Australia June 2017: Hyundai Tucson up to #4 in all-time record month

The Hyundai Tucson posts the highest ever monthly sales for an SUV in Australia.

* Now updated with the Top 50 All-brands and Top 282 All-models – see title *

The Australian new vehicle market is up 4.4% year-on-year in June to smash the all-time record monthly result and lift it to 134.171 units according to data released by VFACTS. In other words, never in history have Australian buyers purchased that many vehicle in a single month. This result puts the year-to-date tally into positive territory at +0.2% to a record 599.552 registrations halfway through the year. Once again SUVs outsell passenger cars at 51.393 vs. 50.646 with light commercials (including pickups) up 12.2% to 28.253. Private sales amount to 68.150 and business/fleet sales to 52.039. So far in 2017, sales of 4×4 pick-ups are up 9.2%, SUVs are up 5% but passenger cars are down 6.8%.

The Toyota Hilux is the best-selling nameplate in Australia for the 4th straight month. 

No surprises atop the brands ranking, Toyota is by far in the lead, even beating the market with a 11.2% gain to 24.546 sales, missing out on its all-time monthly record of 25.624 in June 2008 by a little over 1.000 units. Mazda is up 0.4% to an all-time record monthly result of 12.501, edging past Hyundai down 0.4% to 12.251. Holden is back up to #4 but freefalls 18.5% and is threatened by Mitsubishi up 6.2% to end the month only nine units below. For the 2nd month in a row, there are no Holdens inside the Top 10 best-selling nameplates. Ford (+6.5%) is down two spots on May to #6 while Kia is the best performer in the Top 10 once again with a 30.3% surge to an all-time record 6.737 sales. Its 7th place and 5% share are also records, already hit last April. Volkswagen (+8.7%) also shines in 9th place and Honda (+2.8%) hits its best monthly volume in almost a decade.

First month above 5.000 sales for the Ford Ranger. Picture caradvice.com.au

The Toyota Hilux is the best-selling nameplate in Australia for the fourth consecutive month and the 6th time in the past 10 months thanks to deliveries up 18% to 5.461, the first time the Hilux ever crosses the monthly 5.000 unit-mark, with its previous best being 4.931 back in June 2013. The Ford Ranger also smashes its personal monthly record with sales up 24% on its previous best of 4.078 in June 2016 to lift it to 5.051, also its first time above 5.000 monthly units. The Toyota Corolla (-13%) is distanced, almost one percentage point of market share below. But the records don’t stop here: thanks to sales up whopping 153% year-on-year, the Hyundai Tucson soars to an all-time high 4th place (previous best: 5th in January 2016) and at 3.741 units its smashes the previous monthly record for an SUV which was until now detailed by the Mazda CX-5 at 2.662 last September. In fact, with this tremendous performance, the Hyundai Tucson surges just 88 units below the CX-5 year-to-date as the race to #1 SUV in Australia frankly heats up. In third place, the Toyota RAV4 is up 18% to #10 overall.

Kia sales are up 30.3% to an all-time monthly record 6.737 units. 

Previous month: Australia May 2017: Hilux vs. Ranger new iconic rivalry in record market

One year ago: Australia June 2016: Hyundai i30 tops biggest month ever

Full June 2017 Top 50 All-brands and Top 282 All-models ranking tables below.

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China First Half 2017: Market slows down growth from 9.2% to 1.6%

Baojun has a new blockbuster in its hands: the 510, but it killed the 560. 

* See the Top 82 All-brands and Top 531 All-models by clicking on the title *

One year ago, the Chinese passenger car market was up a robust 9.2% and improved further over the second half of the year. This time, the rise of the purchase tax for vehicles of 1.6L and under has stopped the market in its tracks. With a significant amount of sales pulled forward to the end of 2016, the perspectives for this start of 2017 weren’t bright. Still, the market is up – granted, by a meagre 1.6% – when we could have expected a drop. It did decline in February, April and May. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Chinese passenger car sales total 11.253.000 units vs. 11.042.000 a year ago, and still beats a record. Sales of passenger cars of 1.6L and below are down 2.6% to 7.697.000, representing 68.4% of the passenger car market which is a 3 percentage point-drop. Commercial vehicles fare a lot better with a 17.4% year-on-year gain to 2.101.000 units. As a result, the total Chinese market is up 3.8% to a record 13.354.000 units.

The new Tiguan helped Volkswagen stay in positive in China so far in 2017.

Looking at segments in detail, SUVs continue to be the engine of the Chinese market growth but significantly reduce their gain from 42% a year ago to 17.7% this time at 4.530.200 units. All other segments are in decline, with sedans down 3% to 5.401.000 and MPVs down 16% to 1.010.600. New energy vehicles are up 14.4% to 195.000 sales with pure electric vehicles up 26.2% to 160.000 and plug-in hybrids up 19.7% to 35.000. A very interesting fact is that the market share of Chinese brands increases in the two largest passenger car segments. Overall, sales of Chinese-branded passenger cars are up 4.3% year-on-year to 4.940.000, accounting for 43.9% of the market, up 1.1 percentage point (pp). Chinese-branded sedans are up 0.8% to 1.064.000 or 19.7% of the market, up 0.8pp. The most impressive result is in the booming SUV segment where Chinese brands are up 24.4% to reach a best-ever 59.6% market share, up 3.6pp thanks to 2.700.000 units. Finally Chinese-branded MPVs are down 20.8% to 859.000 units or 85% share, down 5.4pp.

It’s a nightmarish First Half of 2017 for Korean carmakers Hyundai and Kia.

We have access to limited manufacturers retail data over the period (this data differs from our data tables that are wholesales excluding imports). The Volkswagen Group confirms it is the #1 in China despite seeing its deliveries slip 1.9% to 1.826.000 units. General Motors also declines at -2.5% to 1.765.828 vehicles. Ford Motor is faring a lot worse at -7% to 537.522 units. Among Japanese carmakers, Nissan Motor keeps the crown with a 6.7% increase to 650.525 but is now threatened by Honda Motor surging 19% to 644.167 while Toyota Motor is up 5.4% to 624.000. The victims of this First Half of 2017 are without a doubt the two Korean carmakers impacted by China’s diplomatic feud with South Korea triggered by U.S. anti-missile defense deployed in the country. Both Hyundai Motor and Kia Motor tumble 47% year-on-year over the period.

BMW bypasses Audi to become the #1 premium carmaker in China, but Mercedes lurks just behind. 

The main event in the premium race is the paltry performance of Audi, #1 for decades up until this year, handicapped by a boycott of its dealers unhappy about plans for a second distribution channel for the brand. These plans have since been postponed and Audi reclaimed the #1 premium spot in June but over the First Half of the year the picture is very different: BMW manages to take a slim advantage thanks to deliveries up 18% to 293.280 units, but Mercedes is aggressively catching up at a flamboyant +35% to 292.679 units. Audi lags far behind at 254.785 sales, down 12%. It will be very difficult for the brand to reclaim the #1 spot by year end. Note that locally-made wholesales still show Audi (-9%) above Mercedes (+50%) and BMW (+30%) as the latter two significantly rely on imports. Meanwhile Volvo, owned by local manufacturer Geely, is up a fantastic 28% to 51.914 units.

The Boyue helps Geely up 87% and Chinese SUVs reach 59.6% market share. 

Now a look at the China-made wholesales brands ranking (our data table). Volkswagen continues to be ultra-dominant, following the market at +2% to 1.47m units. That’s still well over double the sales of any other brand in the country. Honda surges 26% to 650.730 units to rank #2 overall, bypassing Hyundai (-43%), Toyota (+9%), Buick (-3%) and ChangAn (-6%). In 6th place we have the performance of the year so far: Geely up 87% and 9 spots to tease Changan for the title of most popular Chinese passenger car brand, a title it should hold by year end. Geely is reaping the fruits of a completely renewed range and three new best-selling SUVs: the Boyue, Emgrand GS and Vision SUV as well as strong selling sedans such as the Emgrand EC7, Emgrand GL and Vision.

The GS4 and new GS8 (pictured) lift GAC Trumpchi sales up 51% so far in 2017.

The Nissan brand follows at #7, up 15% ahead of Baojun up two spots and 22%, compensating for the falls of the 730 MPV and 560 SUV with the arrivals of the 310 hatch and 510 SUV. Haval drastically slows its galloping progress with a timid 4% gain as its range is starting to age. Its parent company, Great Wall Motors, is up 2.3% to 460.743. Rounding out the Top 10, Ford is down 10% and 3 spots to #10. Beyond, Wuling suffers at -12% (excluding LCVs), GAC Trumpchi shoots up 51% and 6 spots to #15 thanks to the continued success of the GS4 and the thunderous arrival of the GS8. In order of ranking, Roewe (+141%), Jeep (+106%), Cadillac (+98%), Soueast (+44%), MG (+61%), Leopaard (+36%), Mitsubishi (+166%), Renault (+357%), JMC (+486%) and Zhi Dou (+445%) post some of the largest year-on-year gains in market.

Renault has already reached 63% of its annual sales target for 2017. 

But not all Chinese brands register strong improvements over the period, and some should start to seriously worry, such as Beijing Auto (BAIC, BAW) down 26%, BYD down 15%, JAC down a harsh 40%, Zotye down 25%, Haima down 29% and Brilliance down 53%. For a handful of foreigners, 2017 is shaping up as the year to forget: wholesales put Hyundai at -43% and Kia at -56%, Peugeot is down 37%, Suzuki down 34% and Citroen down an abysmal 68%, ending H1 only 2.678 sales above newcomer and fellow countryman Renault, itself already hitting 63% of its annual sales target for 2017 (59.000).

SWM is the most popular of the nine new brands that entered the Chinese market since last year. 

A testimony of the dynamism of the Chinese market, we welcome no less than nine all-new brands in the H1 2017 ranking. They are led by SWM punching above 30.000 sales just as a second model hit dealerships, followed by Cowin just under 29.000 sales with three nameplates, Hanteng at roughly 27.500 with just one model, Borgward just under 22.000 with two, Bisu above 16.000 with three, Jaguar with 8.500 XFL, Acura with 4.500 CDX, Horki at 3.700 and Great Wall’s new “premium” brand WEY just under 3.200 units – all sold in June.

The Roewe RX5 is the 2nd best-selling new nameplate over the period with over 100.000 sales.

Now onto the models ranking, where the three best-sellers all lose volume, accelerating the fragmentation of the market. Both the Wuling Hongguang and the VW Lavida drop a heavy 11% and are only separated by 5.000 sales – the Hongguang ranked #1 only in February while the Lavida ranked 1st four times – with the Haval H6 falling a more restrained – but still surprising – 6%. The heroes of the period are below: the Buick Excelle rallies up 19% to #4 and ranked #1 in June, while the GAC Trumpchi GS4, now in its third year, shows no sign of running out of puff with a 20% surge and could soon go tease the Haval H6 for the title of #1 SUV in China.

The Haval H2S helps the brand stay in positive territory so far in 2017. 

The Nissan Sylphy also shows great strength in 6th place at +23%, overtaking the Toyota Corolla (+8%). The VW Tiguan, finally helped by the new generation, has been instrumental in keeping Volkswagen in positive over the period with a 43% surge lifting it to #8 overall and #2 VW model above the perennial strong sellers Jetta (-14%), Sagitar (-17%) and Santana (-15%). At #11, the Baojun 730 is now the brand’s best-seller despite a 9% drip, as we see a complete reshuffle of its sales order: hero of H1 2016, the Baojun 560 has been completely cannibalised (-48% and down from #5 to #23) by the brand’s new, edgier SUV, the 510. The 510 is the most popular newcomer over the period, landing directly at #21 with just under 103.000 sales.

The Fengguang 580 is now Dongfeng’s best-seller at home. 

The booming SUV segment has seen a lot of changes atop its sales charts: below the H6, GS4 and Tiguan, we now find the Geely Boyue up 548% on its launch period last year to rank #13 overall. The Boyue is now the brand’s best-seller at home, surpassing the Emgrand EC7 (+9%). The Buick Envision has reached its peak at #5 SUV and #15 overall (+4%), distancing the Haval H2 (+61% thanks to the H2S variant), Changan CS75 (+10%), Baojun 510 and Roewe RX5 (100.091 sales), the 2nd best-selling newcomer over the period. Notice also the Dongfeng Fengguang 580 becoming the brand’s best-seller, the Honda Civc rallying up 269% thanks to the new model, the Baojun 310 landing at #31, the Chevrolet Cavalier at #33 and the Chery Arrizo 5 up 91% to #43 and #3 Chinese sedan below the Geely Emgrand EC7 (#16) and Geely Vision (#38).

Previous post: China June 2017: Buick Excelle in the lead, market back up

One year ago: China First Half 2016: Tax cut, SUV wave spur 8% gain to record 12.8m

Full H1 2017 Top 82 All-brands and Top 531 All-models vs. Full H1 2016 figures below.

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China June 2017: Buick Excelle in the lead, market back up

The Buick Excelle is the best-selling nameplate in China in June. 

* See the Top 76 All-brands and Top 437 All-models by clicking on the title *

China-made light vehicle sales have ended two consecutive months of year-on-year decline in June at +2.3% to 1.83 million deliveries according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. This improvement is the sole work of SUVs up 14% to 741.400 units. All other segments are stable or decline: sedans are down 4% to 883.000, MPVs up 0.4% to 163.700 and microvans down 22% to 43.700. Yet despite some success stories as we’ll see further down, stock of Chinese-branded vehicles on dealerships is up to a 71-day supply vs 57 in May. Halfway through the year, the Chinese market (imports excluded) remains in positive, but just: up a meagre 1.6% to a record 11.3 million units. The positive trend is maintained thanks to price cuts, with average transaction prices dropping 4% over the first half of 2017. Apart from SUVs, one segment is in great shape: electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, up 33% in June to 59.000 deliveries and 14% year-to-date to 195.000.

Honda XR-V sales are up 44% year-on-year. 

According to data released by manufacturers themselves – retail sales including imports, so the data differs from our data tables, General Motors is up 4.3% year-on-year to 285.191 units, with Buick up 13% to 96.913, Chevrolet up 7.2%, Baojun up 47% and Cadillac up for the 16th consecutive month at +35% to 12.886 whereas Wuling skids down 26% to 73.460. The Volkswagen Group does better with a 5.2% rise to 315.300 units, with the Volkswagen brand up 5.4% to 232.400 (up 13% to 247.882 wholesales) and Audi back into positive territory as we’ll see further down. Ford Motor soar 15% to around 100.000 units. Japanese carmakers continue to beat the market, partly benefitting from their Korean counterparts’ crisis: Nissan Motor is up 8.9% to 118.769, Honda Motor up 18% to 113.769 and Toyota Motor up 10% to 106.900. Following China’s diplomatic feud with South Korea about U.S. anti-missile defense, Hyundai (-64%) and Kia (-60%) continue to freefall.

Audi reclaims the premium leadership in China in June.

After a start of the year handicapped by a conflict with their dealers about a new distribution channel – now postponed – Audi reclaims the premium leadership, but just, as its recovery is sluggish: up 1.7% to 51.900 deliveries this month. In comparison, BMW/Mini is up 12% to 50.597 thanks to the X1 and newly-launched 1-Series sedan and Mercedes-Benz is up 28% to 50.090, citing record sales of the C-Class and strong Smart deliveries. Volvo for its part beats all the aforementioned manufacturers with a 31% surge to 10.113 units.

Geely sales are up 89% year-on-year in June. 

As always, it’s within Chinese brands that we find the most spectacular year-on-year gains, but some are starting to run out of puff. For the third month in a row, Geely is the most popular Chinese brand at home thanks to a spectacular 89% gain to just under 90.000 units. The brand benefits from very strong sales of recently-launched SUVs – the Boyue, once again beating its volume record this month, as well as the Emgrand GS and Vision SUV, with the Emgrand GL sedan also hitting the mark. ChangAn drops 1% to just under 82.000 units and Great Wall Motors worryingly drops 1.7% to 64.471 units, with its SUV brand Haval down 9% and this despite Great Wall-branded pickup deliveries up 17% to 8.055 and the arrival of its new premium brand WEY with 3.166 sales.

Although very successful, the Baojun 510 has annihilated sales of the 560.

Wholesales of Baojun are up 61% to above 60.000 units, GAC Trumpchi shoots up 52% to 43.360 with the large GS8 SUV continuing to post strong figures, Chery is up 14%, Roewe up 109% thanks to the RX5 SUV and the i6 sedan, Zotye up 31% with the new T700 its best-seller and a rare nameplate in its range that is not a clone, Soueast up 76% thanks to the DX3 SUV, Leopaard up 29% thanks to the arrival of the CS9 SUV, MG up 38% thanks to the ZS SUV, Karry up 67%, SWM up to #44 and Bisu up to #49. In contrast, Dongfeng is down 10%, Beijing Auto (BAIC, BAW) down 37%, BYD down 19%, JAC down 38%, Lifan down 12%, Venucia down 11%, Haima down 47% and Brilliance down 45%. It’s not all rosy among Chinese carmakers indeed. Among other manufacturers, notice Jeep up 66% and Renault up 160% but Peugeot down 32% and Citroen down 69%.

Still going strong: the GAC Trumpchi GS4 (+20%). 

In the models ranking, the Buick Excelle takes the lead for the first time for this generation thanks to sales up 15%. It is the first time since April 2012 that the Excelle nameplate dominates the Chinese sales charts. But this win wasn’t a blatant one as the photo-finish for the #1 position has never been so close in China: only 2.656 sales separate the #1 from the #5 ranked. At #2 despite sales down 19%, the VW Lavida makes it two sedans on top, ahead of the Haval H6 (-6%) and the Wuling Hongguang (-18%) confirming its current weakness. The Nissan Sylphy (-1%) and Toyota Corolla (+19%) follow. Below, three blockbuster SUVs shine again: the GAC Trumpchi GS4 hasn’t yet reached its full potential with deliveries up 20%, the Baojun 510 breaks another symbolic barrier – 30.000 monthly sales, annihilating the brand’s other SUV, the 560 down 69% to #101, and the VW Tiguan shoots up 79% on the previous model in June 2016.

Inside the Top 100: the VW Teramont. 

Volkswagen sees a shaking of its best-sellers: the Tiguan comes at #2 below the Lavida, with the long-running Jetta (-28%), Sagitar (-15%) and Santana (-38%) in great difficulty. In contrast, the Lamando breaks a new volume record above 19.000 units (+109%), the Magotan is up 67%, the Polo up 30%, the Bora up 45% and the Passat up 38%. Also in great shape near the top of the ranking: the Honda XR-V up 44% and the Changan CS75 up 79%. Among recent launches, the Honda Avancier (#80), VW Teramont (#87), Skoda Kodiaq (+68 to #106), Honda UR-V (+34 to #120), Zotye T700 (+242 to #136), Changan CS55 (+247 to #148), Peugeot 5008 (#155) and Bisu T5 (#164) all beat their monthly volume record.

Previous month: China May 2017: Second consecutive month of decline at -2.6%

One year ago: China June 2016: Market up 18%, next wave of Chinese SUVs arrives

Full June 2017 Top 76 All-brands and Top 437 All-models below.

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Norway June 2017: Tesla Model X shoots up to 2nd place overall

The Tesla Model X is the 2nd best-selling nameplate in Norway in June. Picture dn.no 

* See the Top 37 All-brands and Top 224 All-models by clicking on the title *

Thanks to sales up 4% in June to 14.228 units, the Norwegian new car market edges into positive territory over the First Half of 2017 at +0.3% to 77.983 registrations. This is the largest June volume in Norway since 1986 (16.064). 27.7% of total registrations this month are full-Electric cars, and when we add PHEV vehicles this share soars to 42.2%, confirming Norway is well ahead of the curve when it comes to environmentally-friendly car sales. Volkswagen remains master in command with a strong 15.6% share despite a 3% drop, followed by Toyota falling harder at -14% to 9.7% share. In contrast, Mercedes surges 34% to third place, BMW is up 28% to #4, Skoda up 30% to #5 and, most impressively, Tesla is up 3-fold to #6. Further down, notice Opel up 59%, Hyundai up 84%, Suzuki up 43% and Porsche up 28%.

Model-wise, after a difficult start of the year, the VW Golf posts its first double-digit gain of 2017 at +19% to 8.8% share, with the e-Golf representing 69% of its sales for the month and the PHEV variant 13%. The surprise of the month is the Tesla Model X up 34 spots on May to land in 2nd place overall for the second time in its one-year career, the first being in September 2016. In fact, there are many changes atop the Norwegian models ranking this month. The Renault Zoe is up 38 ranks to #3, the BMW i3 is up 8-fold on June 2016 to #4 and the Opel Ampera-e continues to progress, up 9 spots on May to break into the Top 10 for the first time at #6. Notice also the Skoda Kodiaq up to #12.

Previous month: Norway May 2017: Opel Ampera-e up to #15

One year ago: Norway June 2016: Volkswagen leads, Toyota Prius up 3-fold to #12

Full June 2017 Top 37 All-brands and Top 224 All-models below.

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Cyprus June 2017: Ford Fiesta leads, Toyota C-HR up to #5

The Toyota C-HR ranks 5th so far this year in Cyprus. 

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

Based on data provided by SEMO Cyprus and analysed by INNOSOFT, new car sales in Cyprus are up 11% year-on-year over the First Half of 2017 to 7.516 registrations. The Ford Fiesta is the new year-to-date leader despite sales down 3% on the same period a year ago. It is followed by the Kia Rio (+49%) and Hyundai Tucson (+123%), both up spectacularly, whereas the Nissan Qashqai is down 22% to #4. The Toyota C-HR has made a thunderous entrance into Cyprus, landing directly at #5 for its first ever H1 ranking. Strong performers also include the Kia Sportage (+29%), Nissan X-Trail (+32%), VW Tiguan (+26%), Kia Picanto (+100%), Toyota Corolla (+64%) and Nissan Pulsar (+92%). Over the May-June period, the Toyota Yaris leads (+36%) ahead of the Ford Fiesta (+26%), Kia Rio (+160%), Toyota C-HR (new) and Kia Cee’d (+120%).

Previous post: Cyprus April 2017: Kia Rio shoots to #1, Ford Fiesta now #1 YTD

One year ago: Cyprus June 2016: Nissan Qashqai and VW Polo take charge

Full H1 2017 Top 30 models ranking table below.

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Singapore June 2017: Toyota reclaims year-to-date lead

Toyota Fortuner

* See the Top 40 All-brands by clicking on the title *

New car sales in Singapore are up 1.7% year-on-year in June to 8.250 registrations, lifting the year-to-date tally up 5.4% to 45.783 units. Toyota is up 2% to 22.3% share whereas Honda is down 8% to 18% which means Toyota reclaims the year-to-date lead (Honda ranked #1 over the Full Year 2016) at 20.6% share vs. 20.2%. Mazda consolidates its third place with deliveries up 23% to 11% share vs. 9.9% so far in 2017, Mercedes is up 20% to #4. Mitsubishi up 13% to #6, Kia up 91% to #9 and Audi up 21% to #11. Further down, notice Chevrolet (+177%), Opel (+492%), Ford (+128%) and Perodua (+600%) all taking off.

Previous month: Singapore May 2017: Toyota market leader but Honda still #1 YTD

One year ago: Singapore June 2016: Toyota leads but Honda is catching up at +77%

Full June 2017 Top 40 All-brands ranking table below.

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Pakistan June 2017: Suzuki Cultus and Wagon R shine, market down 2%

The Suzuki Cultus sold in Pakistan was for over two decades a 1983 Swift. It is now a current gen Celerio.

* See the Top 3 Pakistan-made brands and Top 12 models by clicking on the title *

Thanks to PAMA we can share with you May sales of locally-produced light vehicles in Pakistan. The market is down 2% year-on-year in June to 15.462 units, however sales are up 10% halfway through the year at 115.586. Market leader Suzuki goes agains the grain with a 12% gain to 58.2% share vs. 52.9% year-to-date, while Toyota freefalls 34% to just 23.3% vs. 27.2% so far this year. Honda continues to gallop ahead at +49% with the Civic up 99% and the new BR-V just under 5% share. The Toyota Corolla remains the best-selling nameplate in the country but drops 26% to 19.5% share, that’s only 2.2 percentage points above the Suzuki Mehran up 6%. Just below, the Suzuki Cultus (+42%), now a current generation Celerio, and Wagon R (+68%) post spectacular gains and break the 10% market share barrier.

Previous month: Pakistan May 2017: Honda BR-V latest addition to local production

One year ago: Pakistan June 2016: Toyota Corolla and Suzuki Mehran in the lead

Full June 2017 Top 3 Pakistan-made brands and Top 12 models below.

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Turkey June 2017: Renault and Fiat Egea hold onto leading spots

The Fiat Egea confirms it is the best-selling nameplate “at home” in Turkey.

* See the Top 42 All-brands and Top 238 All-models by clicking on the title *

The Turkish new light vehicle market continues to stand a notch below its level of 2016 with June sales down 9% year-on-year to 83.658 with two less selling days due to national holiday, with the year-to-date tally also down 9% to 401.158 registrations. The two brand leaders however go against the grain with Renault up 2% to 14.6% share and Fiat up a solid 13% to 12.8% of the market. Below, Volkswagen (-24%), Ford (-19%), Opel (-30%), Dacia (-15%) and Mercedes (-30%) all stumble while Hyundai (+10%) and Toyota (+24%) shine. Outside the Top 10, Audi (+11%), Seat (+26%), Honda (+57%) and Subaru (+77%) all post robust gains. In contrast, Volvo (-20%), Suzuki (-30%), Kia (-32%), BMW (-47%) and Mitsubishi (-59%) implode.

The Renault Clio is up to #2 in Turkey in June.

The Fiat Egea (+35%) remains the most popular nameplate in the country ahead of the Renault Clio (+72%) and Renault Megane (+466%). The Ford Courier (-8%) and Toyota Corolla (+34%) round out the Top 5 while the Opel Astra (-31%), Ford Focus (-38%) and Fiat Doblo (-17%) are in great difficulty. Further down, notice the Honda Civic up 98%, the Seat Leon up 59%, the Peugeot 301 up 54%, the Peugeot 3008 up 554% thanks to the new generation and the Ford Kuga up 612%. The Toyota C-HR leads all recent launches (<12 months) at #45 ahead of the Skoda Kodiaq at #58, the Renault Koleos at #90 and the Audi Q2 at #114.

The Renault Megane holds onto the second year-to-date spot thanks to its sedan variant. 
We now also have access to lease figures for Turkey over the First Quarter of 2017. During that period, Renault leads with 32.9% market share ahead of Volkswagen at 15.1%, Ford at 10% and Fiat at 8.2%. The new Renault Megane, Symbol, VW Passat, Jetta, Golf, Ford Focus and Fiat Egea are the best-selling lease models. Keep in mind the government’s tax free taxi campaign is still on in Turkey, sprucing up lease sales of the aforementioned models.

Many thanks to Kursat Bahadir for helping compile this post.

Previous month: Turkey May 2017: Fiat Egea hits highest share, claims YTD lead

One year ago: Turkey June 2016: Renault Fluence and Opel Astra advance

Full June 2017 Top 42 All-brands and Top 238 All-models below.

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Europe May 2017: Now with the Top 345 models and Top 57 brands

Very first European Top 10 ranking for the Dacia Sandero.

* See the Top 57 Brands and Top 345 Models by clicking on the title *

Final figures for Europe 27 markets (excluding Turkey and Russia) are now available for May, up 7% to 1.414.166 units, lifting the year-to-date tally up 4.8% to 6.860.152 registrations. There is one change in the Top 40 brands ranking compared to preliminary figures published at the end of last month: Mercedes (+20.1%) overtakes Peugeot (+4.8%) to rank 5th overall. The rest of the ranking is confirmed.

Model-wise, there are a few significant changes inside the Top 10. The Nissan Qashqai (+10%) outpaces the Peugeot 208 (-4.5%) to rank 6th and the VW Tiguan (+109.1%) passes the Skoda Octavia (+5%) to rank 8th, but the most striking alteration comes in 10th place. Ranked 12th according to preliminary figures, the Dacia Sandero (+29.2%) jumps two spots to break into the European Top 10 for the first time in the nameplate’s 8 year-career. It does so thanks to a tiny 3-unit-advantage over the Citroen C3 (+84.2%) remaining at #11 while the Opel Astra (-1.1%) drops two ranks vs. preliminary figures to #12. Note this is the first ever Dacia to manage a European Top 10 ranking.

The Opel Crossland X makes its first appearance in the European sales charts. 

Other changes in the Top 50 include the Toyota Yaris (#17) above the Skoda Fabia, the Audi A3 (#24), Peugeot 308 (#25) and 3008 (#26) above the Fiat Tipo, the Citroen C4 Picasso (#43) above the BMW X1 and the BMW 5 Series (#46) above the Seat Ibiza. Below, the performance of new coming nameplate is restrained, with the Audi Q2 down 8 spots on April to #59, the Skoda Kodiaq up 6 to #90, the Volvo S/V90 down one to #90 and the Ford Ka+ up 9 to #102.  We welcome three new nameplates in the European ranking this month: the Opel Crossland X landing at #201, the Opel Grandland X at #286 and the Range Rover Velar at #297.

Previous post: Europe May 2017: Market up 7.5% to second largest May score

Previous month: Europe April 2017: VW Tiguan up to record 4th place, 3 VWs in Top 4

One year ago: Europe May 2016: Discover the Top 350 models and All-brands

Full May 2017 Top 57 Brands and Top 345 Models below.

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Media post: Car Myths That You Should Not Pay Attention To

A red Ford Model T. Picture coschedule.com

Some of the myths concerning cars are just wrong but they’re around anyway. You have undoubtedly heard many of these here:

You should wash your car with detergent

Nope. This is actually one of the worst things you can do for your car’s wax finish, as it could very well strip it off! Instead, use a special car-wash liquid. This liquid is made to clean without taking off the wax! Ask the folks at this Canoga Park, CA Jeep dealer for details on the specific kind of cleaner to use!

Insurance for red cars is expensive

Why are red cars pricier to insure?  As the myth says, “Red cars have more accidents!” Well, have you ever bought insurance for a vehicle? Was there any point when the agent asked what color the car was when you wanted a quote? Insurance agents get asked about this all the time. From an insurance point of view, vehicle color makes zero difference but the red car myth seems to live on.

Gas pumping + cell phone usage = Vehicle explosion

Not true! There have been rumors going around, saying that wireless signals will ignite fuel vapors. However, according to the Federal Communication Commission, scientific testing couldn’t prove a dangerous link between fuel vapors and wireless phones.

Large cars are safe, but small cars are not

Most drivers think that their huge SUV (with average handling and a rollover-prone high center of gravity) is safer than a compact car. These SUV drivers forget that the safety of modern-day cars involve tons of safety technology like high-strength steel, energy-absorbing crumple zones and many airbags, not just mass. The myth continues, though, and it likely accounts for many SUV purchases each year.  No wonder as a nation that we consume so much petroleum; it’s all the “safer” SUVs cruising down the streets.

Model T Fords could only be black

This is a myth that has been dispelled by Ford Motor Company itself many times. We suspect that the myth that the vehicle “only was available in black” comes from the reality that close to 12 million of the 15 million total Model Ts made were black. However, the truth that the Model T was manufactured in many different colors, which included blue, red, grey and green.

Every 3,000 miles, get an oil change!

The 3,000 rule goes back to when engine oils were less refined than in the modern day, and got dirty faster than they do now. In the present day, engines are better, oils are better and almost no manufacturers recommend an oil change every 3,000 miles. Just don’t ask the guys down at Jiffy Lube for their opinion. They’re going to tell you that this is silly and to stick with the 3000 mile rule. And to go to there for the oil change.

Many myths regarding cars have been around for many, many decades. They have been hard to debunk, and we hope you’ve enjoyed this article!

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