World February 2013 Roundup: Nissan Qashqai pumps up the jam

May 1, 2013
Matt Gasnier

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Better late than never I hear you say and you would be correct. Here come the much awaited February Roundup, albeit in a slightly more succinct version, with the March Roundup coming up very shortly.

Now. I’ve got three words for you this month: Qashqai, HB20 and VWChina…

I know I am going to sound like a broken record but this month (as in March as you already know) the Nissan Qashqai reaches new heights once again in Europe and so I have decided to make it the worldwide star of the month. This model hasn’t stopped turning all the traditional European car sales trends on their heads since its introduction in 2007. Whereas it is basically now 6 years old with a slight facelift, in February it hit a record 5th place in the overall European models ranking, up 4% year-on-year in a market down 10% and by far the best ranking ever reached by a Japanese model on the continent…

Hyundai HB20

In Brazil the Hyundai HB20 is up to an incredible 4th position thanks to 10,179 sales for a record 4.6% share. This is the first time a Korean model manages to sell over 10,000 monthly units and to rank within the Brazilian monthly Top 5. And this could just be the beginning… Launched exactly at the same time, the Chevrolet Onix follows at #5.

VW Lavida

For its part, Volkswagen tightens its grip on the Chinese passenger car market, placing no less than 6 models in The Top 8! The Lavida is #1, the Passat #4, Sagitar #5, Jetta #6, Tiguan #7 and Polo #8… In other news, The Nissan Leaf is up to a world-best 5th place in Norway and the new generation VW Golf is an instant success in Italy, climbing onto the third step of the podium there this month, its first time since… November 1993! It’s the reverse in Switzerland: for the 2nd month in a row and the 4th time in the last 6 months after September, October and January, the Skoda Octavia is the most popular model in the country, above the VW Golf, traditional leader there.

Previous Roundups (one year worth!):

World January 2013 Roundup: Low-cost range brings Renault back

World Full Year 2012 Roundup: Last Year’s Top 5 highlights

World December 2012 Roundup: Has the Chinese invasion started?

World November 2012 Roundup: When Hyundai cracked Brazil

World October 2012 Roundup: China, Japan and Austria in focus

World September 2012 Roundup: Ford Focus shines in China

World August 2012 Roundup: Subaru XV topples almighty Golf in Switzerland

World July 2012 Roundup: Geely CK writes history in Ukraine

World June 2012 Roundup: Hyundai Santa Fe and Ford Focus shine

World May 2012 Roundup: GM and Toyota Etios make headlines

World April 2012 Roundup: Maruti Swift and Mazda CX-5 impress