Panama Full Year 2018: Toyota Hilux reclaims lead, Toyota Rush and Nissan Kicks strong

The new generation Toyota Rush is an instant success in Panama.

New vehicle sales in Panama are down a steep 10.6% year-on-year in 2018 to add up to 50.889 units. All segments are down, but sedans drop the most at -18.8% to 17.524 vs. 21.590 in 2017, for the first time slipping below SUVs (-5.4% to 18.501) while pickups drop 4% to 7.703, luxury vehicles edge down 0.9% to 2.410, trucks are down 9.8% to 1.546, buses down 8.4% to 1.127, vans down 10.1% to 888 and minivans down 14% to 885. However in November (+32.6%) and December (+22.6%) the market spectacularly rallied back, which could indicate growth is on the horizon for 2019.

Toyota remains by far the most popular carmaker in the country with 21% share, distancing Hyundai at 15.4%, Kia at 13% and Nissan at 12.4%. Suzuki rounds up the Top 5 ahead of Honda and Mitsubishi. Chevrolet (#8) and Ford (#9) are the only non-Asian brands in the Top 10. Model-wise, the Toyota Hilux reclaims the lead off the Kia Rio for the first time since 2014, with the Hyundai Accent, Toyota Yaris and Kia Picanto closing the Top 5. The Nissan Frontier and Toyota RAV4 follow while the Nissan Kicks is inside the Top 10.

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Full Year 2018 Top 58 All brands and Top 20 models below.