Jordan 2010: old gen Mitsubishi Lancer likely to be #1
Absolutely no car sales data coming from Jordan, so I’m using YouTube videos of Amman’s streets to find out more about this market. This is complete speculation based on very little information so please get it touch if you have any more info!
It looks like the old generation Mitsubishi Lancer is holding the #1 spot in Jordan, having been kept in the range alongside the new gen Lancer EX. Not far behind, we could find the Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry and Hyundai Elantra, possibly followed by the Honda Civic and Kia Picanto. The Toyota Hilux and Mitsubishi L200 should be the best-selling commercial vehicles. I also noticed a few Chery QQ’s in the streets of Amman.
More commentaries and pictures below.
To put these facts into context, it’s interesting to notice that the Jordanian market had a decidedly more Korean influence in the past. The streets of Amman are literally swarming with 2004 Hyundai Elantras, 1997 Daewoo Nubiras and the 1995 & 2000 Hyundai Accents built in neighbouring Egypt. Some of this heritage has ‘translated’ today into the relative strength of the Hyundai Elantra, but it looks like the Korean brands have taken a step back in Jordan during the last 3 to 5 years.
Amman street scene
Pictures: www.flickr.com, www.youtube.com, www.drive4u.com.ua
@James
Hey James sorry one more question:
Did you see many new generation Hyundai Accent
http://www.hyundai.com/jo/en/showroom/Accent2011/overview/index.htm
and Elantra?
http://www.hyundai.com/jo/en/showroom/ELANTRA2011/overview/index.htm
Based on the success of the previous generations I would have assumed that they both started really well in Jordan?
Thanks for the info
cheers
Matt
Sorry about the privacy settings; send me an email and I’ll “invite” you. Thanks also for the info about the Samsung SM3!
Hey James no worries.
Just emailed you.
cheers
Matt
Thanks James I got your email giving me access to your pics. Do you mind if I use a couple to update my Jordan article?
cheers
Matt
Hi Matt. We’re just back from a week in Jordan over new year. Did quite a bit of traveling with a locally sourced rental car, so a few observations maybe to help with 2011 or 2012 figures.
It’s not much use for your recent figures, but I’d reckon that Jordan is home to about 93% of the global production run of the 1992-7 generation Kia Sephia. They’re everywhere.
Aside from one lone Chery spotted in Amman, Chinese manufacturers are still some distance from cracking the market. They compact sedan market is densest, with roughly equal numbers of Hyundai Accent, Elantra, Mitsubishi Lancer, Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sunny and Nissan Sunny Classic on the road. For commercials and LCVs, we saw roughly similar numbers of Nissan Pickups and Toyota Hilux; panel vans were usually Kia Pregio.
Here are some street scenes from Amman for a flavour:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7554256@N02/6653156937/in/set-72157628761546437
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7554256@N02/6653151415/in/set-72157628761546437
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7554256@N02/6653158591/in/set-72157628761546437
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7554256@N02/6653141887/in/set-72157628761546437
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesbrownontheroad/6658098793/in/set-72157628772372063
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesbrownontheroad/6658099281/in/set-72157628772372063
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7554256@N02/6653151415/in/set-72157628761546437
The Nissan Sunny & Nissan Sunny Classic pair were new to me. The latter is clearly recognisable as derived from the European market model, but the lineage of the basic Sunny sedan (see http://www.nissan.com.jo/) is distinct and seems to elude me. We had one as a rental and it was a heap of crap. Would be interested to know where it’s built and marketed though, never seen one before. International rental chains seemed to favour European models – plenty of shiny new Citroens and Peugeots, with the Hyundai iMax shuttle van also a common sight.
Hi James,
Thank you very much for this great insight and the pictures! I will delve into your message in more detail shortly.
Thanks for your support
cheers
Matt
Hi again James,
The Nissan Sunny is actually a previous generation Samsung SM3, still on sale in South Korea as the SM3 CE (Classic Edition) and also sold as a:
- Renault Scala in Mexico, Egypt and Colombia where it ranked #52 over the first half of 2011.
- Nissan Almera in Central and South America
- Nissan Almera Classic in Ukraine and Russia
- Nissan Sunny in the Middle East (and therefore including Jordan)
See all versions here: http://www.autowp.ru/twins/group6/
It is produced in Busan, South Korea:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Scala#First_generation_.28N17.29
Hope this helps!
Also: I cannot access your pictures as they are private. I will email you directly.
cheers
Matt