Gulf July 2012: Toyota Hilux & Corolla dominate, Kia Cerato up

Kia Cerato Koup

* 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. In 2012 this region houses one of the most dynamic car market in the world: sales are up 35% year-on-year in July to 127,225 units and 22% year-to-date at 851,522. Toyota is ultra-dominant here, placing 5 models in the Top 5. In fact the July Top 5 models are identical to the 2012 year-to-date ranking: the Toyota Hilux leads the way with 12,402 sales and 9.7% share, adding up to 76,803 and 9% year-to-date.

Toyota Hilux

It is followed by the Toyota Corolla at 7,023 units and 5.5% vs. 5.1% year-to-date, the Toyota Land Cruiser with 6,027 sales and 4.7%, the Toyota Prado up one spot to #4 at 5,672 units and 4.5% and the Toyota Camry down one to #5 with 5,542 sales and 4.4%. Thanks to strong performances in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman, the Hyundai Elantra is up to #6 with 3.3% share, swapping position with the Hyundai Accent #7 at 3.1%. The Toyota Land Cruiser Pick-up, Toyota Yaris and Hyundai Sonata round up the Top 10 like in the 2012 ranking.

Ford Expedition

Once again extremely strong in Saudi Arabia, the Ford Expedition resists at a fantastic 11th place with 2,417 units and 1.9%, to be compared with 3,219 sales and #100 in the USA in August… Other great performers this month in the Gulf Cooperation Council include the Kia Cerato up 3 ranks on June to #12, the Nissan Sunny at #19, the Nissan Altima up 3 to #21, the Toyota RAV4 up 18 to #26, the Kia Sportage up 14 to #27, the Chevrolet Malibu up 4 to #36 and the Ford Taurus up 19 to #40.

Nissan Armada. Picture by Wajahat Mahmood, all rights reserved.

Further down, notice the Ford Fusion up 15 spots to #47, the Chevrolet Aveo up 8 to #50, the Chevrolet Sonic up 64 to #52, the Hyundai Veloster up 15 to #59, the Lexus RX up 7 to #60, the Hyundai i20 up 23 to #62, the GMC Savana up 29 to #63, the Ford Focus up 21 to #69, the Honda City up 40 to #71, the VW Touareg up 28 to #74, the Nissan Armada up 57 to #78 and the Nissan Qashqai up 51 to #83.

Previous month: Gulf June 2012: Toyota Camry and Ford Expedition up

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

Full July 2012 Top 150 Ranking Table below.