Saudi Arabia Full Year 2020: MG (+89.4%), Changan (+61%) defy market down -14.9%, Hyundai Elantra #1

MG sales are up 89.4% in a market down -14.5%. Picture yallamotor.com

Discover 30 years of Saudi Arabia Historical Data here.

The continued flux of women drivers entering the Saudi new car market has somewhat dampened the effects of the Covid-19 crisis on sales with 2020 volumes down “just” -14.9% year-on-year to 457.148, one of the best holds in the region. Toyota (-14.2%) almost exactly matches the market to see its share edge up to 27.9% but archenemy Hyundai (-34.9%) sinks from 23.2% to 17.8% share this year. Nissan (-11.3%) also outpaces the market and is rewarded with the third spot overall, dislodging Mazda (-24.1%) from the podium. Isuzu (-7.9%) and Chevrolet (-12.7%) also do well but the best performing brands in the Top 10 this year are Chinese: Changan gains 61% to lift from #10 last year to a Middle-East best of #8 this year with 4.3% share, also a Middle-East record. MG for its part is up an even more impressive 89.4% to go from #11 to #9 with 4.1% share, a Middle-East record. Further down the charts, Lincoln (+124.7%), Geely (+73.6%), Peugeot (+33.9%) and Infiniti (+17.1%) also impress.

The models ranking is fragmenting further, with the Hyundai Elantra (-25.8%) snapping the lead off its stablemate the Hyundai Accent (-47.2%) down to #4. As a result of the Accent’s demise, the Toyota Camry (-19%) and Hilux (-9.2%) both step up one spot to #2 and #3 respectively. The Isuzu TF aka D-Max (-15.3%) is up four ranks to #6, the Toyota Fortuner (-6.7%) is up 3 to #10, the Chevrolet Tahoe (-3.9%) up 7 to #11 and the Kia Pegas (+45.4%) up 11 to #12 for its first full year of sales. Another outstanding performer is the MG5 (+312.5%) up 49 ranks to #16 overall. The Chevrolet Captiva (#28) is the best-selling 2020 launch above the Changan CS35 Plus (#39), Kia Seltos (#49) and Geely Coolray (#55).

Previous post: Saudi Arabia 9 months 2020: MG (+83%), Changan (+67.7%) survive in market down -8.4%

Previous year: Saudi Arabia Full Year 2019: Hyundai Accent and Elantra take control, sales boosted by women (+30.6%)

Two years ago: Saudi Arabia Full Year 2018: Toyota Camry repeats at #1, market down 23.4% despite women now able to drive

Full Year 2020 Top 35 All-brands and Top 100 models vs. Full Year 2019 figures below.