Last year of European reign for the VW Beetle... * See the Top 3 best-selling models by clicking on the title! Many thanks to Flavio * This is the oldest official sales data I have about Europe, and it shows the VW Beetle in the lead with 439,200 sales ahead…
1970 Ford Falcon, Argentina spec * Many thanks to Bruno for making this post possible! * After leading the Argentinean new car market in 1965, the Ford Falcon reclaims the pole position in 1971 thanks to 26,135 sales, and in 1972 with 25,312 units. Bizarrely, it reaches its highest annual…
The VW Beetle is the best-selling car in Finland in 1972. * See the Top 50 All-brands and Top 50 models by clicking on the title * New car sales in Finland are up a stunning 34.5% in 1972 to 100.760 units, according to BSCB record the first annual six-digit…
Simca 1100 15/09/2026 update: Now with Top 36 brands ranking. The French new passenger car market gains 11.5% year-on-year in 1972 to 1,637,540 units. This is a new record. Renault (+18.1%) easily outpaces its home market to reach 31% share vs. 29.2% in 1971. Citroen (+1.5%) and Peugeot (+3.7%) are…
Ford is the best-selling carmaker in Ireland in 1972. We now have access to a Top 10 brands ranking for Ireland for 1972 which is the oldest data we have for this market. 62,603 new cars found a buyer that year. Ford dominates the charts with 22.6% share above Fiat…
1971 Chevrolet Vega While going through old issues of Wheels Magazine at the Sydney State Library I fell upon some info on the US car market in 1972: then the VW Beetle's domination of the small car segment was being threatened by the new Chevrolet Vega... Despite fire-risk carburettor and…
Fiat 128 * See the Top 60 best-selling models by clicking on the title! Many thanks to Andrea * Launched in 1969, the Fiat 128 becomes the best-selling car in Italy in 1972 and sells 239,675 units over the first 11 months of the year. During the same period the…
The Peugeot 204 is #1 in France for the third year running. Total Passenger Car sales (including imports) in France add up to 1,468,888 units. French brands including CV is at 1,370,014 (+13%) and with PC+LCV only at 1,288,403 (+13.7%). For the first time we have a complete brands ranking…
Fiat 600 * See the Top 55 All-brands and Top 50 models by clicking on the title * Finnish new car sales drop a steep 18.2% year-on-year in 1971 to 74.907 units and the brands ranking is completely reshuffled, now truly displaying Italian, Japanese and Russian influences. Fiat (+26%) ignores the surrounding…
1968 Austin Morris 1100 * See the Top 10 best-selling models for each year by clicking on the title! * The UK new car market hits a bump in the road over the period with sales stable in 1968 to 1,103,862 but down 13% in 1969 to 965,410. It rises…
Fiat 500 * See the Top 30 best-selling models by clicking on the title! Many thanks to Andrea * 1970 and 1971 are the last two years of reign for the legendary Fiat 500. Over the first 5 months of 1970 it still sells 140,111 units, down 13% over the…
Volvo 144 * See the Top 10 best-selling models by clicking on the title! Many thanks to Rene * Norwegian car sales are up 16% year-on-year to 81,472 registrations. Massive event in 1971: after 12 consecutive years of VW Beetle leadership, the Volvo 140 Series becomes the most popular model…
Volvo 142 * See the Top 7 best-selling models by clicking on the title! Many thanks to Rene * In 1970 the Volvo 142/144 manages to hold close to 19% share of the Swedish market, or more than double the score of the #2, the Saab Sedan V4 (96) at…
Second straight win for the Peugeot 204 1,212,381 new French vehicles were delivered in France in 1970 (including commercial vehicles), a -3.6% year-on-year drop. PC and LCV are down -3.1% to 1,133,548. PC only for all brands stands at 1,296,628. Renault (+1.5%) takes off to 39.2% share in first place…
Fiat 600 * Many thanks to Bruno for making this post possible! * Launched in 1960, the Fiat 600 is met with amazing success in Argentina, even being the best-selling car in the country in 1969 and 1970. It would be produced to a massive 300,000 units over its 22…