Best Selling Cars – Matt's blog

Toyota Prius c

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

Let me introduce a new monthly update on Best Selling Cars Blog: the World round-up. Now that most countries models rankings are in, let’s cast a global view on which cars were the stars of the month around the world… and March had its lot of highlights…

There is one model, or more precisely family, that stands out this month: the Toyota Prius. Massively boosted by the arrival of the MPV and c versions, the Prius family lodged record-breaking volumes in Japan and the USA. In Japan, the Prius c is marketed as Aqua and is up to an outstanding 29,156 sales, while the ‘standard’ Prius sold a record 45,496 units including the MPV version, up 131% year-on-year. In the US, sales are not split and the Prius family as a whole sold a record 28,711 units for a best-ever 6th place.

Honda CR-V

The Honda CR-V new generation enables the nameplate to reach record heights in both the USA where it ranks at a best-ever #5 with 30,068 units sold and in China where it is #4 with 21,124 units. Nissan lodges two historical performances this month: even though it is about to be replaced with a new generation, the Altima breaks its monthly volume record in the USA with 41,050 sales, while the Nissan Qashqai has its best European month ever in 7th place with 30,237 units, thanks to best-ever performances in Germany, France, the UK, Ireland (#1), Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, Czech Republic and ranking #2 in Spain.

Nissan Qashqai

Another milestone passed in March: for the first time ever, there were two Japanese models in the European Top 10 with the Toyota Yaris climbing into 10th position with 22,856 sales, helped by a record-breaking showing in the UK. India is the new China: in March 281,831 new vehicles found a buyer in the country, up 20% year-on-year and a new all-time record! The Maruti Alto has its 2nd best month ever at 35,245 sales and no less than 12 models break their monthly record, including the Maruti DZire, Hyundai Eon, Tata Nano and Honda Brio delivering the best month ever for a Honda model in India at 6,355 sales.

VW Up!

Other highlights this month include the pole position of the VW Up! in Denmark only a few months after its launch, the Fiat Uno beating the VW Gol in Brazil for only the third time ever, the Lada Granta up to #4 in Russia, the Dacia Duster reaching 10% share in its native Romania, the all-new Peugeot 208 landing at #16 in France, the Mazda CX-5 reaching a world best #18 in the Netherlands and the Range Rover Evoque breaking into the Swiss Top 20,

Other big figures include the Ford F-Series selling 58,061 units in the US followed by the Toyota Camry at 42,567 sales, the Wuling Sunshine stuck in pole position in China with 54,546 units, the Buick Excelle now China’s favourite passenger car with 24,134 sales and the Daihatsu Mira Kei car at 29,721 units in Japan.

Previous post: World 2011: Updated Top 100 now available!

Estimated March 2012 Top 10 World’s best-selling models below.

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Will the ChangAn Eado be the Chinese model to crack Western Europe?

* See the full article by clicking on the title! *

We have covered how Chinese models were struggling to rule their own market, but how do their fare outside of China? Based on all the data I have been collecting on Best Selling Cars Blog, there are at least 13 countries and territories in the world where a Chinese or Chinese-manufactured model managed to break into the Top 10.

Jinbei Haise, sold as Pyeonghwa Samchunri in North Korea

The country where Chinese models are most successful in terms of ranking (but not sales) is, unsurprisingly, neighbour North Korea: local manufacturer Pyeonghwa assembles Chinese models and they dominate the (still very quiet) streets: the Samchunri, a rebadged Jinbei Haise, is likely to be the best-seller ahead of rebadged versions of the Brilliance BS4, FSV and Huanghai Shuguan.

Great Wall Wingle

Two other countries/territories have had a Chinese model top their ranking, and only one officially: in Tajikistan, the Changhe Freedom must have been the best-selling car in the country for a couple of years before such minivans were abruptly banned over safety concerns in 2010. In New Caledonia, the Great Wall Wingle made history last November when it lead the tiny market while the DongFeng Utah (aka Rich) was up to #7 last May.

The Chery A5 is sold as Speranza A516 in Egypt

In Egypt, Chery manufactures its models under the brand Speranza with outstanding success: it has been the 4th best-selling passenger car brand in Egypt since 2008, selling more than Toyota since 2009! The Speranza A516 ranked #9 at year-end from 2007 to 2009. In 2011 the best-selling Chinese model was the Speranza Tiggo at #14 (and #9 in December), with the A113 (#11 in December), M11, JMC Pick-up, Brilliance FSV and FRV also popular. The Changhe Freedom landed directly #28 for its first month last February.

Great Wall Deer

Chinese manufacturers have launched a full-scale ‘invasion’ of the African and Middle-Eastern car markets but the absence of regular official figures makes it hard to measure properly. In Iraq the Great Wall Deer (a rebadged previous generation Toyota Hilux) and Sailor (a rebadged Nissan Frontier) should be among the best-sellers, in Madagascar JAC was #5 with 7.3% share in Q2 2010 thanks to the JAC Tojoy (aka Tongyue) and in Cote d’Ivoire Great Wall was #10 in 2010 at 3.8% with the Hover most popular.

The Holland Car Abay is a rebadged Lifan 520

In Ethiopia, Lifan and JAC have cooperated with Holland Car, the country’s first car brand, to assemble models locally and the Abay, a rebadged Lifan 520, is starting to get noticed in the crazy Addis Ababa traffic. Holland Car’s range also includes the Tekeze (JAC Tongyue hb), Awash (JAC B-Class) and Shebele (JAC B-Cross).

Geely Emgrand EC7

The Chinese had delayed their formal Western European launch on the back of disastrous crash tests for the Brilliance BS6 and Landwind SUV in 2007. This is now changing with the Geely Emgrand EC7 getting 4 NCAP stars late last year, and ChangAn harbouring great ambitions for its new Eado – pictured on top of this article.

Great Wall Hover

The only country in Western Europe with established Chinese brands, Italy made history last December when the Great Wall Hover reached an amazing 32nd place, the first time a Chinese model ranked within the Top 50 of a major European country. Chery has made a habit of creating new brands in the countries it assembles in order to appear more local and in Italy it sells as DR Motor, with the DR1 the best-selling Chinese model in Western Europe in 2011 at #259.

MG5

We can’t leave Western Europe without mentioning MG, now the property of SAIC and reintroduced in the UK market last year with the MG6 but to disappointing results. Will the MG5 fare better? Answer later this year when the model is scheduled to launch in the UK.

The best-selling Chinese export in the world in 2012?

But Eastern Europe and most significantly South America are two regions where Chinese manufacturers have truly established some very solid foundations for large scale success in the near future. Plus the best-selling Chinese export in the world in 2012 may be a…Chevrolet! Discover all this after the jump by clicking on ‘Read more’ below!

To see the rest of the article click on ‘Read more’ below!

Sales of ChangAn Taurus may be counted as ChangAn Mini Bus, #44 in the world in 2011

* See the updated 2011 World Top 105 best-selling models here *

Just a quick update to let you know that I have amended the Worldwide Top 100 models ranking I published yesterday with a couple more details, it is now actually a Top 105! This ranking will likely be updated a few more times over the next days/weeks as more official data keeps pouring in so I will let you know each time this happens. If you have access to official data that can make this ranking more accurate please do comment on here!

I have added a couple of Chinese LCVs that slipped through the cracks yesterday: the Foton Forland at #30 with an estimated 403,000 sales worldwide, the ChangAn Mini Bus which could include the ChangAn Taurus pictured above at #44 with an estimated 354,000 units and the DongFeng Mini Bus at #66 with an estimated 253,000 sales. The Mazda3 is now #39 at 381,780 units.

Also, thanks to the official Skoda Press Release provided by Robbie I have amended the Skoda Octavia sales to 389,000 which brings it up to #34.

You can see the amended World 2011 Top 105 article here

I have also published the amended Top 105 Ranking Table below for your reading pleasure.

Read more…

Toyota Corolla

* See the Top 100 best-selling models in the world by clicking on the title! *

Who else but Best Selling Cars Blog will give you the a worldwide Top 100 models ranking for 2011? I can share this exclusive ranking with you now, mixing up my own estimates with the hard work of Austin from Ford Inside News and some official 2011 Annual Reports.

You can see my original World 2011 Top 35 article here (note some figures have changed since)

The top of the ranking is unscathed up to #18 compared to my last update, with the Toyota Corolla leading with 1,141,709 sales, followed by the Ford Focus at 882,551 units, the VW Golf at 864,462, the VW Polo at 788,789, Ford Fiesta at 767,465, Hyundai Elantra at 751,967 and Wuling Sunshine at 731,689. The Chevrolet Cruze, Ford F-Series and VW Jetta complete the Top 10.

Hyundai Accent

The Hyundai Accent is now #19 with 541,519 sales followed by the best-selling SUV in the world the Honda CR-V at an estimated 530,000 units. The Toyota Hilux, #1 in 34 countries, is still #22, while the Hyundai Tucson/ix35 now appears at #28 with 420,649 sales. Excellent showing of the Suzuki Swift/Dzire at #31 with 399,446 units.

BMW 3 Series

The BMW 3 Series is the best-selling luxury model at #36 and 384,464 sales and should improve vastly in 2012 thanks to the new generation. The Mercedes C-Class is #41, the BMW 5 Series #46 and the Audi A4 #48. Best year ever for the Nissan Qashqai at #38 and 382,741 units. With the Peugeot 207 at the end of its career at #57, the 24 year-old Peugeot 405/Pars produced in Iran should be the brand’s best-seller this year at #52 and an estimated 306,000 sales!

Nissan Juke

Fiat’s top seller is the South American Uno at #54 with 297,234 units, above the Punto at #58 and the Palio at #63. Dacia manages to place its 3 models within the worldwide Top 100 with the Logan at #45, the Sandero at #59 and the Duster at #99, compared to only two Renault models: the Clio at #26 and the Megane at #60! Notice also the Nissan Juke above 215,000 units at #79, the FAW Xiali N3/N5 at #83 with an estimated 207,000 sales and the BYD F3 at #92 with an estimated 190,000 units.

Note: There may be missing models, please comment if you have any additional data.

Previous version of this post: World 2011: Toyota Corolla ahead of Ford Focus and VW Golf

Full Year 2011 Worldwide Top 105 Ranking Table below.

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Toyota Corolla

* See the Top 35 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

I have been telling you that this world’s best selling models ranking published by Forbes was looking dodgy. Now that most 2011 world markets have come through, it is time for a big update and more accurate figures. Mixing up my own estimates with the hard work of Austin from Ford Inside News I can now share with you a definitive Top 35 best-selling models ranking for 2011!

Ford Focus

And if the Toyota Corolla is confirmed as 2011 world’s best-selling car with 1,141,709 sales, a big disappointment is in store for Hyundai fans: the Elantra is far from threatening the Corolla for the pole position and is not millionaire in 2011 in spite of what Forbes told you. Even including the 3 generations of the model still in production somewhere in the world, Elantra sales amount to 745,823 units, placing the model in 6th position…

VW Golf

In 2nd place we find the Ford Focus with 877,640 sales, followed by the VW Golf at 864,452 units and the VW Polo with 788,789 sales. The Ford Fiesta comes in 5th position at 765,511 units, ahead of the Hyundai Elantra, Wuling Sunshine (731,689 sales and not the 900,000+ reported by Forbes), Chevrolet Cruze, Ford F-Series and VW Jetta. Suddenly it all makes sense, doesn’t it?

Wuling Sunshine

Notice the Iranian Saipa Pride at #13, the Suzuki Alto at #18, Honda CR-V at #19, Hyundai Accent at #20 and just under 500,000 sales, Toyota Hilux, #1 in 34 countries, at #22, Toyota Prius at #28, Kia Forte at #29, Nissan Qashqai at #32, Skoda Octavia at #33 and Dacia Logan at #36.

You can see my original World 2011 article here (Caution: figures in that article are not correct).

Full Year 2011 Top 35 Ranking Table below.

Read more…

The Mazda3 delivered one of 2011′s biggest surprises by taking the lead in Australia

* See the direct links to Full Year 2011 data in 72 countries by clicking on the title! *

You now have access to Full Year 2011 official sales figures for 72 countries and territories. That’s 78 posts as some countries get treated with more than one ranking. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to make this (I believe) the most exhaustive Car sales data website around!

If you have access to official Full Year 2011 models rankings for countries that are not in the list below, please do get in touch by commenting on this article!

There has been a few shocks and dethronings this year: in Australia the Mazda3 ended 15 years of domination of the Holden Commodore, in Mexico the VW Clasico put a stop to the Nissan Tsuru’s 8 year reign and in China the Buick Excelle grabbed the pole position in the passenger cars ranking for the very first time. Also, in Singapore the BMW 5 Series flamboyantly took the lead and the Kia Morning ended over a decade of Toyota domination in Vietnam…

The VW Golf has been #1 in Switzerland each year since 1974

We also celebrated the continuation of long running reigns in 2011. The Ford Transit was the most popular light commercial vehicle in England for the 47th year in a row, the VW Golf was the best-selling car in Switzerland for the 38th year running and in Germany for the 31st year and the Ford F-Series celebrated its 30th consecutive year atop the US market. Also note the VW Gol in pole position in Brazil for the 17th year in a row and the Volvo V70 leader in Sweden for the 16th year…

See the direct links to these 78 articles below.

Read more…

Toyota Hilux

* See the list of 56 models #1 in at least one country by clicking on the title! *

Now that nearly all 2011 data is out, I can share with you a summary of which models appear in pole position the most often. This information is exclusive to Best Selling Cars Blog, you won’t find it anywhere else! This is not a reflection of the highest sales volumes which are the object of another post, only how many times a specific model manages to rank #1 in any country.

Toyota places no less than 8 models in pole position in at least one country, Chevrolet & Ford 5 and Nissan & Volkswagen 4.

Toyota Corolla

The Toyota Hilux is king of the world at this little game: it is #1 in 34 countries, albeit including 25 in Africa where the volumes are very low. As a result the Hilux is actually only #22 in the world in terms of sales. The Toyota Corolla follows with 18 countries, including 10 in Africa and 5 in Asia. The Corolla is the only model to rank #1 in at least one country of each continent: Africa, Asia, Europe, America and Oceania.

The Skoda Octavia is the best-performing European model, #1 in 8 countries

Then until a few months ago we used to find the VW Golf, but it is now the Skoda Octavia, going from #1 in 4 countries in 2010 to #1 in 8 countries in 2011! Excellent performance of Skoda here with a 3 year-old model that is slowly but surely growing on Eastern and Western European consumers alike.

The Pyeonghwa Samchunri is #1 in North Korea

The VW Golf follows, #1 in 7 countries, then we find the Toyota Camry, #1 in 5 countries (to be taken with caution as they are all BSCB’s estimates), and the Hyundai Accent/Verna and Toyota Land Cruiser, both #1 in 4 countries. There are 6 models #1 in 3 countries, 15 cars #1 in 2 countries and 28 models #1 in just one country.

See ‘Read more’ for the full list of all 57 #1 models and in which countries they do so.

Read more…

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.

Read more…

Red Square in Moscow, Russia. Picture by Andras Pfaff 

* See the Top 20 biggest car markets in the world by clicking on the title! *

To give a bit of perspective to all the models data I publish here, I thought I would make a Top 20 biggest car markets ranking for 2011, with some figures still estimates. China leads with nearly 19 million sales but grows slower than the US this year at +5%. Japan falls by 14% but stays #3 ahead of Brazil (+3%) and Germany (+9%).

Exceptional performance of Russia, up 39% to 2.65 million units and going from #10 overall and #5 in Europe in 2010 to #6 and #2 behind just Germany this year! India also fares well at +12% and 2.3 million and stays #7. France, UK and Italy are all down. Notice also Indonesia (+17%), Turkey (+14%) and Argentina (+29%) all reaching their highest level ever, while Spain is down 3 spots to #19 (-18%).

I have also introduced the New Cars Per Thousand (NCPT) ratio which is the number of new cars purchased in 2011 per thousand inhabitants. Belgium leads at this little game with 53, followed by Canada (46), Australia (44) and the USA (41). Interestingly, Russia (19), Iran (19), Brazil (18) and Spain (18) are now all at the same level, while China is at 14 and India at 2.

Full Year 2011 Top 20 Ranking Table below.

Read more…

Beijing, China

In 2011 the global car market is expected to have grown 4% over 2010 to a new record: 75 million units. Both industry analysts IHS Automotive and LMC Automotive agree on that figure in their estimates. This is actually quite an impressive feat considering the impact on world car production of the Japan tsunami and Thai floods, as well as the debt crisis in Europe.

Bangkok, Thailand. Picture by songglod.

The two main markets are obviously China with just under 19 million units, a whopping 25% of global sales, and the US with around 12.8 million new vehicles registered. Interestingly and for the first time in probably 20-odd years, the US market has grown faster (+9%) than the Chinese one (+5%) this year…

How times have changed… 50 years ago in the US.

For 2012, predictions are bright, once again despite the economic situation in Europe. IHC banks on another 4% increase to 78 million vehicles while LMC bets on 5%, leading the market to 79 million units. However the Western European market is tipped to decline by five per cent in 2012.

More traffic jam pictures and source below.

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