Gulf March 2012: Toyota Hilux and Land Cruiser dominate

Toyota Hilux

* See the Top 150 best-selling models by clicking on the title! Many thanks to Ldman *

The Gulf Cooperation Council is composed of the sates bordering the Persian Gulf: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Car sales in the region are very robust in this start of the year, up 9% year-on-year in March to 122,854 units and up 13% year-to-date at 346,024 registrations. The Toyota Hilux, now fully recovered from supply issues related to the Thailand floods, is more dominating than ever, grabbing a formidable 10% share of the region’s overall market thanks to 12,344 units sold this month, its highest volume in at least 18 months and possibly ever. It tops the rankings in 3 of the 6 countries of the region: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman where it holds a 14.5% share.

Toyota Land Cruiser

In second place we find the icon of the region, or ‘the Pride of the Land’ as Toyota calls it: the Toyota Land Cruiser, up from #4 in February with 7,217 sales and an excellent 5.9% share. This progression is due to fantastic results in Qatar where it leads with 15.4% share, the highest share of any model in any country in the region this month, in Bahrain where it also is in pole position with 9.2% and in the UAE where it ranks #2. The Land Cruiser is now #3 year-to-date at 16,119 units and 4.7% vs. #4 over the Full Year 2011. The Toyota Corolla and Camry follow at 4.8% and 3.7% respectively, with the Camry still getting organised as the new generation spreads around dealership across the region.

Infiniti FX

#3 last month, the Hyundai Accent is down to a still excellent 5th spot in April and is #4 year-to-date with 14,200 sales and 4.1%. Very strong in Kuwait, Bahrain (#2 each time) and Oman where it delivers its highest share at 8.7%, the Toyota Prado is #6 overall with 3,942 sales and 3.2%. The Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Yaris and Toyota Land Cruiser Pick-up follow while the Nissan D22, surprise leader in Kuwait this month and #3 in Qatar, rounds up the Top 10.

Range Rover

Other great performers this month include the Ford Expedition very solid again at #17, the Lexus LX up 11 spots on February to #19, the Toyota Innova up 17 to #27, the Dodge Charger up 6 to #46, the BMW 5 Series up 28 to #52, the Hyundai Veracruz up 36 to #67, the Ford Focus up 34 to #68, the Range Rover up 48 to #73, the Lexus GS going from #229 with 5 sales to #78 with 266 units, the Infiniti FX up 55 ranks to #84, the Kia Frontier up 58 to #89 and the Ford Fiesta up 100 spots to #121.

Previous month: Gulf February 2012: Toyota Hilux reclaims leadership

Previous year: Gulf Full Year 2011: Toyota Hilux, Corolla and Camry on top

Full March 2012 Top 150 Ranking Table below.