Best Selling Cars – Matt's blog

Toyota Avensis

* See the Top 34 All-brands and Top 30 models by clicking on the title *

New car sales in Finland slow down their fall in February at -2.5% year-on-year to 7,917 registrations, bringing the year-to-date total to 18,127 units, down 13% on 2014. Toyota (10.5%) and Skoda (10.3%) bypass Volkswagen (10.2%) in a very tight race in the brands ranking this month, however Volkswagen keeps the year-to-date lead by far with 11.6% share vs. 9.8% for Toyota and 9.7% for Skoda thanks to a mammoth result in January. The Skoda Octavia remains the most popular nameplate in the country, evolving like the market at -2% yoy above the Nissan Qashqai (-12%).

VW Passat sales more than double year-on-year in Finland in February.

It’s a great month for large sedans in Finland, a category that has taken a beating in Europe in the past decade but somehow still has many fans here. For the first time since April 2012 and undoubtedly linked to discounted prices in the wake of the arrival of the new generation, the Toyota Avensis is back on the Finnish podium at #3 with 281 sales and 3.5% share, up 54% on February 2014. The VW Passat benefits fully from its new gen at +113% in 4th place, as does the Ford Mondeo up 28% to #9. Notice also the Ford Focus up 30% to #6, the Mercedes E-Class up 37% to #13 and the Mercedes C-Class up an even more impressive 96% to #14.

Previous month: Finland January 2015: BMW 5 Series and VW Golf Sportsvan shine

One year ago: Finland February 2014: BMW 5 Series in Top 10

Full February 2015 Top 34 All-brands and Top 30 models below.

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SsangYong Tivoli

* See the Top 54 All-local models and Top 5 local brands by clicking on the title *

Sales of local models are down 4% year-on-year in South Korea in February to 103,202 units, bringing the year-to-date total to 214,822 deliveries, now up just 0.7% on 2014. This month the Hyundai Sonata reclaims the pole position it held over the FY2014 thanks to 7,306 sales and 7.1% share (up 43% on January 2014) but remains #2 year-to-date for now below the Hyundai Porter down to #3 in February. The Kia Morning is up 4 spots on last month and 14% year-on-year to 2nd place, the Hyundai Avante up 6 ranks and 30% to #4 but the Hyundai Grandeur is down 22% to #5.

The Kia Carnival is up 220% year-on-year in February.

Among recent launches, the Kia Sorento (+181% to #6) and Carnival (+220% to #8) continue to evolve at markedly higher levels compared to a year ago, while the Ssangyong Tivoli is up 4 spots on its inaugural month in January to reach #13 with 2,898 sales and 2.8% share. It thus confirms its new status as the brand’s best-seller at home and hits the highest ranking for a Ssangyong in at least 3 years.

Previous post: South Korea Full Year 2014: Now with exclusive Top 200 All-models

One year ago: South Korea February 2014: Hyundai Grandeur keeps the lead

Full February 2015 Top 54 All-local models and Top 5 local brands below.

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Runaway success: the Honda HR-V in Thailand.

* See the Top 50 best-selling models and Top 9 brands by clicking on the title *

Sadly, the Thai new car market continues to sink deeper into recession with another harsh 13% year-on-year drop in January to just 59,721 registrations. Toyota remains the most popular manufacturer by far with 33.6% share but Honda now threatens Isuzu for 2nd place at 16.9% vs. 18.8%, thanks to exceptional results by the brand’s all-new small SUV: the HR-V. After reaching an out-of-this world 7th place in December for its 2nd month in market, the HR-V ranks #10 in January with another very strong 1,718 sales and 2.9% share.

The Mazda2 is the brand’s best-seller in Thailand this month.

The Toyota Hilux keeps the lead of the models ranking with 16.5% share vs. 15.6% for the Isuzu D-Max, the Honda City climbs back into third place with 5.4%, overtaking the Toyota Yaris (5%) and Vios (4.7%) to reclaim the passenger car crown, the Nissan Navara shoots up to #8 vs. #12 in FY2014 thanks to the new model, the Mitsubishi Attrage is back to #12, the Mazda2 benefits from the new model to reach #13 and become the brand’s best-seller in Thailand and the Nissan X-Trail confirms the success of the new generation at #26.

Previous post: Thailand Full Year 2014: Toyota Hilux leads, Yaris on podium

One year ago: Thailand January 2014: Toyota Yaris nails it, Isuzu MU-X #10

Full January 2015 Top 50 models and Top 9 brands Ranking Tables below.

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Hungarian Police Mercedes B-Class

* See the Top 10 best-selling brands and models by clicking on the title *

The Hungarian new car market continues on its excellent run so far in 2015: up another 18% year-on-year in February to 5,914 registrations, 7,255 including LCVs. The brands ranking is unchanged on last month, with Skoda leading the way at 14.9% share above Opel at 12.6% and Ford at 11%. The Skoda Octavia remains the most popular nameplate in the country thanks to an excellent 666 sales and 11.3% share, followed by the Ford Focus at 4.1% and the Opel Astra at 3.7%. The Suzuki Swift is down two spots to #4 but remains #2 year-to-date for now. The Opel Mokka is back inside the Top 10 at #8 as is the Ford Kuga at #10, but the surprise of the month comes from the Mercedes B-Class up to a very unusual 7th place with 166 sales and 2.8% share, the large majority of it due to an exceptional police order as pictured above.

Previous month: Hungary January 2015: Skoda Octavia starts with a bang

One year ago: Hungary February 2014: Suzuki Swift jumps up to 2nd place

Full February 2015 Top 10 brands and models Ranking Tables below.

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Skoda Octavia

* See the Top 138 All-models ranking by clicking on the title *

Spectacular start of the year for the Egyptian new vehicle market: up 19% year-on-year in January to 22,755 registrations. The Chevrolet TFR confirms the pole position it snapped at the last minute in 2014 by ranking first again in January, albeit by just 3 units at 2,040 deliveries vs. 2,037… These two nameplates are head and shoulders above the competition in January with the other hero of the month being the Skoda Octavia, up 8 spots on December to land on the podium thanks to 863 sales and 3.8% share. Notice also the Toyota Corolla strong at #5, the Mitsubishi Lancer EX at #11, Golden Dragon Haice at #12, and the breakout star if the month: the Suzuki Ciaz up 39 ranks on last month to break into the Egyptian Top 20 at #18 with 390 sales and 1.7% share.

The Suzuki Ciaz breaks into the Egyptian Top 20 this month.

Previous post: Egypt Full Year 2014: Chevrolet TFR edges out Hyundai Verna

One year ago: Egypt January 2014: Nissan Sunny on podium

Full January 2015 Top 138 All-models Ranking Table below.

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VW Passat

* See the Top 25 best-selling models and Top 35 brands by clicking on the title *

New light vehicle sales in Turkey are up by an encouraging 5% year-on-year in January to 34,223 registrations including LCV. Volkswagen leads the brands ranking thanks to 4,491 sales and 13.1% above Ford up a spectacular 35% year-on-year to 4,351 units and 12.7%, Fiat up 1% to 11.9% and Renault down a harsh 25% to 11.1%. Both Hyundai (6.9%) and Dacia (5.7%) are up 19% while BMW surges by 266% to #8. The models ranking has a surprise leader: just as it was crowned European Car of the Year, the VW Passat is up from #14 over the Full Year 2014 to #1 in January thanks to 1,843 sales and 5.4% share, the result of a combination of discounted outgoing generations and the new gen landing in dealerships. The Ford Courier (#3), Hyundai i2o (#5), VW Golf (#11), BMW 5 Series (#15) and Mitsubishi L200 (#24) also perform strongly this month in Turkey.

Previous post: Turkey Full Year 2014: Now with exclusive Top 263 All-models

One year ago: Turkey January 2014: Renault Fluence and Symbol dominate

Full January 2015 Top 25 models and Top 35 brands below.

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Wuling Hongguang V

* See the Top 9 best-selling LCVs by clicking on the title *

This month LCV data for China comes with a bit of delay due to the Lunar New Year holidays. It shows the Wuling Sunshine reclaiming the top spot off the Wuling Rongguang in a spectacular way: 30,125 sales vs. 15,888. This could be due to the arrival of a new Wuling nameplate in the Top 10: the Hongguang V lands directly at #8 with 11,009 sales and could climb further up in the coming months. Notice the Foton Light Truck at #2, the Wuling Mini Truck at #3 and the Chana Mini Bus at #4 all outselling the Wuling Rongguang.

Previous post: China Full Year 2014: Growth cools to 7% to record 23.5 million units

Full January 2015 Top 9 LCV Ranking Table below.

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The Stepway variant accounts for 80% of Renault Sandero sales in Belarus.

* See the Top 150 best-selling models and Top 36 All-brands by clicking on the title *

New light vehicle sales in Belarus are up 3% year-on-year in 2014 to reach an all-time record 29,552 registrations – including LCV. Thanks to the success of the Sandero (+15% to #2), Duster (#5) and Logan (#7), Renault flamboyantly takes the lead of the brands ranking with sales up by a majestic 25% to 4,500 units and 15.2%. The French manufacturer bypasses Volkswagen, down 7% to 3,632 sales and 12.3%, while Kia (+1%) and GAZ (+24%) both overtake Lada, down 31% to #5. Nissan more than doubles its sales to land in 6th place with 6.3% share.

The locally-assembled Geely SC7 is up to #4 in Belarus in 2014.

But the big story in the Belorussian brand ranking this year is the arrival of Geely in 7th place with 1,841 sales and 6.2% share, up 352% on 2013 with a 3-model range now that the Chinese manufacturer has geared up its local assembly through a joint-venture with the Belorussian government. This is a very encouraging result for Geely, placing it above blockbuster brands such as Skoda (#8), Toyota (#9), Hyundai (#11) and Peugeot (#12). The SC7 sedan jumps up to a brilliant 4th place overall in the models ranking with 1,238 sales and 4.2% while the Emgrand X7 SUV lands at #15 and 1.5% and the LC-Cross ranks #36.

Zotye Z300

The VW Polo remains the best-selling nameplate in the country with an improved 7.6% share thanks to sales up 11% – interestingly the Polo is only available as a sedan in Belarus. The Renault Sandero holds onto its 2nd place (80% of customers opt for the Stepway variant), while the Kia Rio is up one spot to round up the podium. The Nissan Almera shoots up to #6, the Lada Largus is up 33% to #11, the Nissan Qashqai up to #14 and the Citroen C4 is up to #21. Finally let’s notice a couple of additional Chinese models pointing their bonnet in the Belorussian ranking this year: the Great Wall M4 at #58, Zotye Z300 at #69 and the MG 3 Xross at #123.

One year ago: Belarus Full Year 2013: VW Polo takes lead, two Renaults on podium

Two years ago: Belarus Full Year 2012: Lada Priora now in pole position

Full Year 2014 Top 150 models vs. Full Year 2013 Top 25 figures and Top 36 All-brands below.

The Dodge Vision (a rebadged Fiat Gran Siena) lands at #174 in Mexico.

* See the Top 258 All-models and Top 39 All-brands rankings here *

I can now share with you All-models and All-brands rankings for Mexico for the Full Year 2014. Beyond the familiar Top 10 models there is a lot of movement in the ranking this year. In the Top 20, the Chevrolet Matiz is up 30% to #15, the Mazda3 up 17% to #17, the Chevrolet Trax is down two spots to #18 despite sales up 18% and the Ford F-Series (-4% to #19) is now threatened by the Ram Pickup (+16% to #20).

The Ram Pickup is now inside the Mexican Top 20.

Helped by the new generation, the Toyota Corolla is up 24% and 5 ranks on 2013 to #22, the Renault Duster gains another 15% to crack the Mexican Top 25, the Nissan X-Trail is up 94% to #28, the Toyota Yaris triples its sales year-on-year thanks to the new model at #36, the Honda City is up 60% to #39, the Jeep Cherokee jumps to #50 for this generation’s first full year in market, the Seat Toledo is up 45% to #61, the Audi A3 up 129% to #68 and the Toyota Highlander up 119% to #69.

Renault Logan

Looking at the all-new entrants in the Mexican sales charts in 2014, logically Hyundai dominates: the Grand i10 lands at #59, the ix35 ranks 67th and the Elantra 77th. These are the only all-new nameplates in the Top 100. Further down, we find the Renault Logan at #114, the VW Caddy at #150, Lincoln MKC at #156, Mitsubishi Mirage at #164, Peugeot 2008 at #167, Hyundai Sonata at #169, Acura TLX at #173, Dodge Vision at #174 and Porsche Macan at #185.

* See the Top 258 All-models and Top 39 All-brands rankings here *

Toyota Yaris

* See the Top 25 best-selling models and Top 15 brands by clicking on the title *

New car sales in Saudi Arabia are purposely driving their way towards the annual million units, with 2014 up 10% to a record 833,711 registrations. As expected, Toyota dominates the brands ranking with 36% of the market, above Hyundai at a region-best 17.7%, Kia at 7%, Nissan at 6.9% and Isuzu at 6.4%. Chevrolet (#7), GMC (#9) and Renault (#10) are particularly strong in Saudi Arabia compared to other markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council region. The Toyota Hilux keeps its crown but sees its market share drop to 8.2%, in fact the entire Top 4 is identical to 2013 with the Toyota Corolla saving its 2nd spot by the skin of its teeth despite sales down 19% vs. -9% for the Hyundai Elantra at #3 and the Hyundai Accent up 21% at #4. The Toyota Yaris (+50%) enjoys the benefits of its new generation to overtake the Toyota Camry (-2%) for 5th place while the Isuzu D-Max remains at #7 with sales up 25%. Outstanding performance of the Nissan D22 Pickup up 25 spots to #8.

Previous post: Saudi Arabia August 2014: Toyota Camry shoots up to #2

One year ago: Saudi Arabia Full Year 2013: Toyota Corolla catches up on Hilux

Two years ago: Saudi Arabia Full Year 2012: Toyota Hilux up 52%, Hyundai Accent #3

Full Year 2014 Top 25 models vs. Full Year 2013 and Top 15 brands below.