5 Car Brands That Are Popular In Europe (But Not The US)

The United States has a robust history as a producer and consumer of automobiles. For decades, North America was where companies like Renault, Lancia, and Porsche cast hungry gazes across the Atlantic at the growing middle market, with a ravenous appetite for newer and faster models. Some of these brands made the jump to the Americas, while others failed.

The modern, globalized car market is a complex web of brands and builders, layered with legacies. Who sells what and where has become increasingly confusing in the world of megaliths like Stellantis and Volkswagen, which own, produce, sell, and export under dozens of names — not all of which are present in the U.S.

Whether due to regulation, aspiration, or motivation, numerous auto brands just proved more popular in Europe. Some are homegrown favorites with an egalitarian approach to Euro tripping. Others tried to gain a toehold in the new world and failed. Whatever the reason, here are five car brands that are more popular in Europe than in the United States.

Volkswagen — German for "people's car" – has been serving European drivers for decades. While colleagues Mercedes and BMW cater to a sport- and luxury-oriented crowd, Volkswagen has retained the simpler values that inspired its name. By building efficient and compact vehicles for years, the infamous Dieselgate scandal notwithstanding, VW garnered the respect of the European populace while negotiating a successful leap to North American shores.

Despite its popularity in the U.S., with iconic models like the Beetle and Bus becoming cultural icons, Volkswagen is far more successful in Europe. Through H1 2025, VW has sold more than 1.8 million vehicles in Europe. That includes Volkswagen's many brands built in several countries. By comparison, Volkswagen America sold just 88,000 in Q12025 – nowhere near the numbers in Europe.

Part of Volkswagen's popularity in Europe is undoubtedly its homegrown status. With 115 production facilities in 17 European countries, it avoids tariffs and provides cars across 10 brands, including Lamborghini, Porsche, Bentley, and Škoda. American producers might be the top dogs in North America, but Volkswagen seems content with its European empire.

Italian marque Alfa Romeo is not unheard of in the United States. Its original incarnation dates back to 1910, and Alfa's roadsters and cruisers exude classic elegance. The brand made the leap to North America in 1961 through the auspices of legendary car importer Max Hoffman before structuring its own dealership network in 1961. Alas, it was not to last. Alfa never caught on in the States like it had hoped. It closed its last dealership there in 1995.

After a couple of decades, Alfa returned, this time owned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The 2015 Giulia Quadrifoglia represented the company's resurrection, featuring a 510-hp turbocharged V6. The Giulia was just the beginning. Seven more models followed, representing a $6 billion investment in the market.

Unfortunately for Alfa Romeo and its current owner, Stellantis, all that work didn't add up to much. Americans didn't catch on to the Italian styling or just about anything else Alfa tried to tempt them with. It's not all doom and gloom, however. Alfa remains popular in Europe. Across the first half of 2025, it has sold over 33,000 cars across 27 European Union countries. That accounts for a 33% increase over last year.

Although Volvo is famous as a Swedish brand, it has been owned by the Chinese multinational Zhejiang Geely Holdings since 2010. Founded in 1927 to manufacture automobiles, it remains headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. From there, it oversees a production and distribution network spanning the globe.

Perhaps Volvo's most extraordinary claim to excellence lies in its safety features. In 1959, Volvo engineer Nils Bohlins introduced the three-point safety belt, which he shared with the world patent-free. Whiplash-reducing headrests arrived in 1970. The automaker continues to conduct moose-strike testing by smashing a simulated 790-pound land mammal with a Volvo traveling between 43 and 56 mph. For fun, surely, but also for science.

Despite Chinese ownership and worldwide operations, including success in North America, Volvo remains something of a hometown hero in Europe. Its headquarters remains close to its historical heart, and sales numbers reflect it. In 2023, Volvo sold 294,794 vehicles in Europe, compared to 128,701 in the United States — more than twice as many. Sales in Europe continued to climb in 2024, reaching a peak of 369,685, while dipping to 125,243 in the American market.

It's hard to think of Mercedes as a relatively small player, but it's true. Despite the historic Stuttgart marque's prestige, sub-brands like Maybach and AMG, megacorps like Stellantis and the Volkswagen Group shelter dozens of brands under their corporate umbrellas. But quality can supersede quantity. Sometimes quality really does outdo quantity, and Mercedes has been designing iconic models for decades.

Mercedes sold 2.39 million cars worldwide in fiscal year 2024. It saw a 9% drop in Germany, but outdid the domestic market by achieving 8% growth in North America. Despite this, Mercedes remains more popular in Europe than in the United States, selling 641,800 vehicles in Europe and 365,400 in North America.

In the first half of 2025, Volkswagen, Stellantis, Renault, BMW, Toyota, and Hyundai all sold more internal combustion engine vehicles than Mercedes in Europe, and this trend is unlikely to change anytime soon. Despite an outsized presence that stands tall in the auto world, Mercedes is in the trenches, scrabbling for position in worldwide markets.

Though technically under the auspices of Volkswagen, Audi has its own history competing for global market share. Founded as August Horch Automobilwerke GmbH in 1909, it became Audi Automobilewerke soon after. In 1932, Audi merged with fellow German carbuilders Horch, DKW, and Wanderer to form Auto Union AG. The four interlinked rings of Audi's symbol – one of the coolest vintage car logos, in our opinion — represent the union of the four original members.

Audi reformed after World War II as Aution Union GmbH in 1949. By 1958, Daimler-Benz owned a controlling stake, starting Audi's trip on the car brand merry-go-round. Daimler owned it until 1965, when Volkswagen bought it lock, stock, and barrel. Merging with fellow acquisition NSU Motorenwerke AG in 1969 under the sheltering embrace of the Volkswagen Group, Audi set its sights on the United States.

The first Audi to arrive on American shores was the Audi 100, which debuted in 1969. In the decades since, the brand has built a reputation for complex but powerful engines, luxury trimmings, competitive all-wheel-drive systems, and premium price tags. That's why it should come as little surprise that Europeans like to keep them to themselves. Out of 1.6 million units sold worldwide in 2024, Europe (including Germany) scooped up 664,451, while the entire North American market accounted for only 240,771 models sold.