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USSR/Russia: 1970-2017 detailed Historical Data now available

The Lada 2101-2103 was the dominant force in the USSR in the seventies.

The direct links to 27 USSR/Russia Historical posts are below.

The start of a big scale overhaul of BSCB’s Historical Data, sales figures for the USSR and Russia have been updated with sales info kick-starting in 1970, Top 10 models for 1987 and 1988, imports data by model starting as early as 1996, detailed annual brands and models data from 1999 onwards, in addition to a monthly Top 25 models from January 2008 up to the present day without any interruption. Witness the birth of Lada with the 2101 launched in 1970, a localised version of the Fiat 124 that would survive under different body shapes and modernised designs until 2012. In the late eighties, the Lada 2106 fights it out with the Moskvich 2140 for the title of best-seller in the USSR.

The Lada 2104-2107, or Riva, was #1 in Russia throughout the 80s, 90s, 00s and in 2010.

Then, throughout the tumultuous fragmentation of the USSR in the nineties and from 1999 to 2008, the same valiant Lada, grouped under the Riva nameplate, would top the sales charts, albeit threatened by the Lada Samara in 2004, 2005 and 2008. It would manage a last pole position in 2010, a year when volumes were boosted by aggressive scrappage schemes to try and revive a market hit full frontal by the Global Financial Crisis (-49% in 2009). Then the Lada “Zhiguli” as it is fondly called at home, would finally pass the relay to the new Lada Granta in 2012.

The Lada 2110 never topped annual Russian sales, despite leading for the most part of 2003.

A handful of other Ladas have managed to challenge the Riva supremacy to score sporadic wins over the past decade, such as the Lada Priora, best-seller in 2009 and 2012, the Lada Kalina, most popular in 2011 and the Riva’s successor, the Lada Granta, favourite of the Russian people in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Strikingly, the Lada 2110 never managed an annual win even though it led the YTD order deep into 2003. Finally, it is entirely possible that the Lada Samara may have snapped a handful of annual wins between its launch in 1989 and 1998, however detailed models data is missing for this period. And yes, this is not a typo, no Lada has topped the annual charts since 2015…

The Ford Focus was the first foreign nameplate to rank #1 monthly in Russia – in December 2008.

Indeed, the start of the new century is a fascinating period to follow in Russia: it is a time when foreign manufacturers have started penetrating the market. Originally allowed on March 16, 1988, car imports remain anecdotal for an entire decade, reaching only 17.000 in 1995 and 45.000 in 1999. Little would anyone know then that they would leap to over 2 million annual units in less than a decade, helped by the implantation of a dozen foreign carmakers starting to produce locally. Foreigner share starts at 4.8% in 2000, 6.8% in 2001 (+51%), 9.8% in 2002 (+40%), 17.8% in 2003 (+97%), 28% in 2004 (+87%), 38%  in 2005 (+51%) with the first foreign marque on the podium (Hyundai), 46.6% in 2006 and 71.4% in 2008 at a whopping 2.068.000 sales… That year in December, the Ford Focus was the first foreign nameplate to top the monthly Russian charts.

The Renault Logan was the #1 foreigner in Russia in 2009.The Hyundai Solaris was the first foreign nameplate to end the year at #1 in Russia – in 2016.

We would have to wait 6 years and November 2014 to see this happen again when the the Kia Rio took the lead of the monthly charts, but this time it wasn’t a freak event and the culmination of years of steady progression and spreading popularity in the rural areas of the country alongside the Hyundai Solaris that would find a fitting conclusion in 2016 when the Hyundai Solaris became the first foreign nameplate in at least 45 years – and possibly in Russian history – to top the annual sales charts, replaced in 2017 by the Kia Rio.

In 2005, Great Wall was the first Chinese manufacturer to enter Russia.

Chinese carmakers entered the Russian market with a bang in 2005 with Great Wall instantly selling over 4.000 units of its Deer SUV and Sailor pickup, but it has been a stop start rollercoaster ever since. Chery followed in 2006 with the Amulet, soaring to 39.000 sales and 1.7% at an estimated 16th place in 2007 – a score that no other Chinese manufacturer has approached since – but then crashing to less than 16.000 sales in 2008. Only Lifan, launched in 2008 in Russia, has also managed to crack the annual Top 20, twice: in 2016 and 2017 both times ranking #19 and peaking at 1.2% share in 2016. And only Geely has also reached 1% share on the Russian market, in 2013, peaking at #23 in 2015.

USSR/Russia Historical Info:

USSR 1970-1979: Lada 2101-3 conquers the Soviet roads

USSR 1980-1986: Lada 2106 and Moskvich 2140 likely leaders

USSR 1987: Lada 2106 and Moskvich 2140 fight it off

USSR 1988: Lada 2106 leads, Samara on podium

USSR 1989-1991: VAZ (Lada) and Izh most popular brands

Russia 1992-1995: Lada Riva and Samara should dominate

Russia 1996-1998: Lada Riva, Samara and 2110 likely on top (including imports info)

Russia 1999: Russian carmakers hold 94% share, Lada at 62.8%, Riva #1

Russia 2000: Riva, Samara, 2110: podium 100% Lada, IZH up 83% to #4

Russia 2001: Lada up to 67.3%, Riva, Samara and 2110 on top, Moskvich out

Russia 2002: Lada Riva, Samara and 2110 on top, foreigners above 100.000 units

Russia 2003: Lada Riva #1, foreigners up 97% to 17.8% share, led by Toyota

Russia 2004: Lada Riva resists Samara assault, foreigners up 87% to 28% share

Russia 2005: Lada Riva edges past Samara, foreigners up 51% to 38% share, Great Wall in

Russia 2006: Lada Riva #1, foreigners up to 46.6% share, led by Ford Focus

Russia 2007: Market above 2 million units for the first time, Chery up to 1.7% share

Russia 2008: Lada Riva only 735 sales above Samara, Ford Focus #1 in December

Russia 2009: Lada Priora ends decades-long Riva reign, market down 49%

Russia 2010: 30 year-old Lada 2105/7 (Riva) reclaims #1 spot

Russia 2011: Lada Kalina leads for the first time

Russia 2012: Lada Priora #1, Granta 4,800 sales below in record year

Russia 2013: Lada Granta celebrates first year at #1

Russia 2014: Lada Granta survives foreign push

Russia 2015: Hyundai Solaris teases Lada Granta in market down 36%

Russia 2016: Hyundai Solaris ends 45 years of Lada domination

Russia 2017: Kia Rio 2nd foreign model #1 in 47 years, market up 11.9%

Russia 2017: Now with Top 365 All-models

Australia August 2018: Mazda shines, Holden burns in 5th market decline

The Mazda3 helps the Japanese carmaker to its largest share since January.

* Now updated with the Top 45 All-brands and Top 280 All-models – click on title to see *

New vehicle sales in Australia endure a 5th consecutive month of year-on-year decline in August at -1.5% to 95.221 registrations, leading to a year-to-date volume down 0.3% to 786.294, still the 2nd largest-ever YTD tally at this stage of the year below 2017 (788.968). Looking at sales by State, only Tasmania (+12.2% to 1.726), South Australia (+1.5% to 5.878) and Victoria (+0.5% to 27.720) are up, with the remainder all posting declines: Northern Territory (-9.7% to 816), Australian Capital Territory (-5.1% to 1.464), New South Wales (-4.1% to 30.823) Western Australia (-3.9% to 8.158) and Queensland (-0.3% to 18.636). SUV are frankly back in positive at +8.3% to 41.271 and 43.3% share vs. 39.4% a year ago whereas passenger cars sink 13.4% to 30.940 and 32.5% vs. 37% in August 2017. Light commercials are down 1.3% to 19.165 and a stable 20.2% share.

The Toyota Prado surges 79% to hit its all-time record Australian ranking at #7.

Illustrating the stark contrast between the health of the SUV segment vs. the freefalling of passenger cars, every single passenger segment is down vs. 2017 with medium (-24.1%) and large cars (-60.3%) hit the hardest, while all SUV segments progress including small (+12.5%) and large (+11.7%) except upper large (-2.8%) down marginally. Private sales are down 6.8% to 42.366, business sales gain 2.8% to 38.521, rental fleet are up 0.9% to 7.279 and government purchases down 2.2% to 3.210. Petrol sales dominate at 59.711, diesel is at 30.249 and electric/hybrids at 1.416 excluding Tesla. Vehicles sold in Australia are manufacturers in Japan at 31.517 (+14.9%), Thailand at 23.832 (-1.5%), South Korea at 13.602 (-6.1%), Germany at 7.269 (+0.4%), the U.S. at 3.742 (-4.3%), the U.K. at 2.383 (-27%), Czech Republic at 1.203 (+55.8%), Spain at 1.090 (-18.5%) and China at 970 (+182.8%). Australian-made cars logically implode at just 65 vs. 5.043 a year ago (-98.7%) as all manufacturers stopped their Australian operations in 2017.

The Nissan X-Trail bounces up 89% to stay in the Top 10. Pictures caradvice.com.au

Market leader Toyota (+1.7%) goes against the grain and posts a gain to 19.8% share vs. 18.8% so far this year, but the best performer in the Top 15 is without contest Mazda, surging 23% on August 2017 to a splendid 11% share, its highest since last January (11.4%) and leading to a round 10% YTD. Hyundai (+2.6%) and Mitsubishi (+6.3%) complete a Top 4 brilliantly all in positive. It’s a different story for Ford (-10.3%) stuck in 5th place, while Volkswagen (-2%) leaps up two spots on July to #6, overstepping Kia (+2.5%) and Nissan (+8.4%) despite a loss. The nightmare continues for Holden (-37.6%), posting a ghastly 8th consecutive double-digit decline sending it to its lowest market share in Australian history at 4.57% vs. 4.59% last month. Its once-best-seller the Commodore is down an abysmal 67% year-on-year to just 682 sales, even outsold by the Ford Mustang (732)despite the arrival of a new generation… Volvo (+83.7%) and Skoda (+28.1%) lodge the largest improvements in the Top 20 while further down, MG (+577.6%), LDV (+172.9%), Ram (+163.3%), Great Wall (+144.8%), Infiniti (+97.9%), Lamborghini (+57.1%) and Ferrari (+46.2%) make waves. In contrast, Mini (-48.7%), Haval (-38.6%), Peugeot (-32.4%), Land Rover (-32%), Suzuki (-28.4%) and Audi (-25.8%) struggle mightily.

The facelifted 3 helps lift MG up 577.6% in August.

The Toyota Hilux (-0.3%) enjoys a 10th consecutive monthly win and 16th pole position in the past 18 months despite a slight decline, keeping the Ford Ranger (-2%) at a comfortable distance: 760 sales for the month, 5.853 year-to-date. The Toyota Hilux is also victorious in the lucrative 4×4 ute segment at 3.207 deliveries vs. 3.083 for the Ranger, soon helped by the much anticipated Raptor variant. The Toyota Corolla (+3%) remains the most popular passenger car in the country and the new generation should lift its volumes further up in the remainder of the year. The Mazda3 (+37%) and CX-5 (+27%) both post stunning gains, the latter holding onto the SUV throne, this time seconded by am extremely dynamic Toyota Prado (+79%) scoring a second Top 10 finish in the past 4 years alongside last May (#10) and equalling its record position at #7, also reached in May 2003, April 2012 and April 2014. The Nissan X-Trail (+89%) also impresses at #9 like last month, while the Mitsubishi Outlander (+10%) rallies back up 14 ranks on July to #11.

Previous month: Australia July 2018: Holden hits lowest-ever volume, market down 7.8%

One year ago: Australia August 2017: Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger top record market

Full August 2018 Top 45 All-brands and Top 280 All-models below.

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France 1-13 September 2018: Kia and Hyundai impress, VW at -61%

Kia sales are up 31% year-on-year so far in September in France.

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

The hangover from the pre-WLTP sales rush of August continues, with French registrations down 18% year-on-year over the first two weeks of September. The brands ranking is slowing moving towards its traditional self with Peugeot (-11%), Renault (-16%) and Citroen (+2%) in the lead. Toyota (+4%) surprises in 4th place, overtaking Dacia (+19%) still in excellent shape. The rest of the Top 10 is reshuffled, with some great performances by Kia (+31%), Hyundai (+26%) and BMW (+26%) and some ghastly ones by Volkswagen (-61%!), Mercedes (-26%), Ford, Fiat and Opel all kicked outside the Top 10. In the models ranking, the Citroen C3 (+8%) takes the temporary crown above the Peugeot 208 (-1%) and 3008 (-15%) while the Renault Clio (+13%) and Dacia Sandero (+24%) score strong gains in the remainder of the Top 5. The Toyota Yaris (+30%) manages to stay at #6, the Dacia Duster (+19%) continues to gallop ahead and the Citroen C3 Aircross ranks 8th.

Previous post: France 1-6 September 2018: Sandero #1, Dacia up 20%, VW down 75%

Previous month: France August 2018: Pre-WLTP stock clearances pull market up 40%

One year ago: France September 2017: Best September since 2009 but up a shy 1.1%

Full 1-13 September 2018 Top 10 brands and models below.

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Indonesia August 2018: Mitsubishi Xpander reigns, Toyota Rush at #3

The Mitsubishi Xpander remains the best-selling nameplate in Indonesia.

* See the Top 10 best-selling brands and Top 20 models by clicking on the title *

The Indonesian new car market is up a solid 5.9% year-on-year in August to 102.197 wholesales, lifting the year-to-date tally up 6.7% to 763.385. Toyota remains by far the most popular carmaker in the country at 30.5% share vs. 29.8% so far this year, distancing Daihatsu (17.1%), Mitsubishi (16.8%), Honda (14.5%) and Suzuki (10.5%). Below Hino and Isuzu, Chinese Wuling is #8 at 1.9% share and has now sod over 16.000 units in Indonesia since launching here a year ago. Model-wise, the Mitsubishi Xpander signs a very impressive 6th win in the past 7 months at 6.8% share, slightly below the 7.1% it commands YTD. The Toyota Avanza (-39%) is kept at a fair distance (713 sales) while the Toyota Rush (+234%) continues to post very satisfying results thanks to the new generation, climbing up to #5 in the YTD ladder. Its twin the Daihatsu Terios scores its first Top 10 for the new model, and the first one in almost 5 years for the Terios nameplate, since December 2013 (#10). The Calya (-11%) and Kijang Innova (-16%) make it four Toyotas in the August Top 5 even though they both drop by the double-digits, while commercial vehicles are strong this month such as the Daihatsu Gran Max Pikap (+12%) and Suzuki Carry Pikap (+24%).

Previous month: Indonesia July 2018: Mitsubishi Xpander back to #1, Toyota Rush rushes to #2

One year ago: Indonesia August 2017: Honda CR-V in Top 10 in stable market

Full August 2018 Top 10 brands and Top 20 models below.

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Cyprus August 2018: Toyota Yaris leads, VW T-Roc repeats at record #4

The VW T-Roc is the 4th best-selling nameplate in Cyprus like in July.

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

Thanks to our partnership with SEMO Cyprus and INNOSOFT we can share with you today August sales figures for Cyprus, a market down 1.7% year-on-yar to 691 for the month but up 1.3% so far this year to 9.443 units. The Toyota Yaris (+14%) reclaims the top spot it holds year-to-date ahead of the Nissan Qashqai (+36%) also back to its YTD level while the Toyota C-HR (-12%) climbs onto the YTD podium despite a double-digit decline in August. The VW Golf (+383%) looks like it may have been boosted by pre-WLTP sales while the VW T-Roc repeats at a record 4th place and the Jeep Renegade (+1200%) is in excellent shape once again but drops four spots on July to #5. Other over-performing nameplates include the Peugeot 3008 at #8, BMW X1 at #9, VW Tiguan at #10, Mercedes GLC at #12, Nissan Micra at #13 and Audi Q3 at #17.

Previous month: Cyprus July 2018: Jeep Renegade and VW T-Roc superstars

One year ago: Cyprus August 2017: Hyundai Tucson takes control

Full August 2018 Top 30 models ranking below.

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China August 2018 Retail sales: Crisis deepens – market down 10.1%

At GAC Trumpchi, while SUVs are struggling the GA4 breaks its volume record.

* See the Top 90 China-made brands and Top 602 models by clicking on the title *

April 2017 – August 2018 monthly All-models China Retail data also available, Contact us here

After detailing China August wholesales it is now time to explore China August Retail sales, a new monthly update exclusive to BSCB. Retail sales are dealership sales to end-customers as opposed to Wholesales which are ex-factory sales to dealerships. These new Retail updates enable a second perspective, perhaps closer to the reality on the ground. This update only includes China-made vehicles, China August imports are covered in a separate update. Chinese new light vehicles are enduring a spectacular and sudden slump linked to a government crackdown on P2P digital lending platforms the younger generation was using to finance the purchase of Chinese SUVs.  More on this crackdown and its impact on the Chinese car market here. If wholesales stabilise their fall in August at -4.7% vs. 5.3% in July, the reverse is true for retail sales plummeting down 10.1% (vs. just -4.9% in July) from 2.003.200 to 1.801.400. This means dealerships in China remain bearish about the next few months and reducing their orders drastically, which in turns means at least a couple more months of wholesales decline are in the cards.

Toyota (+14%) is helped by the (late) arrival of the C-HR/IZOA tandem.

Brand leader Volkswagen (-10%) follows the market but still sells more the twice the amount of any other carmaker in China. Toyota (+14%) is very dynamic, helped by the (very late) arrival of the C-HR/IZOA tandem, overtaking Honda (-9%) to snap the overall 2nd spot. This is a clear illustration that the market slump is only selectively affecting Chinese-branded SUVs, the ones that younger Chinese were buying through P2P lending, and less so foreign SUVs and sedans, traditionally purchased by an older age group that hadn’t been using that type of financing as much. Geely (+10%) continues to gallop ahead but retrogrades to #4 YTD, now below Honda, Hyundai (+7%) shyly recovers and Audi (+1%) edges up but Baojun (-35%), Changan (-25%), Haval (-25%) and Buick (-20%) all plunge. BMW soars 43% to #12, BYD is up 50% to #17, with MG (+48%), Cadillac (+17%), Mercedes (+10%) and Roewe (+9%) also impressive in the Top 40.

The H5 lifts Hongqi sales to a whole new level: +1310% year-on-year!

However most carmakers endure very harsh falls, such as Zotye (-61%), Soueast (-55%), BAIC (-53%), Suzuki (-47%), JAC (-45%), Ford (-41%), Peugeot (-38%), Leopaard (-31%), Chana (-29%), FAW (-29%) and Dongfeng (-28%). Among smaller brands, notice Hongqi (+1310%) thanks to the arrival of the H5 sedan, Qoros (+265%), Maxus (+167%), Foton (+125%) and Jaguar (+27%) in great shape. Among marques launches than a year ago, Lynk & Co dominates head and shoulders with a record 10.468 retail sales, its first ever five-digit retail month – logically following its first five-digit wholesales score in July – and frankly outsmarting archival WEY (7.131) for the first time retail-wise. Another important milestone is passed by NIO, the Chinese premium EV maker delivering its first four-digit monthly result at 1.135 sales.

Sales of NIO es8 are starting to gear up, passing the 1.000 mark for the first time in August.

No surprises atop the retail models ranking: for the third consecutive month the five most popular nameplates are all sedans, with the Top 4 unchanged on July led by the VW Lavida (-5%) despite a decline ahead of the Nissan Sylphy (+4%), Toyota Corolla (+5%) and VW Sagitar (-11%). The VW Jetta (-7%) climbs up 6 spots on July to break into the Top 5 while the VW Tiguan (-15%) manages a second consecutive month atop the retail SUV charts in spite of a double-digit declines however smaller than traditional SUV leader Haval H6 (-27%) stuck at #7.

The Hyundai Celesta hits an all-time record retail volume in August.

Confirming the return in form of sedans in China given the P2P lending crackdown prevents younger Chinese from snapping up crossovers en masse, 12 of the 15 double-digit gains in the Top 50 are the works of sedans, led by the BMW 5 Series L (+126%), Hyundai Elantra Lingdong (+96%), Toyota Camry (+96%), Honda Civic (+40%), Geely Emgrand GL (+35%) and BMW 3 Series L (+31%). Only the Hyundai ix35 (+727%) thanks to the new generation, Changan CS55 (+49%) and Toyota RAV4 (+36%) stand out in the SUV aisle. Notice also the Hyundai Celesta up 123% to an all-time record 7.235 sales.

The third generation Wuling Hongguang has just launched. Will it stop its freefall?

The Wuling Hongguang S3 (#52) is up 16 spots on July to become the best-selling recent launch (<12 months) just as Wuling launched a new generation of its once outright best-seller Hongguang (#18) to try and stop freefaling sales down 50% year-on-year in August. The Baojun 360 (#60) slows down its growth to just +3% on July, the GAC Trumpchi GA4 stuns with a 61% surge on last month to a new all-time record 8.601 sales, the BYD Song MAX (#68) confirms it’s an instant blockbuster, ahead of the Baojun 530 at #72 (-10) and the Lynk & Co 01 at #88 (-13).

The Haima F5 has landed in the retail charts.

The Lynk & Co 02 is up 178% on its inaugural month to a cool 4.447 sales, jumping 101 spots to #121 and strikingly outselling both the WEY VV5 (3.852) and VV7 (2.855). The Skoda Kamiq (3.426) overtakes the Geely Emgrand GE (2.751) to become the most popular July launch. The August retail charts welcome the Toyota IZOA (2.580), Toyota C-HR (1.786), Leopaard Mattu (1.109) and Haima F5 (150), a replacement for the Haima Family that hasn’t pointed its bonnet inside the wholesales ranking just yet.

Previous month: China July 2018 Retail sales: P2P lending crackdown identified as main reason behind SUV crisis

August wholesale update: China August 2018: P2P lending crackdown triggers 2nd decline in a row

Full August 2018 Top 90 All China-made brands and Top 600 models below.

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Poland August 2018: Pre-WLTP rush lifts market up 58%, Seat up to #8

Clearance of non WLTP-compliant stock boosts the Seat Leon up 448% to #4 in Poland.

* See the Top 15 brands and Top 50 models by clicking on the title *

Poland is another European Union market to be completely biased by artificial sales aimed at clearing stock ahead of the adoption of a new, stricter emissions standards called WLTP. Non-compliant cars aren’t able to be sold after September 1, so carmakers with large stocks of such models had to get rid of them by any means (demo sales, self-registrations, short-term rentals, discounted retail sales, etc). As a result the Polish market soars 57.9% year-on-year in August to 61.913 units, lifting the year-to-date tally up 17.3% to a new record 419.381 sales. Volkswagen (+80%) and Toyota (+96%) vastly outpace the market in the brands lead, overtaking YTD leader Skoda (+30%) with Opel (+29%) and Renault (+51%) rounding out the Top 5. Seat soars to a record 8th place whereas it doesn’t rank in the YTD Top 15 while Citroen (+124%),  and Nissan (+110%) also post extravagant gains. The Skoda Octavia (+64%) is undisturbed, cementing the models pole position it holds YTD. Nameplates benefiting from a last minute pre-WLTP rush include the Toyota Auris up 220% to #2, the Seat Leon up 448% to #4, Nissan Qashqai up 251% to #7, Toyota Avensis up 221% to #9, as well as the Citroen C3 (+168%), Seat Ibiza (+155%), Hyundai i30 (+130%), Toyota RAV4 (+120%) and Renault Megane (+106%).

Previous month: Poland July 2018: Fiat Tipo hits record 4th place, market up 24.8%

One year ago: Poland August 2017: Fiat Tipo now established in Top 10

Full August 2018 Top 15 brands and Top 50 models below.

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Norway August 2018: Nissan Leaf reigns in market up 8.3%

The Nissan Leaf cements its domination in Norway.

* See the Top 40 All-brands and Top 20 models by clicking on the title *

New car sales in Norway gain 8.3% year-on-year in August to 14.523 registrations, meaning the year-to-date tally is now down 1.9% to 100.880 units. Volkswagen (+7%) remains comfortably in the lead of the brands ranking with 17.7% share vs. 14.1% YTD, ahead of Nissan (+265%) surging up to 11.9% share vs. 9.6% so far this year thanks to the success of the new generation Leaf. Toyota (-3%) rounds up the podium above Skoda (+46%), BMW (-15%) and Audi (-2%). Carmakers that look suspiciously strong (pre-WLTP stock clearance anyone?) include Dacia (+342%), Porsche (+197%), Alfa Romeo (+173%), Smart (+164%), Renault (+150%), Jaguar (+141%), Hyundai (+54%) and Opel (+44%). The Nissan Leaf (+370%) reigns supreme over the Norwegian models ranking with 8.5% share, distancing the VW Golf (-28%) and BMW i3 (+21%) which replicates the YTD podium. The Skoda Octavia (+99%) soars up to #4, the VW T-Roc is up one spot on July to a new record #6 and the Renault Zoe is up 174% to #7, its highest ranking since last January.

Previous month: Norway July 2018: Nissan Leaf leads, VW T-Roc breaks into Top 10 at #7

One year ago: Norway August 2017: e-Golf pushes Golf sales above 10% share

Full August 2018 Top 40 All-brands and Top 20 models below.

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Japan August 2018: Toyota Corolla scores first podium in 3 years

The Toyota Corolla is at its highest at home since September 2015.

* Now updated with the Top 50 All-brands, Top 50 regular cars and Top 33 kei cars *

New light vehicle sales in Japan gain 2.5% year-on-year in August to 364.216 registrations, meaning the year-to-date volume is now down just 0.8% to 3.538.227. Brand leader Toyota edges up 0.6% to 29.6% share, one percentage point above its YTD level of 28.6% and more than double any other manufacturer present in Japan. Suzuki (+12.8%) posts the largest gain atop the sales charts, returning to the #2 spot for the 4th time in the past 5 months and knocking Honda (+8%) down to #3. Daihatsu (-0.1%) is down marginally but remains at #4 ahead of Nissan (+5.3%) while Mitsubishi (+16.1%) and Mazda (+11.7%) both score sturdy results in the remainder of the Top 10 just as Hino (-32.1%), Subaru (-17.7%) and Isuzu (-15.9%) crumble down.

For the second straight month, there are no foreigners in the Top 10 brands with Mercedes (-1.6%) holding onto its crown at #11 overall, distancing Volkswagen (+19.2%) once again very strong, BMW (-12.9%) and Audi (-7.6%). Below Lexus (+21.3%) faring the best of any Japanese brand, Alfa Romeo (+153.7%), DS (+116.7%), Jaguar (+105.4%), Chevrolet (+52%), Porsche (+42.6%), Citroen (+27%), Ferrari (+25.5%), Peugeot (+19.4%) and Jeep (+14.4%) are among the most dynamic foreigners.

The success of the new Jimny helps Suzuki back up to #2 in the brands ranking.

In the regular cars ranking, the Nissan Note (+10%) reclaims the top spot for the first time since last March and the 5th time in the past 14 months, cementing its YTD lead over the Toyota Aqua (-17%) knocked down to #2 in August. Thanks to the new gen hatch, the Toyota Corolla soars 61% year-on-year to hit its highest ranking at home in almost three years – since September 2015. The Toyota Prius (-28%) continues to freefall but climbs back up one rank on last month to #4, dislodging the Toyota Vitz (+35%).

The Nissan Serena (+21%), Toyota C-HR (+20%) and Toyota Roomy (+14%) also securing solid gains in the Top 10, while outside, the Toyota Crown (+211%) is up 3-fold on August 2017 thanks to the new generation. The Lexus NX300H (+419%), Nissan Leaf (+284%), Subaru Forester (+146%) and Mazda Axela (+94%) also make waves. The Suzuki Xbee is the #1 recent launch (<12 months) at #32 ahead of the Mazda CX-8 (#34), the relaunched Honda CR-V (#35), Honda Civic (#37), Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (#48) and Toyota JPN Taxi (#49). The Honda N-BOX (+54%) and Suzuki Spacia (+64%) cements their domination of the kei car charts with outlandish gains, joined further down by the Suzuki Jimmy (+120%).

Previous month: Japan July 2018: Lexus (+30.8%), Mitsubishi (+20.8%) lift market up

One year ago: Japan August 2017: Aqua back on top, C-HR falls in market up 5.5%

Full August 2018 Top 50 brands, Top 50 regular cars and Top 33 kei cars below.

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Uruguay August 2018: Suzuki leads, Volkswagen snaps YTD top spot

Suzuki is the best-selling brand in Uruguay in August.

* See the Top 40 All-brands by clicking on the title *

The Uruguayan new car market plunges another 12.4% year-on-year in August to 3.875 registrations, leading to a year-to-date tally down 16.3% to 28.935 units. Suzuki leaps up 19% year-on-year and 11 spots on July to #1 with a fantastic 15.5% market share vs. 9.3% so far in 2018. It is followed by Fiat up 80% to 15.1% and Volkswagen down 16% to 12.3%. Renault (-23%) and Chevrolet (-22%) both implode to complete the Top 5. This results in a complete reshuffle of the YTD order, with Volkswagen (-16%) snapping the top spot despite a hefty loss, ahead of Fiat (+4%) and Renault (+33%). Further down the ranking, Kia (+210%), Jeep (+90%), Toyota (+74%), Chana (+58%) and Mazda (+11%) are the rare carmakers standing out, while at the other end of the scale Chery (-97%), Geely (-94%), BYD (-84%), FAW (-77%), Mitsubishi (-62%), Ford (-60%), Honda (-56%), Mercedes (-47%), Dongfeng (-43%) and Subaru (-42%) all implode. As a whole, Chinese carmakers are down 59% year-on-year to just 6% share vs. 7.9% YTD.

Previous month: Uruguay July 2018: Volkswagen #1 again, teases Renault for YTD lead

One year ago: Uruguay August 2017: Volkswagen overtakes Chevrolet to #1 YTD

Full August 2018 Top 40 All-brands ranking below.

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