Saudi Arabia January-July 2016: Hyundai Accent & Elantra take charge

The Hyundai Elantra ranks #2 in Saudi Arabia so far in 2016. 

* See the Top 43 All-brands and Top 306 All-models by clicking on the title *

The Saudi new car market marks a pause in 2016 with sales over the first seven months of the year down an abrupt 17% year-on-year to just 406.860 units. Market leader Toyota falls even faster at -27% to 124.390 deliveries, resulting in a reduced 30.6% market share vs. 34.8% a year ago. Reversely, Hyundai (-2%) goes from 20% last year to 23.8% in 2016 and Nissan (-4%) from 6.8% to 7.9%. Inside the Top 10, Isuzu (-34%) and Ford (-21%) lose share but GMC (-3%), Chevrolet (+5%) and, spectacularly, Mazda (+47%) gain some. Outside the Top 10, only Infiniti (+1%), Renault (+8%) and Suzuki (+24%) gain ground year-on-year.

The Mazda6 (+234%) almost breaks into the YTD Saudi Top 10. 

Model-wise, the Hyundai Accent holds onto its newfound leadership thanks to sales down just 7% to 29.971 but the surprise is the 2nd place of the Hyundai Elantra (-17%), overtaking the Toyota Hilux (-38%) – market leader over the Full Year 2015 – and giving the Korean manufacturer a majestic 1-2. The Toyota Corolla (-22%) and Camry (-12%) complete the Top 5 while the Hyundai Sonata is up 38% to land at a brilliant 6th place with 16.902 sales. The other big surprise so far in 2016 in Saudi Arabia is the taking off of the Mazda6, up 234% on the same period last year to stop just 600 sales short of a spectacular Top 10 ranking (#11). Let’s also notice the Hyundai Tucson (+28%), Kia Optima (+22%), Ford Taurus (+16%) and Nissan Patrol (+12%) all managing double-digit year-on-year gains inside the Top 20. The Hyundai Creta (#45) is the most popular newcomer.

Previous post: Saudi Arabia January-April 2016: Hyundai Accent takes the lead

Previous year: Saudi Arabia Full Year 2015: Toyota Hilux and Hyundai Elantra on top

Full January-July 2016 Top 43 All-brands and Top 306 All-models below.