Best Selling Cars – Matt's blog

Skoda Octavia

* See the Top 50 best-selling models by clicking on the title! Many thanks to Alex *

Thanks to Alex we are adding a new country to our monthly updates: Iceland! The Icelandic new car market continues to recover after being annihilated in 2008-09, up a huge 149% year-on-year to 730 sales in April. Like in 2011, the Skoda Octavia is by far the best-selling model in the country and sees its market share nearly double to 11.8% thanks to 86 units sold! In 2nd place, the Chevrolet Spark is up from #7 both in 2010 and 2011 with 39 sales and 5.3%, ahead of the new generation Kia Rio at #3 with 33 units and 4.5%.

Kia Rio

Other great performers in Iceland this month include the Chevrolet Captiva up 6 spots to #4, the Nissan Qashqai also up 6 ranks to #7, the Toyota Auris coming from outside the Top 30 in 2011 to #8, the Hyundai ix35 up 13 spots to #9 and the Ford Focus up 9 to #10.

Ford Kuga

Notice also the Ford Kuga up 17 ranks to #12, the Nissan Note up from nowhere to #13, the Kia Sportage up 5 spots to #15, the Chevrolet Orlando landing directly at #21, the Peugeot 508 at #33 and the Mazda CX-5 at #43.

Previous post: Iceland Full Year 2011: Skoda Octavia takes the lead

Full April 2012 Top 50 Ranking Table below.

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Skoda Octavia

* See the Top 30 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

Iceland models data is very rare to find and only comes up roughly once every 18 months, so it is with great pleasure that I can share with you today a Top 30 models ranking for this country. Icelandic car sales are up an encouraging 61% in 2011 to 5,034 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 at times. The Octavia sells 308 units for a 6.1% 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!

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 #2 with 285 sales and 5.7%, the Toyota Land Cruiser 150 is up to #4 at 213 units and 4.2%, the Honda CR-V is #9, Chevrolet Captiva #10, Nissan Qashqai #13, Kia Sorento #14, Kia Sportage #20, Toyota RAV4 #21, Hyundai ix35 #22 and Ford Kuga #29!

Other popular models in Iceland this year include the VW Polo at #3 with 284 sales and 5.6%, the Toyota Yaris at #5 with 213 units and 4.2%, the Suzuki Swift at #6 with 153 sales and 3% and the Chevrolet Spark at #7 with 148 units and 2.9%

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

Full Year 2011 Top 30 Ranking Table below.

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VW Polo

* See the Top 40 best-selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ at end of post! *

Annihilated by the GFC (the market was at -89% at its worst over 5 months 2009), Icelandic car sales are slowly getting back into shape with +29% over 7 months 2010 at 2,401 units. In 2008, 19 of the 30 best-selling models were 4WDs and SUVs, but this year the market is concentrated towards minis: the VW Polo takes the lead at 9%, followed by the Toyota Yaris and Suzuki Swift.

Toyota Land Cruiser

The Hyundai i30 is 4th and Suzuki Grand Vitara 5th. The Toyota Land Cruiser (pictured) is still in the Top 10 at 3.5% and #9, the Toyota RAV4 is #11, the Honda CR-V is #16 and the Subaru Forester is #17.

Full 7 months 2010 Top 40 Ranking Table below. Read more…

Suzuki Swift

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

2009 is a year to forget for car sales in Iceland, the market contracting by 89% year-on-year at its worst around mid-year… In this context and for the first time in at least a decade, the best-selling model in the country is not a Toyota! The Suzuki Swift holds the pole position in Iceland in 2009, however with 151 sales it is the weakest figure for a #1 in a long while…

Subaru Legacy

The Subaru Legacy manages to lose ‘only’ 46% at 137 units and jumps up to #2, ahead of the Toyota Land Cruiser at #3 and 134 sales (-81%!) and the Suzuki Vitara at 115 units. The Toyota Auris, Yaris and Subaru Forester follow. NOtice the Nissan Patrol at #9.

Full Year 2009 Top 10 Ranking Table below.

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Toyota Land Cruiser

* See the Top 3 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

I have very patchy data for 2008 in Iceland so if you have more info please make sure to get in touch!

During the second half of the year, the Icelandic car market was hit full frontal by the economic crisis and all but stopped. Toyota seems to have kept its stranglehold over the market though, monopolising the podium again. The Land Cruiser is the best-selling model in the country this year with 699 sales, followed by the Yaris at 477 units and the Auris at 289.

Full Year 2008 Top 3 Ranking Table below.

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Toyota Yaris near Olafsvik, Iceland August 2008

* See the Top 30 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

During the first half of 2008 (or just before the GFC), 8,885 cars were sold in Iceland, and Toyota dominated the landscape. The Toyota Yaris is the best-selling car in the country with 424 sales or 4.8% share, just above the big Land Cruiser (418 sales), #1 during Quarter 1.

Skoda Octavia in Iceland, August 2008

Toyota Corolla in Reykjavik, Iceland August 2008

Toyota Auris in Jokulsarlon, Iceland August 2008

The Skoda Octavia is stable in 3rd at 4.2%, the only other model above 4% share. 4 more Toyotas land in the Top 10: the Auris (#4), RAV4 (#5), Land Cruiser 200 (#7, but #2 in Q1!) and Corolla (#10). The Subaru Legacy (#6) and Honda CR-V (#8) are the other 4WD in the Top 10.

6 months 2008 Top 30 Ranking Table below.

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Toyota Yaris in Iceland, August 2008

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

In 2006 once again Toyota places 5 models in the Top 6 but the models ranking pole position changes hands: it is now held by the Toyota Yaris, helped by its recent facelift. The Yaris is the first model to ever sell upwards of 1,000 units in a single year in Iceland with 1,188 units sold in 2006, up 23% year-on-year. Its stays #1 in 2007 but I don’t have sales figures for that year.

The Toyota Corolla, #1 the last two years, drops to #2 with 972 sales, down 1%. The Toyota Land Cruiser is stable at #3 and 958 units. The Skoda Octavia finishes 2006 in 4th place for the third consecutive year with sales down 1% to 820 units. It is followed by the Toyota RAV4 (+12%) and Avensis (-12%). The Hyundai Santa Fe is up 2 spots to #7, with the Honda CR-V and Kia Sorento the other two SUVs in the Top 10.

* Please get in touch if you have 2007 figures! *

Full Year 2006 Top 10 Ranking Table below.

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Toyota Corolla

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

Years go by, and Toyota is still omnipresent in Iceland: it places 5 models in the Top 6 both in 2004 and 2005! The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling model in the country during the period, selling 758 units in 2004 and 979 in 2005, up 29%. In fact the Top 4 best-selling cars in Iceland stay unchanged both years. The Toyota Yaris ranks 2nd with 756 sales (only 2 less than the Corolla!) then 968 (11 less), the Land Cruiser is #3 at 631 units in 2004, then gaining no less than 52% to reach 962 sales in 2005.

At #4 and best-selling non-Toyota both years is the Skoda Octavia with 565 sales in 2004 and 832 (+47%) in 2005. The Toyota Avensis and RAV4 exchange positions between 2004 and 2005 at #5 and 6. Notice also the Ford Escape at #9 in 2004 and the Honda CR-V at #7 in 2005.

Full Year 2004 and 2005 Top 10 Ranking Tables below.

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Toyota Land Cruiser

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

Toyota continues to completely dominate the Icelandic models ranking, with the Land Cruiser taking the lead this year with 645 sales, up a massive 105% on 2002. The Toyota Corolla ranks #2 at 634 units (+86%), followed by the Yaris with 550 sales (+33%) and the RAV4 at 478 units (+12%).

Like in 2002, the VW Golf is the most popular non-Toyota model at #5 with 412 sales, ahead of the Skoda Octavia and Ford Focus. Notice the Subaru Legacy at #10 and the Impreza at #11.

Full Year 2003 Top 10 Ranking Table below.

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Toyota RAV4

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

Icelanders love Toyotas, and not much else. The Japanese brand monopolises the Icelandic best-selling models podium in 2001 and places 5 models in the Top 5 in 2002! The best-seller both years is the Toyota RAV4 with 452 sales in 2001 and 425 in 2002. It is followed by the Toyota Yaris at 400 then 415 units, and the Toyota Corolla at 333 then 340.

While the VW Golf and Passat manage to claw their way into the Top 5 in 2001, Toyota places the Avensis at #4 and the Land Cruiser at #5 in 2002… The Subaru Legacy stays solid both years at #6 in 2001 and #8 in 2002, with other successful models being the Skoda Octavia, Hyundai Santa Fe and Renault Clio.

Full Year 2001 and 2002 Top 10 Ranking Tables below.

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