Australia 1978: Holden Kingwood reclaims lead, Commodore #1 in December

Holden Kingswood Premier

* See the Top 10 best-selling models by clicking on the title – Thanks Paul *

Whereas last year it got dislodged by the Ford Falcon for the annual pole position, the Holden Kingswood reclaims its throne in 1978 despite sales down 3% to 52.559 units vs. 50.350 (-8%) for the Ford Falcon. The Holden Torana/Sunbird (+13%), Chrysler Sigma and Ford Cortina round up the Top 5, with the Datsun 200B the best-selling Japanese nameplate in Australia at #6 and the Toyota Corona/Celica, Toyota Corolla and Datsun 120Y also ranking inside the 1978 Top 10.

The very first Holden Commodore 

November 1978: the Holden Commodore appears in the Australian sales charts.

But the big news in 1978 is the launch of the legendary nameplate Holden Commodore in November, when it ranks #4 with 3.090 sales. As early as December 1978, the Commodore takes the lead of the Australian sales charts thanks to 4.710 units sold, ahead of the Ford Falcon (4.641) and Holden Kingswood (3.478). The Commodore would end up being either the #1 or #2 annual best-seller in Australia for 33 years without interruption until 2011…

Full Year 1978 and each month Top 10 models Ranking Table below.