World 2011: Hyundai Elantra millionaire, threatens Toyota Corolla!
The Hyundai Elantra is the first Korean car to sell 1 million annual units worldwide
* THIS ARTICLE IS OUT OF DATE! For the updated 2011 ranking featuring the Corolla, Focus and Golf on the podium CLICK HERE *
The more I was looking at this ranking from Forbes the more I thought some models were missing and some figures were wrong. So now that most 2011 data is out, who else but Best Selling Cars Blog could give you a more accurate World’s best-selling models ranking? That’s right, no one!
So I will update this article in two waves, with the first now complete:
1) I have added all missing models with my own estimates based on the data published in this blog. Click here to access the detail of my calculations and if you see anything weird please comment on here.
2) I will amend the figures published by Forbes with more accurate estimates: this is now complete and can be viewed here.
There is now a Top 25 available. I have added the VW Polo at #7 with 780,000 sales thanks to its success in Europe, China, Russia, South Africa and India, the Ford F-Series is up to #10 at 705,000 units now that final US and Canada results are in, the Nissan Tiida/Versa is #13 with 590,000 sales and the Opel/Chevrolet Corsa is #14. From #17 and the Toyota Yaris/Vios onwards it is all models I have added. Notice the Toyota Hilux, #1 in 34 countries, ranking #20 with 490,000 sales…
- – -
The main event in 2011 is the fact that the Hyundai Elantra, outside the Top 10 in 2009 and 2010, is now the 2nd best-selling nameplate on the planet with over 1 million units sold…only 10,000 units below the Toyota Corolla! This is a testimony to Hyundai’s adaptability in all corners of the world.
Selling more than 1 million units in a single year is a feat not many cars have achieved in the past, and it is the first time a Korean model does so! A very, very significant year indeed. Other millionaire cars that come to mind include the Ford Model T, VW Beetle, Chevrolet Impala, VW Golf, Ford F-Series and of course the Toyota Corolla.
The Toyota Corolla is the world’s best-selling car since at least 2005
So yes, Corolla still #1 in spite of tsunamis and floods that disrupted its production, but just. Moreover, it is unclear whether that 1.02 million figure includes the Auris hatchback, sold in some markets (Australia, South Africa) as a Corolla…
In third place worldwide we find the Wuling Sunshine with 943,000 units sold. Now I have reservations on this number because the Sunshine would have sold around 740,000 units in China this year and I’m not sure where the additional 200,000 sales come from…
Ford Focus
Now with a unified design all around the world, the Ford Focus comes in 4th place with 919,000 sales in spite of a slow start for the new generation that ranked 7th in Europe.
Kia Rio/Saipa Pride
At #5 we have the Kia Rio/Pride with 815,337 units. This is an interesting one: yes, as a nameplate the Rio sells that much, but this figure is composed of 3 very different cars. Approximately 500,000 units are of the 1987 first generation Pride sold in Iran under a joint-venture with Saipa where it leads the market by far, the rest is a mix of 2005 Gen 2 and 2011 Gen 3…
A restyled 1984 VW Jetta sold 220,000 units in China
At #6 comes the Ford Fiesta with 781,147 units, ahead of the VW Polo at 780,000 (my estimate), VW Jetta at 745,000, Toyota Camry at 726,000, Ford F-Series at 702,000 and Chevrolet Cruze at 691,000. Again the Jetta figure is composed of very different models: the ’84 2nd generation in China, the ’98 4th generation in China (called Bora) and Mexico (called Clasico) and the ’10 6th generation everywhere else… The Cruze figure, nearly double that of last year and making it #11 in the world, is very impressive and reflects its success in as varied markets as the US, China, Russia and Australia.
The Chevrolet Cruze is sold as a Holden in Australia
Leader in Europe, the VW Golf is only #12 with 648,000 units, a far cry from the million units it used to sell around 10 years ago. The rest of the ranking is based on BSCB’s estimates and feature the Honda CR-V at #18, best-selling SUV in the world, and the Hyundai Sonata at #19.
Full Year 2011 Top 25 Ranking Table and calculation details below.
You can see the detailed calculation of my world sales estimates here: World 2011 with calculation details
Please comment on here if you have additional information or if you want to correct something!
World 2011:
| Pos | Model | 2011 |
| 1 | Toyota Corolla | 1,020,000 |
| 2 | Hyundai Elantra | 1,010,000 |
| 3 | Wuling Sunshine | 943,000 |
| 4 | Ford Focus | 919,000 |
| 5 | Kia Pride | 815,337 |
| 6 | Ford Fiesta | 781,147 |
| 7 | VW Polo (e) | 780,000 |
| 8 | VW Jetta | 745,000 |
| 9 | Toyota Camry | 726,000 |
| 10 | Ford F-Series (e) | 702,000 |
| 11 | Chevrolet Cruze | 691,000 |
| 12 | VW Golf | 648,000 |
| 13 | Nissan Tiida/Versa (e) | 590,000 |
| 14 | Opel/Chevrolet Corsa (e) | 574,000 |
| 15 | VW Passat | 565,000 |
| 16 | Honda Civic | 555,071 |
| 17 | Toyota Yaris/Vios (e) | 555,000 |
| 18 | Honda CR-V (e) | 530,000 |
| 19 | Hyundai Sonata (e) | 522,000 |
| 20 | Toyota Hilux (e) | 490,000 |
| 21 | Honda Accord (e) | 488,000 |
| 22 | Suzuki Alto (e) | 480,000 |
| 23 | Chevrolet Silverado (e) | 478,000 |
| 24 | Renault Clio (e) | 474,000 |
| 25 | Opel/Chevrolet/Buick Astra (e) | 464,000 |
Source: Best Selling Cars Blog, www.forbes.com, many thanks to Tuga for the tip!
(e): Best Selling Cars Blog estimate
Note: Suzuki Alto sales are composed of 3 models: the European version, the Indian version (previous generation) and the Japanese kei car version.
Hey! Thanks for the information. Really impressive ranking and calculation table of vehicles.
@Fiattista
the name punto sure wouldnt work in OZ
the sad & remarkable thing is the f-150 is #10
nothing else on the list is remotely like it
depressing – there must be even more wankers out there than i suspected
I suspect its mostly due to US market
makes me way less sympathetic to their current plight if they buy new cars which will be useless the minute gas hits $6pg – its now $4.50~
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and Fiat Punto data?? Punto is the most sold vehicle of Fiat (around 350-400k per years) and was assembly in Italy, India and Brazil…
and Palio data???
@matgasnier
Hey Matt!!
- I’m sorry but I don’t have the details of sales by country AND by Model… but you’ll find almost what you need on this link:
http://www.renault.com/fr/finance/chiffres-cles/pages/ventes-mensuelles.aspx
Then, in the 2nd page of the Excel-File, you will see all of the sales by Model.
- The sales of Thalia/Symbol are not included with the sales of Clio (but I think that Clio 2 and 3 are together…).
Bien cordialement!
Thank you Charlarchies this is great! I will amend my world post shortly.
cheers
Matt
Matt,a few cars come to mind.
Honda Jazz,Mazda 2,3,6…did none of them make the grade ???
Regards Anthony.
Hey Anthony,
Honda Jazz is in my calculations Excel sheets, estimated at 399,000 so nearly there.
I haven’t done the Mazdas because although they sell ok everywhere there is no huge market that will get one of them to 400,000+ sales. Will try the Mazda3 just to make sure shortly…
Thanks for your comment!
cheers
Matt
@Pete
I have also often thought that the Golf/Jetta range of cars is actually the top selling range in the
world,maybee its because they use diffirent names ???
Interesting that if you add the Golf & Jetta sales together (considering that the Jetta is basically a Golf with boot/trunk) you get almost 1.4 million sales – and by far away the best selling model in the world!
I also watched the sales for the Renault Clio in 2011. In November 2011, there was already more than 437 000 units sold in the World… So, with the sales of December (more or less 30 000 units), there are 470 000 units in 2011. So, why didn’t you put it on your Top 25??!
The same with the Renault Megane (424 000 units already in Nov. 2011… but with Renault Scenic I think…)
Hey Charlarchies,
Thanks for your note! I didn’t think the Clio would sell that much based on its European figure and its limited availability in the rest of the world. Before I can add it in my Top 25:
- could you please send me the detail of sales by country
- could you please confirm that sales of the Renault Symbol/Thalia are not included in this figure as nowadays the Symbol/Thalia and Clio are very different models
Thanks again
Matt
@Nismoboy: Tiida/Versa isn’t now more selling in India
What about the first French car ? Clio, Mégane, 207…?
@matgasnier
I have now added the VW Polo in the ranking, Forbes didn’t include it but I have calculated at least 750,489 sales which I have rounded up to 760,000.
Details:
356,409 Europe 27 countries
5,000 (e) Algeria
4,358 (Australia)
122,250 China
45,655 China previous generation
74,305 India (Polo+Vento)
15,171 Japan
1,500 Malaysia (e)
52,100 Russia
59,741 South Africa (Polo+Polo Vivo)
14,000 Turkey (e)
750,489 Total
760,000 Estimation
@NismoBoy
Hi Nismo,
I finally have found time to lok into your figures and update them with final or estimated 2011 full year data. I come to 582,000 units, which I will round up to 590,000 meaning the Tiida/Versa comes in at #12. See below for the detail:
Tiida/Versa total sales (incompleted): 494.904 updated to 582,168, rounded up to 590,000
US (11m) – 89.794 updated to 99,730
Canada (11m) – 13.578 14,497
Mexico (11m) – 51.142 59,977
Argentina (11m) – 6.640 6,805
Brasil (11m) – 15.401 19,293
Equador (11m) – 1.071 1,150 (e)
Venezuela (11m)- 1 1
Panamá (8m) – 726 950 (e)
Chile (7m) – 7.739 13,000 (e)
Colombia (6m) – 3824 8,000 (e)
Europe (10m/ 23 countries) – 914 1,200 (e)
Russia (5m) – 8.062 23,000 (e)
South Africa (11m) – 2.751 2,797
Egipt (8m) – 4.463 239 (your data was the Sunny/Samsung SM3 not the Tiida)
Japan (11m) – 25.252 27,421
China (11m) – 239.890 (tiida+versa) 267,032
Taiwan (11m) – 16.778 18,151
Australia (9m) – 2.197 3,577
India (11m) – 3.130 3,663
Malasia (11m) -701 765
GCC 10,920 (e – this is not the Sunny/Samsung SM3 but the Tiida)
The big question is how to count “pairs”, esp. the compacts. While several brands have two different mid-size cars, those have their exclusive regions and share the same name (Mazda 6, Honda Accord, VW Passat), so it’s logical to count them together. Subcompacts are mostly global cars (not sure about Hyundai), but often previous generations are still in production for some developing markets.
With compact cars the situation is a bit more complicate: Taste for these cars are different around the globe, so car makers have different strategies to solve this: VW has the cheap sedan Jetta and the more expensive hatch Golf and sells both globally. Hyundai has the pair of Elantra and i30, with mostly exclusive markets (one big exception is China). Totally exclusive are Toyota Corolla/Auris and Kia Forte/Cee’d. Ford has only an expensive hatch (Focus), Chevy has cheap sedan and cheap hatch under the same nametag ‘Cruze’ (while the hatch is only sold in Europe). Buck/Opel use same nametag in China, but are exclusives (at least for now) elsewhere…
The small difference between Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Corolla turn around, if you add Hyundai i30 and Toyota Auris (as the Hyundai sells far better). The two Volkswagens would be miles in the lead this way. And counting all the Opel Astra versions (sold as Opel, Buick, Vauxhaul and even Chevrolet) would take a month alone
@NismoBoy
Tiida/Versa total sales (incompleted): 494.904
US (11m) – 89.794
Canada (11m) – 13.578
Mexico (11m) – 51.142
Argentina (11m) – 6.640
Brasil (11m) – 15.401
Equador (11m) – 1.071
Venezuela (11m)- 1
Panamá (8m) – 726
Chile (7m) – 7.739
Colombia (6m) – 3824
Europe (10m/ 23 countries) – 914
Russia (5m) – 8.062
South Africa (11m) – 2.751
Egipt (8m) – 4.463
Japan (11m) – 25.252
China (11m) – 239.890 (tiida + versa)
Taiwan (11m) – 16.778
Australia (9m) – 2.197
India (11m) – 3.130
Malasia (11m) -701
Please note, that i have no acess to Africa / Middle East and also ASAEN sales figures.
@matgasnier
Matt i have some figures from Tiida/Versa worldwide until November. Later i´ll post it.
Regards
That would be great NismoBoy thanks!
cheers
Matt
Hi Matt. Please let us know if you ever hear back from that ” journalist ” who compiled this list at Forbes will ya?
Both the Focus and Fiesta also have multiple generations on sale right now in South America and India. In fact, the only cars here who don’t have multi gens are the Cruze and the F series… and that last ones’s your data
I’m sure the Corolla is number one though, so congratulations. And to Chevy too, that’s mighty impressive for the Cruze.
I think you forgot to include the Nissan Tiida/Versa into that list – Tiida/Versa sales in 2011 easily surpass the 500.000 units sold.
Good point NismoBoy – I’m going to need to look at various countries figures to estimate that number myself, give me some time I will do it shortly.
cheers
Matt
I also remember that the Jetta 5 is still sold in volume in China as the Sagitar…
Would have thought Mazda 2,3,or 6 would have made the list.
Thanks for all your hard work Matt,I love it.
Best regards,
Anthony.
Thanks for all your comments and your praise Anthony!
Best
Matt
Pride in Iran is producing under Saipa brand not Kia brand so sales report cant be under Kia brand.
Are Golf’s sales figures in Germany (it’s strongests market) given etirely to the Golf nameplate? let’s remember that those figures include Golf, Jetta and the familiar version of the car. If that’s the case the Golf should be even lower on the rank
Hi Mauricio,
European figures for the Golf are for the Golf only, not including the Plus and Jetta like they do in Germany. However Forbes doesn’t detail their figures so there is no way for me to know whether Golf sales include the Golf Plus for example, sorry… I have asked the author of the article on Forbes for more info so will publish if/when I get any…
cheers
Matt
The Elantra and Corolla also pull that crap as well.
The now 2 gen old Elantra and the last gen Corolla are still sold in China. That is so, even though they switched to newer generations 4+ years ago.
Jetta has become the best seller for VW,But also this is made up of Jetta 2 in China,Jetta 4/Bora in China and Mexico,and Jetta 6 everywhere else,with the Sportwagon sales added from the USA.
Wonder where the Honda Accords are ?
2 Diffirent models,the USA one,and European one,which is Acura TSX in USA,and others,and Honda Spirior in China.
Thought that would have been on the list…
Very good point on the Jetta generations Anthony!
Stupidly I was focused on the last generation only…
I will amend my post accordingly.
On the Accord, its main market is still the US by far and it sold 230,000 units there so would be hard for it to reach 550,000 worldwide…
Thanks for the comment!
cheers
Matt