Sweden 1998-1999: Volvo V70 #1, Saab 9-5 & Volvo S80 up

January 14, 2000
Matt Gasnier

Volvo V70

Volvo V40

* See the Top 30 best-selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ at end of post *

The Swedish car market is on fire at +12% and 253,430 registrations in ’98, +16% and 295,249 units in ’99. For the first time in at least 20 years, the Top 5 best sellers are all Swedish. The Volvo S/V/C70 keeps the lead, reaching 12.6% share in ’98 (31,933 sales) and 10% in ’99 (29,578). As the 2nd generation V70 launched, 6,905 units of the model were sold in December 1999 alone (for a 20% share), most probably the biggest monthly volume ever in Sweden…

The Volvo S40/V40 is #2 both years at 6.5% in ’98 and 6.8% in ’99 at over 20,000 sales, while the Saab 9-5 climbs onto the podium in ’99 at 14,590 units and 4.9%. The Volvo S80, launched in late ’98, climbs to 4th in ’99 at 14,303 units (4.8%), ahead of the Saab 900/9-3 at 11,701 (4%). The VW Golf, Passat and Ford Focus are the best-selling foreign models.

Previous post: see the Swedish 1996-1997 Top 30 best-selling models here.

Full 1998 & 1999 Top 30 Ranking Tables: click on ‘Read more’ below the Volvo S80 pic.

Saab 9-5