Lebanon January-April 2017: Prado leads, Datsun impresses

The Toyota Prado is the best-selling vehicle in Lebanon so far this year.

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Contrary to the majority of other markets in the region, new vehicle sales in Lebanon are actually up year-on-year over the first four months of 2017 at +1% to 16.248 registrations. Best-seller Toyota advances faster than the market at +10% and crosses the 30% share milestone at 30.8%. The Japanese manufacturer sells more than double the #2, Kia, down 7% to 13.3% while Nissan (-18%) and Hyundai (-17%) tumble down. Renault is also down at -8% but remains in 5th place. Suzuki (+24%) overtakes Mitsubishi (-39%) for 6th place overall with Chevrolet (+14%) and Mazda (+30%) the other two brands in positive inside the Top 10. The big surprise comes from Nissan’s low-cost brand Datsun which manages a successful landing directly in 10th place with over 2% of the Lebanese market. Outside the Top 10, Infiniti (+92%), Honda (+180%) and GMC (+125%) post spectacular gains.

Datsun mi-DO. Picture courtesy zr.ru 

The Lebanese models ranking is dominated by two Toyotas both improving their market share year-on-year: the Prado lifts to an imposing 12.2% ahead of the Land Cruiser at 9.7%. The Nissan Patrol gains two spots on its FY16 ranking to land on the third step of the podium, overtaking the Kia Picanto (#4) and Toyota Yaris (#7). The Hyundai i10 also steps up two ranks to #5 while the Kia Rio remains at #6. Illustrating the brand’s strong debut, the Datsun mi-Do leaps directly to 13th place, outselling such tried-and-tested nameplates as the Hyundai Accent, , Renault Sandero, Suzuki Swift and Mazda2. Notice also the Toyota FJ Cruiser’s swan song, back up to #18 vs. #42 over FY16 and the Infiniti Q30 up 46 spots to #21.

Previous post: Lebanon Full Year 2016: Toyota Prado snaps top spot

One year ago: Lebanon January-April 2016: Toyota cements domination, Yaris #1

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Qatar January-April 2017: Land Cruiser dominates market down 21%

The Toyota Land Cruiser holds 12% of the Qatari new car market so far in 2017. 

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The Qatari new vehicle market is down 21% year-on-year over the first four months of 2017 to 20.217 registrations. Toyota remains by far the most popular manufacturer in the country but sees its market share drop to 29.4% due to sales freefalling down 33%. Nissan does better than the market at -14% and improves to 15.4% share in 2nd place but Mitsubishi plunges 37% to 6% share in third position. Kia manage to stabilises its sales to jump to 4th place and 6% share but the best performer in the Top 10 is Hyundai up 41% year-on-year to leap to #5 and 5.9% share. Below, Ford (-33%) and Lexus (-51%) struggle. Just outside the Top 10, a series of manufacturers post impressive gains: BMW (+32%), Suzuki (+57%), Land Rover (+23%) and Mazda (+33%) with Porsche also in great shape at +38%.

Model-wise, the Toyota Land Cruiser continues to reign supreme, selling more than 2.5 times the amount of the #2, the Nissan Patrol up from #6 in FY2016. Both the Toyota Hilux and Prado are knocked down one spot to third and fourth places respectively while the Mitsubishi Pajero gains two ranks to #5 and the Toyota Camry overtakes the Mitsubishi Lancer EX to become Qatar’s best-selling passenger car at #6. Notice also the Hyundai Accent up 57 spots to #9, the Hyundai Elantra up 27 to #14 and the Nissan Navara up 7 to #16.

Previous post: Qatar Full Year 2016: Toyota Land Cruiser towers above competition

One year ago: Qatar January-April 2016: Land Cruiser at 15.2% share, Lexus LX #3

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Oman January-April 2017: Nissan Patrol teases Toyota Hilux for #1

Nissan Patrol. Picture drivearabia.com

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The Omani new vehicle market is down 11% year-on-year over the first four months of 2017 to 47.259 registrations. This market has traditionally been overwhelmingly dominated by Toyota, but the star manufacturer sees its share thaw a little more each year, this time to 46.9% due to a decline double that of the market at -22%. Reversely, Nissan more than doubles its sales year-on-year at +111% to take off to 22.3% market share vs. 12.3% over FY2016 and 9.5% a year ago. Hyundai crumbles down 52% but sister brand Kia surges 70%, with Jeep also getting noticed with a 97% gain in 7th place and Honda up 27% to #10. Lexus (-41%), Isuzu (-35%) and Mitsubishi (-23%) struggle.

In the models ranking, strikingly the Top 15 best-sellers are either Toyota or Nissan. The Toyota Hilux stays on top with 8.9% share (9.6% in FY2016) but is getting caught up fast by the Nissan Patrol, leaping from #5 in FY2016 directly to 2nd place and just 173 sales below. The rest of the Top 5 is entirely Toyota with the Prado, Land Cruiser and Land Cruiser Pickup. The Nissan Juke is up 10 spots on its FY16 ranking to #6, the Nissan Sunny up 18 to #7, the X-Trail up 13 to #8 and the Sentra up 18 to #11. Notice also the Geely X7 Sport breaking into the Top 50 at #46. We welcome the Mazda CX-3 at #91 and the Nissan Kicks at #117.

Previous post: Oman Full Year 2016: Hilux overtakes Land Cruiser Pickup to #1

One year ago: Oman January-April 2016: Toyota holds 53.9% market share

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Jordan January-April 2017: Hyundai overtakes Toyota in market down 16%

The Sonata (#3) helps Hyundai take control of the Jordanian brands ranking in 2017.

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The new light vehicle market in Jordan tumbles down 16% year-on-year over the first four months of 2017 to 13.287 registrations. Big event in the brands ranking: we have a new Nb.1 in the form of Hyundai limiting its fall to just -8% to improve its market share to 25,5%, overtaking Toyota (-38%) down from 28.8% over the FY2016 to 22.1% share now. Kia manages a rare year-on-year gain at +6% but remains in third place. The three aforementioned manufacturers hold a commanding 67.8% share of the Jordanian market so far this year. Among smaller brands, Chevrolet impresses with a 96% gain in 8th place with Honda (+89%), GMC (+208%), Porsche (+133%) and Ram (+467%) also showing sizeable gains.

The Hyundai Ioniq ranks #13 in Jordan. Picture autoexpress.co.uk

Although the Toyota Land Cruiser remains in the lead of the models ranking, its market share drops to 9.9% and its advantage over the next best-selling nameplates has thawed significantly. The Kia Frontier gains one percentage point vs. FY2016 to 9.4% and the Hyundai Sonata shoots up from #14 over the FY2016 to third place now at 9.1%. The Hyundai Elantra makes it two Hyundais in the Top 4 ahead of the Toyota Land Cruiser Pickup and the Kia Sorento. Another impressive performer is the Hyundai Ioniq up from #39 in FY16 to #13 so far this year.

Previous post: Jordan Full Year 2016: Toyota Land Cruiser new #1, market down 27%

One year ago: Jordan January-April 2016: Toyota Land Cruiser soars to top spot

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Norway May 2017: Opel Ampera-e up to #15

Opel Ampera-e

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The Norwegian new car market bounces back up 10.2% in May to 14.175 registrations, reducing the year-to-date decline to just -0.2% at 63.755 units. Volkswagen (-0.1%) remains in the top spot and is followed by a series of six manufacturers posting double-digit gains: Toyota (+13%), BMW (+37%), Skoda (+55%), Mercedes (+26%), Volvo and Audi (both at +42%). Further down, Suzuki (+40%), Citroen (+73%), Tesla (+45%) and Porsche (+55%) shine.

The VW Golf remains the best-seller in Norway, improving 6% year-on-year to 7.9% share with 24% of its sales going to the PHEV variant and 41% to the electric variant. It is followed this month by the VW Passat (67% PHEV) and the Toyota Auris (97% hybrid). The Skoda Octavia leaps up 36% to 4th place and advances to #7 year-to-date but the big news in the Norwegian rankings this month is a little further down: confirming Norway is at the cutting edge of alternatively fuelled vehicles acceptance, the all-new Opel Ampera-e jumps up to 15th place with 1.6% market share and should lift further up in the coming months. Norway has also been hungry with new launches recently, with the Toyota C-HR (#8), Volvo V90 (#10) and Skoda Kodiaq (#14) all instant blockbusters.

Previous month: Norway April 2017: Toyota C-HR, Volvo V90 and Skoda Kodiaq impress

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Israel May 2017: Kia leads again, Toyota up 29% in market down 2.5%

Kia Sportage Israel May 2016. Picture courtesy 4x4.co.ilKia is the #1 manufacturer in Israel for the 2nd month running. Picture 4×4.co.il 

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Thanks to our partnership with cartube.co.il, we can share with you today brands data for Israel in May. The Israeli new car market is down slightly this month at -2.5% to 24.878 registrations, allowing the year-to-date tally to remain in positive at +2.9% to 143.060 units. Kia is the best-selling manufacturer for the second month running despite sales down 10% year-on-year to 13.4% share. Toyota delivers one of the best performances of the month with deliveries up 29% to 13% share in 2nd place, overtaking Hyundai down a harsh 19% to 12.4%. Hyundai however remains in the year-to-date lead with 14.7% share above Kia (12.6%) and Toyota (11%). Below, Mazda (+17%), Suzuki (+39%) and Honda (+38%) all brilliantly post double-digit gains within the Top 10. Notice also Audi (+26%), Jeep (+85%) and Cadillac (+144%) delivering significant year-on-year improvements.

Previous month: Israel April 2017: Kia snaps top spot in market down 15%

One year ago: Israel May 2016: Hyundai and Kia dominate in market up 22%

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Italy May 2017: Fiat Tipo settles in 2nd place

The Fiat Tipo is the 2nd best-selling car in Italy in May. Picture motorverso.com

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Italian new car sales are up 8.2% in May to 204.113, the first time above 200.000 for May since 2008. This leads to a year-to-date total up 8.1% to 948.051. This result is spruced up by company sales shooting up 40.9% year-on-year to 20.4% share, an increase of 5 percentage points compared to May 2016. Year-to-date, company sales are up 36.8% to 18.6% share vs. 14.6% a year ago. Private sales lag way behind the market growth at just +0.7% and see their share go from 58.3% in May last year to 54.4% now. This is in fact a better performance than year-to-date where private sales are down 1.3% to 539.710 or 56.6% of the market, a 5.1 percentage point drop. Rental sales also fall behind the market at +4.4% to 25.2% share but are up 13.1% year-to-date to 236.706 units or 25% share.

Brand-wise, market leader Fiat beats the market with a 11% gain to hold a 22.4% share vs. 21.8% so far this year, Volkswagen reclaims the #2 spot it holds year-to-date thanks to sales following the market at +8% but Renault drops 3% to third place. Impressively, the next five carmakers post double-digit gains: Ford (+10%), Peugeot (+14%), Opel (+11%) and most strikingly Toyota (+25%) and Citroen (+43%). Dacia also bounces up 36% to make a rare appearance inside the Italian Top 10 in 10th position. Notice also Alfa Romeo (+32%), Suzuki (+38%), Porsche (+23%), Jaguar (+29%), Maserati (+73%) and Lamborghini (+90%) all posting generous gains.

No surprise atop the models ranking: the Fiat Panda reigns supreme at 7.3% share, almost double any other nameplate in market. It’s in second place that we have a confirmation: the Fiat Tipo gains one spot on April and posts a third consecutive podium finish, having now reached its cruising sales rhythm. It ranks #3 year-to-date vs. #14 in FY2016 and totally dominates the station wagon ranking with 9.294 sales vs. 4.922 for the Audi A4 and 4.648 for the Renault Megane. The Fiat 500 is also in great shape this month with a 58% surge to third place while the Renault Clio remains the most popular foreigner at #4 ahead of two struggling nameplates: the Fiat 500L and Lancia Ypsilon, both down 27%. Notice also the Citroen C3 taking off at +92%, the Dacia Sandero up 64% to #14, the VW Tiguan up 205% to #21 and the Peugeot 3008 up 529% to #28.

Previous post: Italy March-April 2017: Fiat Tipo steps up

One year ago: Italy May 2016: Crossovers continue to lift market up 28%

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South Korea May 2017: Ssangyong G4 Rexton & Kia Stinger land

Ssangyong G4 Rexton

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135.453 local models found a buyer in South Korea in May, a 7% year-on-year drop leading to a 2% decline for the year-to-date tally at 639.852. Hyundai manages to fall slower than the market at -3% to 43.7% share while Kia falls faster at -9% to 32.1%. GM Korea (-31%), Renault Samsung (-16%) and Genesis (-53%) all fall heavily but Ssangyong is up 11% to 4th place overall thanks to a new launch we detail below.

The Hyundai Grandeur remains the best-selling car in South Korea this month. 

Model-wise, Hyundai trusts the top four spots like last month with the Grandeur (+145%) on top for the 6th month in a row and also posting a five-digit sales figure for the 6th consecutive time. This month the Hyundai Porter (+4%) is up to #2, distancing the Avante (aka Elantra, -8%) and Sonata (-11%). Helped by the new model, the Kia Morning (aka Picanto) is up 23% to 5th place while the Kia Carnival (+22%) also shines inside the Top 6.

New arrival for May: the Kia Stinger. 

Now that the Ssangyong Tivoli has settled inside the Top 10 (#9 in May and year-to-date), the brand has launched the all-new Rexton, baptised G4 Rexton, resulting in a 608% year-on-year surge for the nameplate shooting up 25 spots on April to 20th place overall. We welcome an all-new nameplate in the South Korean ranking this month: the sporty Kia Stinger landing at #41 for now with a modest 370 sales. No doubt this will improve over the next few months. The Samsung QM6 (aka Renault Koleos) at #22 and Chevrolet Volt at #49 are the only other two recent launches in market (<12 months).

Previous post: South Korea March-April 2017: Hyundai Grandeur dominates

One year ago: South Korea May 2016: Samsung SM6 and Ssangyong Tivoli break records

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India May 2017: Maruti Vitara Brezza breaks record in market up 8%

The Maruti Vitara Brezza once again breaks its volume record. Picture Gaadi.com

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New wholesale car sales in India are up a vigorous 8% year-on-year in May to 250.609 units, despite the uncertainty brought about by the implementation of GST. Year-to-date, the Indian market is up 11% to a record 1.327.427 units after five months. Among mass market brands, only Toyota (-13%) and Volkswagen (-10%) lose ground. Reversely, martlet leader Maruti continues to go from strength to strength with a further 15% surge to remain at a historically high 52% market share.

Hyundai (16.8%) and Mahindra (7.5%) complete the podium, both posting a meagre 2% year-on-year gain, while Honda (+13%) thanks to the new WR-V and Tata (+26%) thanks to the new Tiago and Tigor, both shine, as does Ford (+17%) in 8th place. This month marks the momentous announcement by General Motors that it is exiting the Indian market, and accordingly Chevrolet sales tumble down 86% this month. All premium brands continue to struggle.

After being outsold by the Maruti Swift last month, the Maruti Alto reclaims the pole position it traditionally holds in India with sales up 19% year-on-year, just as the Swift continues to shine in 2nd place at +34%. The Maruti Dzire suffers from a facelift transition at -45%, allowing the Maruti Wagon R to pass it year-to-date and claim third place. Both the Hyundai Grand i10 and Elite i20 comfortably post five-digit sales figures but the best performer in the Top 10 is the Maruti Vitara Brezza: up 72% year-on-year to equal its ranking record at #6 overall (also hit in July 2016) and break its volume record for the third month running at 12.375. Notice also the Maruti Ertiga up 72%, the Mahindra Bolero up 55% and the Tata Tiago up 49% to #18. Among recent launches, the Maruti Ignis has stabilised around the 20th spot and the Honda WR-V and Tata Tigor around the 25th place.

Previous month: India April 2017: Maruti, Swift and Baleno all beat volume records

One year ago: India May 2016: Innova up, Kwid down, Datsun RediGo lands

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Europe April 2017: VW Tiguan up to record 4th place, 3 VWs in Top 4

vw-tiguan-europe-august-2016The VW Tiguan breaks its European ranking record at #4 this month.

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Today we can share with you complete and final figures for Europe 28 countries excluding Turkey and Russia, based on data released by JATO Dynamics. 1.215.412 vehicles found a buyer in April, resulting in the largest year-on-year drop since March 2013 at -7% as the UK (-20%), Germany (-8%), France (-6%) and Italy (-5%) all decline with Spain the only Big Four country to show a modest increase at +0.8%. This doesn’t mean we should worry about the health of the European market, as the UK suffers a temporary pull-forward effect due to changes in Vehicle Excise Duty and most markets had less opening days than in April 2016. We forecast the market to rebound back into positive territory in May. The year-to-date tally is still significantly ahead of its level of the same period a year ago at 5.438.822 units, up 4% or roughly 210.000 units.

Structurally, the European market is drifting away from diesel engines which freefall 15% this month to 46% share overall vs. 50% a year ago. Diesel ban plans in some European cities have certainly cooled private demand for such motorisations. In terms of car segments, compact cars are down 12%, subcompact cars down 9% and MPVs down 21% but SUVs continue to progress at +7%. The Top 3 groups in Europe all lose market share year-on-year: the VW Group leads at 24.89% share, down 9%, followed by PSA at 16.14% (including Opel/Vauxhall) down 10% and Renault-Nissan (including Mitsubishi) at 14.19%, down 7.4%. FCA on the other hand is the largest market share gainer in 4th place at 7.23%. Daimler (6.63%), Ford (6.52%), BMW Group (6.5%), Hyundai-Kia (6.13%) and Toyota (4.33%) follow with Geely (1.99%) rounding up the Top 10 thanks to Volvo sales.

The new gen Citroen C3 breaks the nameplate’s European ranking record at #9. Picture largus.fr

Brand-wise, Volkswagen remains by far in the lead despite a 15.4% drop, while Renault (-4.6%) bypasses Ford (-12.3%) to claim the 2nd spot overall. Peugeot (-4.3%) is up two spots on last month to #4, outselling its now stablemate Opel/Vauxhall (-14%) at #6 with Mercedes (stable) taking a strong 5th place overall and #1 premium brand on the continent. Below, Audi (-9.1%), Fiat (-2.6%), BMW (-5.6%) and Skoda (-4.7%) all lose ground in the remainder of the Top 10 but for the latter three the drop is lower than the market, resulting in higher market shares. Toyota actually gains ground (+2.7%) but remains outside the Top 10 at #11 whereas it ranks #10 so far in 2017 with a 15.9% improvement, the largest in the Top 15. Seat (+15.4%), Suzuki (+9.2%) and Mini (+11.1%) are the only other gainers in the Top 20 while below, Alfa Romeo (+54.2%), Tesla (+33.5%), Maserati (+46.6%) and Lada (+40.6%) post solid improvements albeit with much smaller volumes for the latter three.

First European Top 100 ranking for the Skoda Kodiaq. Picture autobild.de

In the models ranking, after losing the pole position to the Ford Fiesta for the first time in seven years last month, the VW Golf reclaims the European leadership in April albeit with a 28.3% drop as dealers eagerly await the facelifted model. As we described last month, the Ford Fiesta’s win was a freak event that had almost everything to do with a record UK month, and logically it now falls down 20.2% to #7 just as the UK weakens this month. The result is the Renault Clio (-7.7%) jumping to 2nd place both in April and year-to-date. Paradoxically, just as its total sales fall heavily, Volkswagen actually places three nameplates inside the Top 4 for only the second time in history, the first time being in August 2015 (Golf, Polo, Passat). This time it achieves this performance thanks to the Tiguan. After breaking into the European Top 10 for the first time last August (#6) and the Top 5 last January, the Tiguan improves its ranking record further to a stunning 4th place thanks to sales up 70.6% on April 2016.

Another record-breaker is the Citroen C3 up 48.9% to 9th place overall beating its ranking record as we predicted a few months ago. Its previous European best was #10 in June, November and December 2010 as well as March 2011. The C3 now ranks #12 year-to-date with sales up 57.2%, overstepping the Fiat Panda. Another gigantic gainer is the Peugeot 3008 with the new model propelling its sales up 157.7% to #22 overall. The Renault Megane (+33.1%), Fiat Tipo (+134.1%) also post spectacular gains. Now onto recent launches (<12 months), led once again by the Toyota C-HR at #43, followed by the Audi Q2 at #51, its best ranking so far. The Seat Ateca is below at #64, ahead of the Volvo S90/V90 at #90 and the Skoda Kodiaq breaking into the European Top 100 for the first time at #96.

Previous month: Europe March 2017: Ford Fiesta ends VW Golf reign

One year ago (1): Europe April 2016: Volkswagen (+2%) lags in market up 9%

One year ago (2): Europe April 2016: Discover the Top 335 models and All-brands

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