Estonian Car Market in June: Sales Grew by Nearly a Quarter, Škoda Narrowed Toyota's Lead

Toyota Remained the Leader, but May's Record Level Was Not Repeated

Best-selling car brands in June:

1. Toyota: 442 vehicles
2. Škoda: 354 vehicles
3. Renault: 192 vehicles
4. Volkswagen: 135 vehicles
5. Kia: 108 vehicles
6. Dacia: 102 vehicles
7. Peugeot: 71 vehicles
8. BMW: 67 vehicles
9. Audi: 44 vehicles
10. Citroën: 38 vehicles

 

Toyota continued as the market leader with 442 registrations and a 22.7% market share. In year-on-year comparison, the result is impressive, as sales exactly doubled (221 Toyotas were registered in June 2025). However, June fell considerably short of May's exceptional level, when 612 Toyotas were registered and the market share reached 32.3%. This is partly a natural cooling off after a strong May, when a large share of sales came from deliveries of the new-generation RAV4 and Yaris Cross.

Škoda Narrowed the Gap to the Leader

Škoda was one of June's biggest winners. The Czech brand's 354 registrations meant an 18.2% market share, with growth of 24.6% year-on-year and 18% month-on-month. While in May Toyota's lead over Škoda was more than twofold (612 vs 300), in June the gap shrank to under one hundred vehicles.

Third place went to Renault with 192 registrations (9.9% market share), growing sales by as much as 43.3% compared to May.

Volkswagen Dropped to Fourth

While most major brands showed growth, June was a difficult month for Volkswagen. The brand's 135 registrations meant a 21.5% decline year-on-year and a 29.7% decline month-on-month, and its previously secure third place had to be ceded to Renault.

Kia, on the other hand, made a powerful leap: 108 registrations meant more than doubling sales compared to May (+111.8%) and a return to the top five.

Toyota and Škoda Dominate the Model Top 10

Most popular models in June:

1. Toyota Corolla: 125 (+31.6%)
2. Škoda Kamiq: 107 (+494.4%)
3. Škoda Kodiaq: 102 (+45.7%)
4. Toyota RAV4: 94 (+67.9%)
5. Renault Symbioz: 85 (+37.1%)
6. Toyota Yaris Cross: 85 (+174.2%)
7. Škoda Octavia: 83 (-36.2%)
8. Kia Sportage: 76 (+130.3%)
9. Renault Austral: 64 (+1180%)
10. Dacia Duster: 55 (-6.8%)

 

Estonia's best-selling model was once again the Toyota Corolla, which has held the top spot for several months in a row. The biggest surprise in the top 10, however, is the Škoda Kamiq: the compact crossover jumped from 18 registrations to 107, nearly a sixfold increase, rising straight to second place. In total, the top 10 included three Toyotas and three Škodas, which also explains the top of the brand rankings well.

The Renault Austral also made an impressive climb (from 5 registrations to 64), and the Toyota Yaris showed strong momentum (39 registrations, +457%). At the other end of the scale, the long-standing staple Škoda Octavia stood out, with sales shrinking by a third. Buyer preference is shifting ever more clearly from sedans and estates toward crossovers and SUVs.

Biggest Risers: Citroën, Opel and Peugeot

French and German volume brands showed exceptionally strong growth figures in June compared to the same period last year:

• Citroën: 38 vehicles (+375%)
• Opel: 28 vehicles (+154.5%)
• Lexus: 18 vehicles (+100%)
• Mazda: 22 vehicles (+83.3%)
• Peugeot: 71 vehicles (+82.1%)

 

Peugeot's rise to seventh place and Citroën's rapid growth indicate that affordable models are finding buyers again. This is supported by a trend visible across the entire market, where purchasing decisions are increasingly made by practical and price-conscious families.

Decliners: Honda, Subaru and Tesla

Not all brands shared in the growth wave. Honda's sales fell by 59.4% year-on-year (from 32 vehicles to 13) and Subaru's by 45.9% (from 37 to 20). Porsche registrations also decreased by a third.

The steepest fall, however, was Tesla's: while 7 Teslas were registered last June, this year only one (-85.7%). Electric car buyers' preferences have clearly shifted toward other manufacturers.

Chinese Brands Are Gaining a Foothold

The overall picture of Chinese manufacturers is becoming increasingly visible in Estonia. In June, BYD registered 21 vehicles (+31.3% year-on-year), MG 13 vehicles (zero a year ago), XPeng 4 and Nio 1 vehicle. KG Mobility (formerly SsangYong), of Korean origin but operating under a new name, also grew its sales from one vehicle to seven.

Individually, the numbers are still modest, but together the new Asian brands already account for a notable share of the market, and their selection in Estonia is expanding every quarter.

Half-Year Summary: The Market Has Grown by 62.5%

The first-half picture shows the true extent of the recovery. From January to the end of June, 10,144 new vehicles were registered in Estonia, compared to 6,243 in the same period last year. Growth is therefore 62.5%, which means the market is steadily emerging from the post-car-tax shock.

Most popular brands in the first half of the year:

1. Toyota: 2,346 vehicles (23.1% market share, +60.5% growth)
2. Škoda: 1,658 vehicles (16.3%, +82.8%)
3. Renault: 954 vehicles (9.4%, +139.7%)
4. Volkswagen: 809 vehicles (8.0%, +42.4%)
5. Kia: 526 vehicles (5.2%, +33.2%)
6. Dacia: 457 vehicles (4.5%, +17.8%)
7. BMW: 335 vehicles (3.3%, +137.6%)
8. Peugeot: 290 vehicles (2.9%, +57.6%)
9. Audi: 271 vehicles (2.7%, +85.6%)
10. Mercedes-Benz: 250 vehicles (2.5%, +71.2%)

 

The biggest winners of the half-year in percentage terms are Renault (+139.7%) and BMW (+137.6%), both of which have more than doubled their sales. MG's debut is also noteworthy: zero in the first half of last year, already 92 registrations this year.

Among the larger brands, only Citroën (-15%) and Tesla are in decline over the half-year, with Tesla's registrations falling from 42 to 20, more than halving.

Electric Cars: Toyota Leads the EV Market Too, Tesla Is Disappearing

Sales of fully electric vehicles grew even faster than the overall market in June: 147 electric cars were registered, 63.3% more than a year ago (90). Electric cars thus accounted for approximately 7.5% of the total market.

The surprise here is the same as in the overall market: Toyota. While only 8 Toyota electric cars were registered last June, this year the figure was already 40, a 400% increase and more than a quarter of the EV market (27.2%). Toyota therefore leads both the overall Estonian car market and electric car sales at the same time.

EV brand top 5 in June:

1. Toyota: 40
2. BYD: 12
3. Škoda: 12
4. Subaru: 10
5. Kia: 9

 

At the model level, Toyota's lead is even clearer: the bZ4X (17) and bZ4X Touring (13) took the top two spots in the EV rankings, joined by the electric C-HR (9). The new Subaru e-Outback (9), a model that did not exist on the market a year ago, achieved the same result. They were followed by the BYD Sealion 7 (8) and Kia EV3 (6).

Among the newcomers, the Mazda 6e (5), the fully electric Porsche Cayenne (5) and the Volvo EX90 (5) are also worth mentioning, all of which have only just begun deliveries.

At the other end, two former giants of the EV market stand out: Tesla registered just one Model Y in June (7 vehicles last year) and Volkswagen likewise just one ID.7 (9 last year). While a year ago VW and Tesla were in the EV market's top three, their place has now been taken by Japanese and Chinese manufacturers.

Summary

In June, 1,950 new vehicles were registered in Estonia, 24.2% more than a year ago, and over the first half of the year the market has grown by 62.5%. The recovery is therefore broad-based and lasting.

Toyota holds the lead firmly in the monthly, half-year and electric car rankings alike, but Škoda narrowed the gap noticeably in June and Renault overtook Volkswagen to claim third place. Electric car sales are growing faster than the overall market, but its face has changed completely: instead of Tesla and Volkswagen, the leaders are now Toyota, BYD and Škoda.

 

Source: Estonian Transport Administration data on new vehicle registrations, June 2026 and first half-year (01.01 to 02.07.2026). Comparisons: June 2025, May 2026 and the same period of 2025.