Sweden 1979-1980: Volvo 240 and Saab 900 dominate
Volvo 242
* See ‘Read more’ for the Top 25 best-selling models! Many thanks to Torbjörn and Rene *
In 1979 the Swedish car market is up 7% to 215,325 registrations. The Volvo 240 keeps the lead with ease at 43,117 units, up 15%, for an all-round 20% market share.
Launched last year, the Saab 900 jumps to the 2nd spot for its full year of sales at 17,543 units and 8.1%. 908,817 units of the 900 would end up being built by the end of its career in 1993. More info about the Saab 900 here.
Saab 900
The Volvo 340 stays #3 and improves its share to 5.4%, it is followed by the VW Golf, up 34% to 11,316 sales and 5.3%. The Saab 99 drops 3 spots to #5 (4%), just above the Opel Kadett (3.9%) and Rekord (3.4%). Notice the Datsun Cherry at #18.
For 1980 we only have a Top 7, with the Volvo 240 keeping the lead by far at 20.6% share, ahead of the Saab 900 up to 9.5% and the VW Golf climbing onto the podium at 5.5% share, passing the Volvo 340 at 5.4%. The Mercedes 200-240/300 is up 3 spots to #7.
Previous year: see the Swedish 1978 Top 20 best-selling models here.
Full Year 1979 Top 25 and 1980 Top 7 Ranking Tables below.
Sweden 1979:
| Pos | Model | 1979 | % | 79/78 | 1978 | % | Pos |
| 1 | Volvo 240 | 43,117 | 20.0% | 15% | 37,564 | 18.7% | 1 |
| 2 | Saab 900 | 17,543 | 8.1% | 437% | 3,264 | 1.6% | 16 |
| 3 | Volvo 340 | 11,660 | 5.4% | 18% | 9,873 | 4.9% | 3 |
| 4 | VW Golf | 11,316 | 5.3% | 34% | 8,443 | 4.2% | 4 |
| 5 | Saab 99 | 8,678 | 4.0% | -53% | 18,613 | 9.3% | 2 |
| 6 | Opel Kadett | 8,319 | 3.9% | 47% | 5,655 | 2.8% | 8 |
| 7 | Opel Rekord | 7,347 | 3.4% | 8% | 6,786 | 3.4% | 6 |
| 8 | Ford Taunus | 7,169 | 3.3% | 17% | 6,119 | 3.0% | 7 |
| 9 | Ford Granada | 7,007 | 3.3% | -7% | 7,545 | 3.8% | 5 |
| 10 | Mercedes 200-240/300 | 5,635 | 2.6% | 11% | 5,082 | 2.5% | 10 |
| 11 | Ford Fiesta | 5,598 | 2.6% | 11% | 5,045 | 2.5% | 11 |
| 12 | Opel Ascona | 5,091 | 2.4% | 37% | 3,726 | 1.9% | 13 |
| 13 | Mazda 323 | 4,425 | 2.1% | 23% | 3,607 | 1.8% | 14 |
| 14 | VW Passat | 4,225 | 2.0% | -4% | 4,386 | 2.2% | 12 |
| 15 | Saab 95/96 | 3,617 | 1.7% | -36% | 5,650 | 2.8% | 9 |
| 16 | Vaz 1500 | 3,008 | 1.4% | -16% | 3,563 | 1.8% | 15 |
| 17 | Fiat Ritmo | 2,670 | 1.2% | new | 0 | 0.0% | - |
| 18 | Datsun Cherry | 2,638 | 1.2% | 181% | 938 | 0.5% | n/a |
| 19 | Mazda 626 | 2,489 | 1.2% | new | 2 | 0.0% | - |
| 20 | Ford Escort | 2,392 | 1.1% | -10% | 2,669 | 1.3% | 17 |
| 21 | VW Polo | 2,384 | 1.1% | 24% | 1,927 | 1.0% | 19 |
| 22 | Audi 100 | 2,376 | 1.1% | -3% | 2,445 | 1.2% | 18 |
| 23 | Audi 80 | 2,270 | 1.1% | 90% | 1,192 | 0.6% | n/a |
| 24 | BMW 316-323 | 2,164 | 1.0% | 13% | 1,913 | 1.0% | 20 |
| 25 | Toyota Starlet | 2,085 | 1.0% | 228% | 636 | 0.3% | n/a |
Source: Bilsweden, many thanks to Torbjörn for sharing the data!
Sweden Full Year 1980:
| Pos | Model | 1980 | 1979 | % | Pos |
| 1 | Volvo 240 | 20.6% | 43,117 | 20.0% | 1 |
| 2 | Saab 900 | 9.5% | 17,543 | 8.1% | 2 |
| 3 | VW Golf | 5.5% | 11,316 | 5.3% | 4 |
| 4 | Volvo 340 | 5.4% | 11,660 | 5.4% | 3 |
| 5 | Opel Kadett | 4.1% | 8,319 | 3.9% | 6 |
| 6 | Saab 99 | 3.3% | 8,678 | 4.0% | 5 |
| 7 | Mercedes 200-240/300 | 2.3% | 5,635 | 2.6% | 10 |
Source: Eva Lindgren, many thanks to Rene for sharing the data!
