Best Selling Cars – Matt's blog

The Nissan Altima is the best-selling passenger car in the US this month.

* NOW UPDATED with the Top 257 best-selling models and Top 37 brands! *

New light vehicle sales in the USA are stable (-0.02%) in February at 1,193,872 registrations, bringing the year-to-date total to 2,206,454 units, down 1% on 2013. Experts had hoped for a healthy increase this month so the stagnation is a bad sign for the rest of the Spring season, traditionally setting the tone for the annual US market. The 3 big boys lose ground: Ford (-7%), Chevrolet (-3%) and Toyota (-6%) but Nissan delivers its strongest ever February volume at 105,632 units, up a fantastic 17% year-on-year. Notice also Jeep up a huge 47% on February 2013, Subaru up 24%, Ram up 28%, Buick up 19%, Lincoln up 36% and Maserati up a monstrous 426% year-on-year to 837 sales.

The Nissan Rogue is up to a record 15th spot this month.

Model-wise, below the traditional Ford F-Series (+3%) and Chevrolet Silverado (-12%) we find a big surprise: the Nissan Altima is the most popular passenger car in the country in February for the first time since March 2013 and the only one to sell more than 30,000 units at 30,849, up 11% year-on-year. The Ram Pick-up follows, up a great 26%, while the Toyota Camry (-7%), Corolla (+1%), Ford Fusion (-14%) and Honda Accord (-15%) are knocked out. Boosted by its new fuel-efficient engines, the Chevrolet Cruze is up 22% to #10 while the Chevrolet Malibu is up 7 spots on January to #14 (its best US ranking in over a year), the Nissan Rogue up 73% year-on-year to a best-ever #15 (beating the #16 it reached last month) and the Toyota RAV4 up 24% to #16.

First ever US Top 50 ranking for the Mazda CX-5, directly at #37.

Among recent launches, the Jeep Cherokee still reigns supreme at #27 with 11,795 sales, followed a long way behind by the Infiniti Q50 at #94 and the Mercedes CLA at #130. Notice also the Subaru Forester up 95% year-on-year to #32, the Mazda CX-5 up 72% on February 2013 to break into the monthly US Top 50 for the very first time, directly at #37, the Nissan Frontier up 112% to #64 and the Subaru XV Crosstrek up 68% to #68. Finally this is it, at BSCB we have decided the Dodge Dart is a write-off: 18 months after its launch it is down 37% year-on-year and 12 ranks on January to a paltry 74th position.

Previous month: USA January 2014: Toyota RAV4 and Nissan Rogue up

One year ago: USA February 2013: Is it the end of the tunnel for US sedans?

Full February 2014 Top 257 models and Top 37 brands Ranking Tables below.

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Toyota Hilux

* See the Top 140 best-selling models and Top 35 brands by clicking on the title! *

Second consecutive month of year-on-year decline for new car sales in South Africa, down 3% to 51,814 registrations (exports are down 19%!), which brings the year-to-date total to 104,848 units, down 5% on 2013. The Top 9 carmakers are unchanged, led by Toyota, Volkswagen Group and Hyndai-Kia. Down to third position in January, the Toyota Hilux now reclaims its throne both in February thanks to 3,419 sales and 6.6% share and year-to-date at 6,191 units and 5.9%. The VW Polo remains #2 with 2,885 sales and 5.6% while the VW Polo Vivo is down two spots to #3 and 2,531 units. The Ford Ranger (#4) and Toyota Etios (#5) exchange positions vs. January while the Mercedes C-Class is up 6 ranks to knock at the Top 10′s door in 11th place.

BMW X5

Ford Ikon

Further down, notice the spectacular performance of the BMW X5 up a huge 85 spots on January to land in 21st position with 461 sales and 0.9% share, just below the Renault Clio at #19 vs. #30 over the Full Year 2013. Other great performers this month in South Africa include the Audi A3 at #23, Chevrolet Sonic at #24, Nissan Almera up 34 ranks to #25 and the Ford Ikon up 71 ranks to #33.

Previous month: South Africa January 2014: VW Polo Vivo #1, Chevrolet Spark in Top 10

One year ago: South Africa February 2013: Toyota Etios back on podium

Full February 2014 Top 140 models and Top 35 brands Ranking Tables below.

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VW Tiguan

* See the Top 50 best-selling models and Top 15 brands by clicking on the title! *

The Polish new car market continues to display outstanding health in this early 2014: up a fantastic 33% year-on-year to 35,573 registrations including LCVs. Skoda (13.8%), Volkswagen (10.7%) and Toyota (8.4%) dominate the brands ranking while Ford passes Opel to rank #4 and Dacia breaks into the Top 10 at #10. In the models charts, the Skoda Octavia takes off to 4.6% share thanks to 1,620 registrations and has already built up a one percentage point advantage over the #2 year-to-date, the Toyota Auris solid at 3% this month. The Ford Focus is up 8 ranks on January to land at a very impressive 2nd place with 1,103 sales and 3.1%.

Volvo XC60

However the picture is very different if we remove LCVs: in this case Skoda monopolises the podium for the first time in Polish history with the Octavia, Fabia and Rapid leading the way in this order. A similar ranking to neighbours Czech Republic and Slovakia. Back to the overall ranking where the VW performer of the month is the VW Tiguan, hitting a record 4th place thanks to 1,011 sales and 2.6% after the Passat reached the same level last month. Other great performers in Poland this month include the Skoda Superb up 20 spots on January to #8, the Volvo XC60 up to an incredible 12th place with 573 sales and 1.6% share, the Renault Mégane up 29 ranks to #13, Citroen Berlingo up 25 to #16 and the Peugeot 308 up to #38.

Previous month: Poland January 2014: VW Passat #4, Skoda Rapid in Top 10

One year ago: Poland February 2013: Ford Fiesta jumps onto podium

Full February 2014 Top 50 models and Top 15 brands Ranking Tables below.

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Mazda3

* See the Top 20 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

I give you the models ranking for now, more data and complete analysis will follow shortly.

Full February 2014 Top 20 models Ranking Table below.

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The VW Up is #2 in Wales and #7 in Scotland this month.

* See the Top 10 best-selling models for each nation by clicking on the title! *

I give you the rankings for now, complete analysis will follow shortly.

Previous month: Scotland-Northern Ireland-Wales-England January 2014: Seat Ibiza almost tops one nation

Full February Top 10 models Ranking Tables for each nation below.

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VW Vento

* See the Top 12 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

I give you the models ranking for now, more data and complete analysis will follow shortly.

Previous month: Mexico January 2014: VW Vento lands in 7th place

One year ago: Mexico February 2013: Chevrolet Spark back up to #6

Full February 2014 Top 12 models Ranking Table below.

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Nissan Dayz

* See the Top 33 All-models ranking by clicking on the title! Thanks Stephen *

I give you the ranking for now, complete analysis will follow shortly.

Full February 2014 Top 33 All-models Ranking Table below.

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Skoda Rapid

* See the Top 30 best-selling models by clicking on the title! Thanks Jan *

I give you the Top 30 models for now, more data and complete analysis will follow shortly.

Previous month: Czech Republic January 2014: Dacia Logan/Sandero shine

One year ago: Czech Republic February 2013: Skoda Rapid #3, Peugeot 301 in Top 20

Full February 2014 Top 30 models Ranking Table below.

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Fiat Strada

* See the Top 75 best-selling models and Top 20 brands by clicking on the title! *

New car sales in Brazil are back in great shape, up a very healthy 11% year-on-year in February to 245,941 registrations which brings the year-to-date total to 545,692 units, up 5% on 2013. Just below the VW Gol a little weak at 14,077 sales and 5.7%, the big event this month is the 2nd place of the Fiat Strada with 13,459 sales and 5.5% share. Yes you have read well, the Strada finished the month only 618 sales off the pole position, delivering its highest ranking, volume and share in the nameplate’s 15 year-career. The Strada reached its previous best monthly volume in August 2012 at 12,981. We will find out next month whether this was just a one-off or the start of a longer-term trend that will see both the VW Gol and Fiat Uno (down to #4) decline now that the previous generations of each models aren’t on sale anymore.

VW Up

The Fiat Palio is up one spot on January to #3 and 5.4%, itself only 784 sales off the #1 spot… Excellent return to form of the Chevrolet Onix, up 4 ranks on last month to #5 with 9,561 sales and 3.9%, its best ranking and share since March 2013, while the Ford Fiesta is down 5 spots to #8 and the Hyundai HB20 down one to #9. Its sedan sibling the Hyundai HB20S hits its best ranking and share so far at #17 with 1.6%, the Renault Logan is up a further 5 ranks to #21, the Toyota Corolla up 7 to #23 and Fiat Fiorino up 20 to #31. Finally, we welcome a new entrant inside the Brazilian Top 50 this month: the VW Up! is up a massive 75 spots on January to land at #32 with 2,115 sales and 0.9% for its first full month in market.

VW Kombi “Last Edition”

Now that production has definitely stopped, we bid farewell to the legendary VW Kombi, ranking outside the Brazilian Top 50 for potentially the first time since production of the model started here 64 years ago in 1950! It is down 30 spots on last month to #66 with 595 sales vs. #37 over the Full Year 2013.

Previous month: Brazil January 2014: Facelift boosts Chevrolet Agile to #17

One year ago: Brazil February 2013: Hyundai HB20 confirms 4th position

Full February 2014 Top 75 models and Top 20 brands Ranking Tables below.

Read more…

As announced last month, the new Citroën C4 Cactus will be a revolutionary step in not only the production of cars but in the way customers buy and pay for them. The new Cactus is nothing short of spectacular in the way it will be put together, right from what the car has under the bonnet to what technology is included inside the cabin that provides the entertainment required for you to enjoy your journey and the technical and engineering achievements made on this car show that Citroën have lost none of their creativity in producing a car that is different to anything else within the price and size ranges.

However, it is the way that Citroën plan on marketing this car that has also caused some stir. The French carmakers have announced that not only will they be changing the way you buy and subsequently pay for your car but also the way in which they’re choosing to sell is remarkably similar and can be classed as easy as purchasing a mobile phone. On the basis of that claim, you could be forgiven for thinking, “What on Earth could make that possible?”

This means in effect the customer will essentially enter into a contract like you would do for a mobile phone, however, Citroën have not released exact details stating whether the contract would be for a certain length of time e.g. 24 months, 36 months etc. or if it is simply till the customer has finished the repayment plan. The quirk with this idea is that Citroën have essentially put the customer in charge of purchasing their car with added benefits. Insurance, finance and other costs such as that of maintenance, servicing and repairs all included within the monthly-price-plan to allow for accurate budgeting. In theory, this plan could be become an essential factor in whether you choose to buy, not only a Citroën buy any production car on offer in the future. A further plan of pay-per-mile is also rumoured to be in the offing that customers could choose; consequently this would be an excellent plan for the casual road user rather than the business traveller.

Citroën’s view has been that, while keeping cards close to their chest regarding the final RRP of the C4 Cactus, the cost of the C4 Cactus will be what has been labelled as “…not low cost but competitive.” Citroën have cut production cost immensely with the Cactus; simplified interiors and the use of lightweight materials has cut out unnecessary added costs when added to the overall price. Furthermore, the engines planted in the car will all be extremely frugal and clean thus cutting costs of re-fuelling, tax and insurance.

Citroën have always done things their own way (and we all know that Citroën definitely have their own way of doing things!). The Cactus could herald a new era in not only the way cars are produced but also marketed. One thing is for sure; Citroën have lost none of their creativity out of the production factory either.

This post was written by Tom Howell, keen writer and Citroën enthusiast working at Contract Hire A Car.