th place. In fourth place we find the newcomer Ferrari Roma, ahead of the Audi R8, up 44%. In the second quarter, the R8 was outsold by the Aston Martin V8/V12 Vantage and it now leads the British coupe and roadster by just 8 sales year-to-date. The Lexus LC is boosted by the addition of the convertible version, outselling the Ferrari Portofino which is cannibalized by the Roma and is down 81% on last year. The BMW i8 is down 89% as it will be discontinued, as the Maserati GranTurismo and GranCabrio have already been. The Honda NSX sold just 1 unit in the first half of the year.
2021 first half – large sports car sales EuropeCompact Sports car segment
| Large sports car segment | 2021-H1 | 2020-H1 | Change | 2021 share | 2020 share | |
| 1 | Porsche 911 | 8.684 | 7.049 | 23% | 64,7% | 59,1% |
| 2 | Jaguar F-type | 1.634 | 1.191 | 37% | 12,2% | 10,0% |
| 3 | Mercedes-AMG GT | 1.425 | 1.997 | -29% | 10,6% | 16,7% |
| 4 | Ferrari Roma | 534 | 0 | New | 4,0% | 0,0% |
| 5 | Audi R8 | 361 | 250 | 44% | 2,7% | 2,1% |
| 6 | Aston Martin V8/V12 Vantage | 353 | 159 | 122% | 2,6% | 1,3% |
| 7 | Lexus LC | 250 | 87 | 187% | 1,9% | 0,7% |
| 8 | Ferrari Portofino | 105 | 566 | -81% | 0,8% | 4,7% |
| 9 | Mercedes-Benz SL | 50 | 241 | -79% | 0,4% | 2,0% |
| 10 | BMW i8 | 35 | 314 | -89% | 0,3% | 2,6% |
| 11 | Honda NSX | 1 | 4 | -75% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| Segment total | 13.432 | 11.923 | 13% |
In contrast with the relatively healthy large sports car segment and the exotic car segment, the small sports car segment continues to lose share of the market with just 4% more deliveries than the first half of 2020, not recovering from a 42% drop last year. The loss of the Mercedes-Benz SLC as well as poor performances by the Ford Mustang and Toyota GT86 are to blame for this slow recovery. The BMW Z4 holds on to its top spot and outperforms the segment with sales up 27%, while the 2019 leader Mazda MX-5 strongly recovers from a slow start of 2020 with sales more than doubling, as it moves back up into second place. The Porsche 718 also gains share with sales up up 7% and holds on to the podium place it took from the Audi TT in the first quater, depite the TT outselling it in Q2 by over 350 sales. The Ford Mustang in fifth place is down 38% but still sells more than double the volume of the next sports car Renault Alpine which is up 66% on last year. We also see strong recoveries from the Toyota Supra (+61%) and the two Lotus models Elise and Exige which just about double up on last year, while hte Evora is up 75% but remains a niche player. The Chevrolet Camaro almost triples up but its volume remains low, especially when compared to the Mustang.
2021 first half – small sports car sales Europe
| Compact sports car segment | 2021-H1 | 2020-H1 | Change | 2021 share | 2020 share | |
| 1 | BMW Z4 | 4.943 | 3.889 | 27% | 25,2% | 20,6% |
| 2 | Mazda MX-5 | 4.198 | 1.966 | 114% | 21,4% | 10,4% |
| 3 | Porsche 718 Boxster/Cayman | 3.194 | 2.999 | 7% | 16,3% | 15,9% |
| 4 | Audi TT | 3.015 | 3.280 | -8% | 15,4% | 17,4% |
| 5 | Ford Mustang | 2.090 | 3.383 | -38% | 10,7% | 17,9% |
| 6 | Alpine A110 | 905 | 545 | 66% | 4,6% | 2,9% |
| 7 | Toyota Supra | 647 | 402 | 61% | 3,3% | 2,1% |
| 8 | Lotus Elise | 191 | 98 | 95% | 1,0% | 0,5% |
| 9 | Lotus Exige | 135 | 67 | 101% | 0,7% | 0,4% |
| 10 | Chevrolet Camaro | 110 | 39 | 182% | 0,6% | 0,2% |
| 11 | Subaru BRZ | 105 | 131 | -20% | 0,5% | 0,7% |
| 12 | Lotus Evora | 28 | 16 | 75% | 0,1% | 0,1% |
| 13 | Toyota GT86 | 23 | 350 | -93% | 0,1% | 1,9% |
| 13 | Nissan 370Z | 17 | 173 | -90% | 0,1% | 0,9% |
| Segment total | 19.601 | 18.890 | 4% |
Car sales statistics are from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
Sources: Manufacturers, ANDC, JATO Dynamics.