Bahman Cara pickup in front of the Mashed-e Sheikh Lotfollah mosque, Isfahan. This is the Part 2 of our exploration of Iran in a Peugeot Pars. You can see Part 1: Tehran here. Now that you are familiar with the surprisingly relaxed vibe I felt interacting with VPN-clad, WhatsApp-chatting Tehran…
Lada 4x4 sales are up 38.9% year-on-year in Kazakhstan in May. The Kazakh new car market manages a 16th double-digit year-on-year gain in the past 17 months in May at +17.1% to 6.165 registrations, meaning the year-to-date volume is now up 19% to 25.699. Toyota (+7.8%) remains in the brands…
Mazda2 sales soar 60.3% year-on-year in Thailand this month. The Thai new light vehicle market soars 8.7% year-on-year in April to 86.076 units, marking 20 consecutive month of 8% year-on-year gains or more. The year-to-date tally is now up 10.5% to 349.625 sales. At opposite ends of the Top 5…
My rental Peugeot Pars near Mount Damavand, Tehran Province. Iran regularly makes headlines for all the wrong reasons - religious extremism, nuclear threats and thunderous ayatollahs - yet almost every visitor returns enchanted. The contrast is such that I felt I had to see it for myself to make up…
The lift of the ban on driver's licences for Saudi women has boosted new car sales spectacularly this year. Picture Saudi Information Ministry via AP. The time has finally come! After imploding 53.2% between 2015 and 2018, including a painful 23.4% last year, new light vehicle sales in Saudi Arabia have bottomed…
We would all like our car to perform better. That is a known fact. But many people, possibly you included, that think you need a degree in engineering or to pay a fortune to improve the performance of your vehicle. Well, let us tell you that you are wrong. If you…
The Toyota Land Cruiser is the best-seller in an astounding 6 Middle Eastern markets so far in 2019. After crumbling down -21.7% over the Full Year 2018, the Lebanese new car market drops a worrying -11.7% year-on-year over the first 5 months of 2019 to 14.848 registrations. Toyota (+6.7%) swims…
The Toyota Land Cruiser cements its domination of the Qatari market. After three consecutive years of double-digit losses, new car sales in Qatar continue to slow down their fall but remain in negative territory so far this year at -2.7% to 19.675 units over the first 5 months of the…
The Toyota Land Cruiser is back to pole position in Oman. Unlike other markets in the region, Omani new light vehicle sales had not slowed down their fall in 2018 at -14.9%. The freefall continues in 2019 at -15.9% to 43.051 sales over the first 5 months of the year. One…
The Toyota Land Cruiser holds 12% of the Bahraini market in 2019, more than any brand bar Toyota. After imploding down 19% in 2016 and 25.6% in 2017, new light vehicle sales in Bahrain seemed to be on the mend in 2018 with a much slimmer -4.8% drop, but they…
The Hyundai Tucson is the most popular vehicle in Syria so far this year. Whereas most markets in the region are now on the mend, new car sales in Syria plunge -37.1% year-on-year over the first 5 months of 2019 to just 2.989 units. Hyundai (-16.7%) consolidates the #1 brands…
1 in every 2nd new light vehicle registered in Yemen in 2019 is a Land Cruiser. The Yemeni new car market continues to recover albeit staying at very low levels at 3.541 sales over the first 5 months of 2019, up 70.7% year-on-year. Toyota (+67.1%) remains the only manufacturer to…
The landing of the Renault Clio 5 means the Clio 4 is now fading away and the Peugeot 208 snaps the #1 spot for the first time in almost 3 years. This article has been updated with the Top 40 brands, Top 270 models and Top 10 private models. The…
BMW sales surge 15.1% year-on-year in Europe in May. Preliminary figures from ACEA covering the European Union and EFTA - 30 markets show a first uptick in 9 months at a tiny +0.04% to 1.443.708 units vs. 1.443.127 in May 2018. This is the highest result for the month in 12…
The Mitsubishi Pajero is the best-selling vehicle in the UAE so far in 2019. After three nightmarish consecutive years of double-digit declines (-23% in 2016, -15% in 2017 and -19% in 2018), new car sales in the United Arab Emirates have finally cut short the haemorrhage. Over the first 5…