De 1980 a 2026 — cada año de modelo del catálogo europeo tiene su propia página. Qué se lanzó. Qué dominó. Cómo cambió la mezcla de carrocerías (sedán → SUV), cómo se inclinó la mezcla de combustibles (gasolina → diésel → vuelta a gasolina → eléctrico) y qué coches definieron la era. 101.518 variantes indexadas en todo el período.
Before catalytic converters were mandatory. Before electronic fuel injection became universal. The 1980s belonged to the wedge, the three-box sedan, the steel bumper. The Audi 100 broke aero records at 0.30 Cd in 1982; almost nobody else cared yet. The hot hatch arrived (Golf GTI, Peugeot 205 GTI, Renault 5 Turbo), and so did the European turbo diesel.
Audi launches the C3 with a 0.30 Cd — a record for production cars.
European catalytic converter mandate begins to phase in.
ABS, airbags, side-impact beams, crumple zones — what had been luxury options in 1989 became baseline by 1999. Aero shaping replaced the wedge: Ford Sierra, Opel Calibra, Honda NSX. The first generation common-rail diesel arrived in 1997 (Alfa 156 JTD), redrawing the European fuel map for the next 20 years.
Audi 100 C4 launches; Lexus debuts the LS400 globally.
EU phases out leaded petrol. The Renault Scenic invents the compact MPV.
Toyota Prius launches in Japan; common-rail diesel in the Alfa 156.
BMW X5 redefines the luxury SUV category.
The crossover SUV arrived in volume — Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Nissan X-Trail — and then in luxury, with BMW X5 and Porsche Cayenne legitimising the body in markets that had previously refused it. Common-rail diesel peaked at ~55% of new EU sales by 2009. Hybrid went mass-market with the Prius Mk2.
Toyota Prius Mk2 makes hybrid mass-market.
EU CO₂ regulation for new cars adopted — phase-in 2012 onwards.
Stop-start became standard. Three-cylinder turbos replaced four-cylinder NA in the city-car class (Ford Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost, BMW 1.5 B38). Tesla released the Model S in 2012 and the Model 3 in 2017 — by 2019, every major OEM had committed to a 2030 ICE phase-out. Dieselgate hit in 2015.
Tesla Model S launches in North America.
Dieselgate breaks. EU emissions testing fundamentally overhauled.
Tesla Model 3 starts deliveries. WLTP replaces NEDC.
EV market share rose from 4% (2020) to 18% (2025) of new sales in Europe. Software-defined platforms (VW MEB, Stellantis STLA Medium, Hyundai E-GMP) replaced bespoke ICE architectures. Chinese OEMs entered Europe at scale: BYD, MG, Zeekr, Xpeng. The first €25k mass-market EVs arrived in 2024.
EU CO₂ fleet limit hits 95 g/km — fastest year of EV launches yet.
EU "Fit for 55" framework: 100% EV new-car sales by 2035 proposed.
EV share of EU new car sales reaches 14%. Chinese OEMs cross 5% market.
First mass-market €25k EVs ship (Renault 5, Citroën ë-C3, Dacia Spring 65).
Stricter CO₂ averaging kicks in; PHEV WLTP recalibration penalises gaming.