Norway 1968-1969: Beetle, Cortina and Kadett on podium
The 100,000th VW Beetle sold in Norway
* See the Top 10 best-selling models by clicking on the title! Many thanks to Rene *
While in 1968 the Norwegian car market gains only 0.1% to 65,229 registrations, in 1969 it shoots up by a huge 51% to 98,529 units! It will go back down to around 70,000 units the following year so it is fair to assume that ’69 figures must have been influenced by a major legislation change like a tax hike put in place on January 1, 1970. If you have any more info about this please get in touch by commenting on this article.
The VW Beetle keeps a comfortable lead in both years, selling 11,309 units at 17.3% in ’68 and 16,699 at 17.2% in ’69, both figures being by far the highest annual sales figures ever delivered by any model in Norway so far. In fact the podium stays unchanged over the period: the Ford Cortina is #2 with 8.4% then 7% and the Opel Kadett is #3 with 6.8% then 6.1%. The Ford Escort appears for the first time in the Norwegian Top 10 in ’68 at #7 and ranks #6 in ’69.
Previous post: Norway 1965-1967: Beetle, Ford Cortina and Volvo Amazon shine
Next post: Norway 1970: Last year at #1 for the VW Beetle, the Japanese land
Full Year 1968 and 1969 Top 10 Ranking Tables below.
Norway Full Year 1968:
| Pos | Model | 1968 | % | /67 | 1967 | % | Pos |
| 1 | VW Beetle | 11,309 | 17.3% | 1% | 11,217 | 17.2% | 1 |
| 2 | Ford Cortina | 5,457 | 8.4% | -22% | 7,019 | 10.8% | 2 |
| 3 | Opel Kadett | 4,414 | 6.8% | 8% | 4,094 | 6.3% | 5 |
| 4 | Volvo Amazon | 3,501 | 5.4% | -19% | 4,332 | 6.6% | 3 |
| 5 | Opel Rekord/Caravan | 3,340 | 5.1% | -20% | 4,198 | 6.4% | 4 |
| 6 | Volvo 140 Series | 2,729 | 4.2% | 28% | 2,127 | 3.3% | 8 |
| 7 | Ford Escort | 2,466 | 3.8% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 8 | Ford Taunus 17M | 2,251 | 3.5% | -24% | 2,969 | 4.6% | 6 |
| 9 | Ford Taunus 12M | 2,184 | 3.3% | -5% | 2,298 | 3.5% | 7 |
| 10 | Saab | 1,781 | 2.7% | -6% | 1,887 | 2.9% | 10 |
Norway Full Year 1969:
| Pos | Model | 1969 | % | /68 | 1968 | % | Pos |
| 1 | VW Beetle | 16,699 | 16.9% | 48% | 11,309 | 17.3% | 1 |
| 2 | Ford Cortina | 6,861 | 7.0% | 26% | 5,457 | 8.4% | 2 |
| 3 | Opel Kadett | 5,978 | 6.1% | 35% | 4,414 | 6.8% | 3 |
| 4 | Opel Rekord/Caravan | 5,434 | 5.5% | 63% | 3,340 | 5.1% | 5 |
| 5 | Volvo 140 Series | 4,921 | 5.0% | 80% | 2,729 | 4.2% | 6 |
| 6 | Ford Escort | 4,102 | 4.2% | 66% | 2,466 | 3.8% | 7 |
| 7 | Volvo Amazon | 3,806 | 3.9% | 9% | 3,501 | 5.4% | 4 |
| 8 | VW 1600 | 3,321 | 3.4% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 9 | Ford Taunus 12M | 3,132 | 3.2% | 43% | 2,184 | 3.3% | 9 |
| 10 | Ford Taunus 17M | 3,092 | 3.1% | 37% | 2,251 | 3.5% | 8 |
Source: www.bilnorge.no, many thanks to Rene for sharing the data!
