Norway 1970: Last year at #1 for the Beetle, the Japanese land

VW Beetle

* See the Top 10 best-selling models by clicking on the title! Many thanks to Rene *

After a one-off stratospheric figure in 1969 the Norwegian car market is back to normal this year, down 29% to 70,226 registrations. The VW Beetle is the best-selling model in the country for the 12th consecutive year and for the 13th time in the last 15 years but it is the last one: its sales fall by 64% this year to 6,091 and its market share halves to 8.7%.

Opel Kadett

In the meantime the Opel Kadett climbs onto a best-ever 2nd spot at 4,890 units and 7%. Up 2 spots on 1969 and down just 6% year-on-year, the Volvo 140 Series rounds up the podium with 4,617 sales and 6.6%. After 5 years in a row in 2nd place, the Ford Cortina falls to #4 and is followed by the Opel Rekord/Caravan and the Ford Escort.

Datsun Sunny

But the big event in Norway this year is the arrival en masse of Japanese models in the Top 10 for the first time ever! The Datsun Sunny/1200/120Y lands directly in 8th position with 1,901 sales and 2.7% and is followed by the Mazda 1200/1300 at 1,672 units and 2.4% and the Mazda 1500/1600/1800 with 1,559 sales and 2.2%. This is the start of a long love story between Norwegian consumers and Japanese brands…

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Full Year 1970 Top 10 Ranking Table below.