Iceland Full Year 2011: Skoda Octavia takes the lead

Skoda Octavia

* See the Top 80 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

Icelandic car sales are up an encouraging 61% in 2011 to 5,475 sales, however still very far from its 20,000+ level of before the 2008 economic crisis. The best-selling model in Iceland this year makes so much sense for this country it’s not funny: it’s the Skoda Octavia, and particularly successful is its Scout Combi 4WD version: the perfect mix of practicality and value for money for consumers that have become budget-conscious but still have to deal with pretty rough roads.

The Octavia sells 315 units for a 5.8% market share, meaning it is now the best-seller in 8 European countries: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Croatia, Finland, Estonia, Hungary and Iceland. That’s one more than the VW Golf, #1 in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Latvia, Switzerland, Norway, and possibly Luxembourg!

Suzuki Grand Vitara 

While in 2010 the trend towards small city cars was blatant, with the market recovering in 2011 we see four-wheel drives and SUVs reclaim their traditional share of  the Icelandic models ranking: the Suzuki Grand Vitara is up to #3 with 285 sales and 5.2%, the Toyota Land Cruiser 150 is up to #5 at 213 units and 3.9%, the Honda CR-V is #10, Chevrolet Captiva #12, Nissan Qashqai #14, Kia Sorento #17, Kia Sportage #22, Toyota RAV4 #23, Hyundai ix35 #26 and Ford Kuga #31!

Other popular models in Iceland this year include the VW Polo at #2 with 302 sales and 5.5%, the Toyota Yaris at #4 with 214 units and 3.9%, the Chevrolet Spark and Toyota Auris at #6 and #7 with both 154 sales and 2.8% and the Suzuki Swift at #8 with 153 sales and 2.8%.

Previous post: Iceland January-July 2010: VW Polo in pole position

Full Year 2011 Top 80 Ranking Table below.