Our whirlwind tour around the planet takes you to a new country every week. We have explored 72 destinations so far, and they are all listed below.
Each title is also the link to the full article.
If the Nissan Leaf has struggled to make itself noticed in most parts of the world, it’s a completely different story in Norway…
Even though it is basically a facelifted version of a 6 year-old model, the Nissan Qashqai continues to turn all car marketing knowledge upside down, still breaking record after record…
It’s no secret that Chinese brands have been struggling in their home market. Is this about to change though? Yes sir…
World Full Year 2012: Discover the Top 1000 (yes. One Thousand.) best-selling models!
For the first time in the history of the internet and cars, you have access to the 1000 best-selling cars around the globe. So enjoy!
Mexico Full Year 2013: The only country where Nissan is #1
There is a new #1 in the models ranking in Mexico this year, and surprisingly it’s not a Nissan…
Canada Full Year 2012: A historical year
A very significant milestone was passed in Canada this year…
France Full Year 2012: Last hurrah for the Renault Clio III
More Toyotas, less Renaults, Peugeots and Citroens… Discover more by clicking on the link above.
World January 2013 Roundup: Low-cost range brings Renault back
Renault is struggling, but its Dacia models could save them. Volvo and the VW Lavida shine…
Indonesia Full Year 2012: Someone’s become a millionaire
Record year for the Indonesian new car market, discover the best-selling models by clicking on the link above…
Italy Full Year 2012: A historical year
There are a few main reasons why this is a historical year for new car sales in Italy, and they are not all positive…
Israel Full Year 2012: No more Mazdas please, we want Fords!
Lots of changes in the Israeli new car market in 2012… Find out about them by clicking on the title above.
Indian Full Year 2012: Maruti Suzuki first millionaire carmaker…
Indian consumers bought a lot of Marutis this year, but Renault lodged the most impressive performance…
Russia Full Year 2012: Lots-of-Ladas-but-not-only
It’s a transition year for the Russian market, with the old guard passing the relay to the Lada Granta…
Europe Full Year 2012: VW Golf still the favourite, Nissan Qashqai impresses
Discover what the Europeans bought in 2012: a lot of German cars, a few French ones and a couple of locally-built Japanese…
This month and for the first time in the history of automobile, a Chinese model tops the ranking in 3 different countries. To discover which ones, click on the title above.
Different month, same leader… To discover it and the 149 following models, click on the title above.
China Full Year 2012: Ford Focus triumphs
The Yankies do in China what they couldn’t do in the States: dominate the Passenger Cars ranking… See the all-models ranking by clicking on the title above…
Have a guess which model stepped into the 2nd spot… You can check out the Top 150 models by clicking on the title above.
For its first full month of sales in the country, the locally-produced Hyundai HB20 breaks into the Brazilian Top 10 for the first time for a Hyundai model, making the brand on track to repeat outstanding performances in India and Russia…
Check out how the 260 models on sale in the US fare in November, and notice the Ford F-Series and Honda Civic shining…
Only one Japanese in Chinese Top 50, the Toyota Aqua #1 in Japan and the VW Tiguan #1 in Austria are the main worldwide events this month. Click on the title to find out more…
World: Toyota Corolla Victim of the Japan-China tensions…
Discover the Top 150 best-selling models worldwide and which car managed to pass the Toyota Corolla to become world’s best-seller in September 2012…
10 things I don’t understand…
Over the years there has been a few things I haven’t got my head around. Simple things, odd things or stupid things, a bit like a nagging voice in the back of my head. So I decided to put them all in one article – check them out by clicking on the title.
In October as a result of the tensions between China and Japan, the Nissan Sylphy was the only nippon car in the Chinese Top 50… See the entire Top 280 ranking by clicking on the title above.
Iraq: One of the Top 10 emerging engines of growth
General Motors, Chrysler and… Iran Khodro dominate in Iraq. For more details, click on the title above…
Australia: The Toyota Camry is now the best-selling locally produced model
Big surprise in October: the Camry passes all Holdens to become the best-selling local model…
Poland: Where have all the FSO Polonez and Polski Fiat 126p gone?
Once the kingdom of FSO and Polski Fiat, Poland now buys Skodas, Dacias, Toyotas and Nissans like everybody else really…
The Japan-China diplomatic row may be all the Ford Focus needed to become the best-selling car in the world…
The 170 best-selling cars around the globe over 8 months 2012
Has the Focus passed the Corolla? How do the Chinese fare? Discover it all by clicking on the title…
California: If you’re going to San Fransisco…
…make sure to drive a Toyota Prius as it is the best-selling car in that State. Discover which other models sell well there by clicking on the title above…
Except from Ford and Jeep, American brands don’t do very well in Puerto Rico where Japanese and Korean models dominate the ranking…
USA: The best-selling cars in the 10 wealthiest zip codes
Ever wondered how the other half lives? Explore what cars are bought in the Top 10 wealthiest zip codes in America. Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Range Rover and… Toyota Prius all get a tick, American brands not so much…
Between Peugeot withdrawing from the market under pressure from General Motors and local manufacturers Saipa and Iran Khodro halving their production in reaction to the government setting the price of domestic cars, 2012 is shaping up to be a very eventful year for the Iranian automotive industry… All the details by clicking on the title!
USA: What Hybrid and Electric cars sell best?
This segment is up 75% year-on-year in the USA, and if all hybrid and electric cars were one model, it would rank #2 overall below only the Ford F-Series… Discover which models sell best in that segment by clicking on the title.
Russia: Big changes in the models ranking
18 months after my last update on Russia, there has been a lot of changes atop the ranking including the arrival of the Lada Granta, Hyundai Solaris and Renault Duster…
While sales of Japanese cars in China are hurt by the recent anti-Japanese demonstrations, let’s have a look at what the Japanese buy at home across 3 different rankings: ‘normal’ vehicles, kei cars and imports…
Europe: Discover the 325 best-selling models
If the top sellers are familiar, there is one Frenchie pointing its bonnet up in the Top 10 while one Nippon reaches never-seen-before heights…
The Subaru XV topples a legend in Swizterland, Brazil car sales break records and the VW Up! is up and coming… Check out the other worldwide big news by clicking on the link above…
Whereas the VW Golf has been dominating sales in Switzerland for close to 40 years, in August we witness a Japanese earthquake there…
To mark the 11th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, let’s have a look at the cars Americans bought in 2001. A couple of records were beaten then and it was the only year in the last 15 that a Honda led the Passenger Cars ranking…
The Africa Project
Today I am launching the Africa Project, to try and bring African countries to a similar level of data and car sales information as the rest of the world. If you have car sales data on any African country make sure you click on the link above and comment!
The Geely CK is the first Chinese model to lead an export market, the Peugeot 208 is #1 at home in France and the Subaru kicks taillights in Europe… Check out the other worldwide big news by clicking on the link above…
Is the Ford Focus finally outselling the Corolla? Maybe. How high in the ranking is your car? Check it out by clicking on the link above… (now updated with the Top 120 best-selling models over the first 6 months 2012)
Discover where this milestone event happened by clicking on the link above…
UK: Discover the Top 347 best-selling models in the Olympic country
As the London Olympics are in full swing, it’s a good opportunity to have a thorough look at all models sold in the country, from the Ford Fiesta to the Vauxhall VXR8.
World Roundup June 2012: Hyundai Santa Fe and Ford Focus shine
The new gen Santa Fe takes the lead in its native country while the Focus is in pole position in China for the very first time… Check out the other worldwide big news by clicking on the link above…
2012 will stay in the history of automobile as the year the Chinese started manufacturing cars in Europe… and so far sales have been good, with Great Wall entering the Top 10 best-selling brands in Bulgaria over the first 6 months of 2012…
In June over 30,000 Chevy Malibus found a buyer, the highest monthly sales figure for the nameplate in over 30 years… Are Americans ready to buy American passenger cars again?
Only 6 nameplates have managed to sell over one million units worldwide in a single year, the first of them being the Ford Model T. To see the others click on the link above…
20 years ago the second generation Ford Taurus was launched to great success, becoming the best-selling passenger car in the country and selling a still unmatched 409,751 units. Click on the link above for the entire Top 189 models ranking…
General Motors is back in shape and delivers a record month both in the US and in China while the Toyota Etios starts its international career after warming up in India…
Now a hit in China, the Ford Focus has climbed to #2 worldwide in April behind the Toyota Corolla. But can it ever become #1?
Discover what the best-selling cars in France have been for each year since 1949, from the Renault 4CV to the Citroen Ami 6 and note that the legendary Citroen 2CV never topped the charts.
Monaco is the richest country in the world so it should be no surprise to see a range of very luxurious models close to the top of the best-sellers ranking…
If for our last round-up the focus was on the success of the Toyota Prius family worldwide, this time India is under the spotlight with a once in a decade event…
Given how much you love big rankings, I thought I’d give you the 100 most popular models worldwide. Corolla and Prius neck to neck… To see it all click on the link above.
It’s just another month in China: two new brands appear in the monthly models ranking as well as 10 all-new models… Had you heard of the GAC Trumpchi or the Gonow Aoosed before? Discover them and what is selling best and worst by clicking on the link above.
This month it’s not the Corolla that leads world sales but the Prius… Is this the start of the revolution everyone had been waiting for?
Discover which cars sell the most (and the least) over the first Quarter of 2012 in the USA. Hint: the Honda Element is not last…
A lot has happened since my last update on Russia one year ago: the Lada 2105-7 and Samara were killed off and the Granta was born to name just a few…
After years of domination of Chevrolet, Hyundai is the best-selling brand in the country this year but a Toyota leads the models ranking…
Based on the success of last week’s worldwide ranking, I now give you an exhaustive European models ranking, with the VW Golf clearly on top and the Toyota Corolla and Camry nowhere to be seen…
Earlier in the year I published a Top 10 world’s best-selling models based on an article from Forbes. I had issues with that ranking and I said so to you all, so I decided to get to work and create a solid Top 100 for you to enjoy…
The Bolivian car market is very much skewed towards SUVs and 4WDs with 25 of those in the estimated Top 30 best-sellers! For more, click on link above…
In Burma/Myanmar there are very few new cars and a lot of 1992 Corollas…
The Russian heritage has long gone in Georgia, with Toyota trusting a few of the top spots in the models ranking…
In Chile ‘Chevrolet’ and Nissan fight a very tight battle. So American and Japanese cars are very popular. Or is it Chinese and Korean cars? Click on title to find out…
Yep, I didn’t think you’d be very familiar with that part of the world… well there’s only one way to know more about it! (That is to click on the link above just so we are clear)
Over 20 years after independence from the USSR, the Belarus car market is finally distancing itself from Russian cars…Or is it really?
Once ultra-dominant, Mazda has started to lose its grip on the Israeli market and is no longer the best-selling brand…
Oman consumers have decided: they will only buy Toyotas!
The Czech Republic is, logically, the kingdom of Skoda, but with Skoda’s range expanding every year the brand now has a stronger hold than ever on the best-selling models ranking…
That Volkswagen is the most popular brand in Germany, it’s a given. But in 2011 it went further than usual…
After 4 years of Peugeot 207 domination, the Renault Clio is back in pole position in 2011. Citroen also achieves a couple of milestones with its C3 and Dacia places the Duster in the Top 10, the first time an SUV does so in France!
Forbes released their estimated list of the world’s best-selling cars in 2011. I don’t agree with everything…
Icelanders used to buy lots of 4WDs and SUVs but the 2008-2009 economic crisis turned its car market upside down…
New Caledonia is a French Territory located East of Australia and its (tiny) car market is traditionally dominated by the Ford Ranger and the low-cost SUV Dacia Duster…Until a landmark event happened last November…
The car market is Zimbabwe, shy at best, imploded like the rest of the economy in the mid-noughties and it’s hard to ascertain whether it is back on the up again. One thing is certain, the Toyota Corolla dominates…
Another country where Toyota dominates, particularly the Hilux reaching new heights thanks to the new generation. Volkswagen tries a low-cost solution with success while Mercedes and BMW excel…
Romania is the country of the Dacia Logan, Sandero, Duster and Lodgy – find out how they perform at home…
At first sight, the best-selling models in Canada look very similar to the US ones, but not so! Click on the title above to discover the favorite models there…
Volvo still dominates Swedish best-selling models, placing 4 cars (incl. 3 station wagons) in the Top 8 in October 2011. Saab models are nowhere to be seen in the Top 50…
With Japan, South Korea is one of the world’s most “import-averse” countries. Hyundai and Kia place 9 models in the Top 10…
How times have changed… In 1975 the Oldsmobile Cutlass and Ford Granada were America’s favourites…
Toyota sells small Daihatsu-engineered MPVs there with great success, in a booming market…
General Motors is going from strength to strength in the country, placing 3 models in the Top 4 in September. The Buick Excelle leads…
In a market up 48 percent year-on-year, Chevrolet places the Aveo and Spark on top. Renault is also strong with the Sandero and Logan…
Cambodia and the USA have one thing in common: their love of the Toyota Camry! Discover why the streets of Phnom Penh are filled with Lexus SUVs whereas the brand does not officially operate in the country…
This week we are travelling in time to have a look at the best-selling cars in the US 25 years ago… The Chevrolet Celebrity is the best-selling passenger car and the Top 6 best-selling vehicles are all American…How times have changed!
Government measures to cut ties with the USA actually mean 8 of the 10 best-selling cars in the country are American! Find out how this is possible by clicking on the title above…
Specific Indian import taxes mean the Bengali car landscape is very different to its neighbour India. Toyota holds 80% of the market…
Malta is a tiny island in the Mediterranean Sea, midway between Italy and Tunisia. The Toyota Yaris should be leading the models ranking there, followed by a few more small cars, while the Nissan Juke has had a great start…
In a relatively dynamic car market compared to its neighbours, animals rule the savannah and are only marginally threatened by Toyotas on the country’s roads…
Israel is the only country in the world where Mazda is the best-selling brand. The Mazda3 is the best-selling model there with a market share sometimes as high as 12%. If fact, Mazda also tops the mini segment with the Mazda2 and the large segment with the Mazda6…
Landlocked between Russia and China, you would assume the Mongolian car landscape would be a mix of Ladas and Chinese cars. Not so. Hyundai has established a solid grip on this market, with numerous generations of Accents, Ponys, Lantras and Sonatas clogging the streets of Ulan Bataar…
18 months after the dramatic earthquake that ravaged the country, the most frequent cars on Haitian roads are pick-ups as they are the perfect tool to rebuild a shattered economy. Ford and Nissan are more successful, while consumers that can afford a new car also tend to buy Japanese 4WDs…
Norway: Volkswagens tough enough for extreme conditions
In Norway, cars are required to do one thing: work. Start in the morning by -30 degrees and not fail in the middle of a lonely snow-covered road in some remote part of the country… And that, Volkswagens and Toyotas can do, which is why they have dominated the models ranking in Norway over the last 12 years…
Very few new cars, but a constant flow of used Toyota Corollas imported from every corner of the world keeps pouring into Afghanistan, so much so that 90% of cars in circulation in the streets of the country are Corollas! White, early 90′s German-built ones are the most popular…
Toyota and Lexus combined are estimated to hold almost half of the Saudi car market, with the Camry, Corolla, Yaris and Land Cruiser fast sellers. Click on the title above to see a video of a Saudi specialty: drifting in traffic-filled streets with a Camry!
Nigeria produces more movies than Hollywood and they feature the latest 4WDs from the US. Toyota holds one third of the market and should place the Corolla, Hilux and Camry on the podium….
New car sales have been free falling in debt crisis-riddled Greece for the last 3 years. Traditionally fond on larger, compact cars, the Greek consumer now buys a majority of cars, with the Opel Corsa, Toyota Yaris, VW Polo and Ford Fiesta in the top spots.
Hyundai and Chevrolet dominate Egyptian car sales: the Hyundai Verna, Accent, Elantra and Chevrolet Lanos and Aveo are favorites. Chery builds cars in a Cairo factory formerly owned by General Motors and rebrands them ‘Speranza’ exclusively for Egypt with great success.
The Cuban car market is one of the most emblematic in the world and its structure is a fascinating testimony of the country’s last 60 years history, from vintage Americans from the 50′s to Communist Ladas in the 70′s and 80′s to Hyundais and most recently Geelys from China…
Now the car expert that you are can show off while watching the news: “That’s a Kia Cerato Forte, right behind that cloud of teargas” – or a Hyundai Elantra, as these two models seem to be dominating car sales in Syria…
In the last 15 years, only two models have managed to top the monthly sales ranking in Pakistan: the Toyota Corolla and Suzuki Mehran. Now if you were thinking that all this time Suzuki had been hiding away in Pakistan, manufacturing a great car that no one knew about, you’re in for a bad surprise…
Albania has probably the highest concentration of Mercedeses anywhere in the world, with 1 in 3 cars in circulation a Mercedes! The most common new cars are luxury SUVs like the Range Rover, BMW X5 or Porsche Cayenne. But how rich are they really, those Albanians?
To celebrate the Kate and William’s Royal Wedding, we go to Britain and notice two things. One: the Royals are well equipped with Rolls Royces, Bentleys, Range Rovers, Jaguars, Aston Martins, carriages and horses. Two: the real people buy Ford Fiestas, and the best-selling car in Britain has been a Ford for the last 40 years.
Mexico is the country in the world where Nissan is the most successful. Not Japan. Not even an Asian country. And a 1991 model, the Nissan Tsuru, has been dominating Mexican sales for the last 6 years…
The evolution of the car market in Ivory Coast over the years is fascinating, and is marked by 3 distinct phases: 1. Peugeot king of the savannah, 2. Toyota and Asian 4WDs dominate, 3. China settles in and flogs their low-cost 4WDs…
India: It’s all about Bollywood and Maruti Suzukis The Indian market is fascinating because: 1. Market growth is sustained and therefore a lot of models beat their volume records month after month, 2. The car landscape is totally unique with models designed specifically for India (Tata Nano, Toyota Etios…) and 3. They mostly speak English, so we understand them (if they speak slowly).
Unbeknownst to many, Iran is the biggest car market in the Middle-East with over 1 million cars made and sold each year. Cars produced and sold in Iran are a mix of obscure Iranian cars and very familiar European cars you probably didn’t associate with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s country because the manufacturers involved keep it pretty discreet…
Lada models still rule, 20 years after the end of the Communist era and the opening of the market to competition. The best-selling car in the country is the Lada 2105/2107, unchanged since 1979 and derived from the 1966 Fiat 124…
Yemen is very similar to a lot of its middle-east neighbors in the fact that Toyota has established a seemingly unassailable domination of the market. The valiant Toyota Hilux should be the best selling vehicle there, as it has a near bullet-proof base for a light (or even heavy) machine gun…
Now here is something I bet you didn’t know: the only car manufacturer in North Korea is
Pyeonghwa Motors. It has the exclusive rights to car production, to new and used car sales in North Korea and is the only company in the country permitted to advertise. That should make the sales ranking pretty straight-forward… And straight-forward it is…
The Spanish car market was hit full frontal by the financial crisis and continues to fall in 2011, down 28 percent in February. In this context, the Spanish consumer has been buying national more and more, with the iconic Seat Ibiza the best-selling car in the country…
In February 2011, the Fiat novo Uno was the best selling car in Brazil, kicking the Volkswagen Gol into second place. In the last 15 years, this has happened only 4 times, and the previous times it was the Fiat Palio that managed that feat. The end of an era in Brazil?
This is where I introduce my (nerdy) method for finding out which cars are the best-sellers in countries that don’t provide official data. It’s amazing the number of videos people upload of themselves driving in the streets of any given city in the world. Boring? Not so! Libya is easy because a few models keep popping up in the streets of Tripoli…
Never before had Argentineans bought that many cars, with the annual 2010 figure the highest ever in the country, and the 100,000 monthly sales mark passed for the very first time in January 2011. Argentina is the country where VW launched its first heavy-duty pick up, the Amarok…
Matt Gasnier, based in Sydney, Australia, runs a blog named Best Selling Cars, dedicated to counting cars all over the world.
Germany Full Year 2012: Volkswagen sovereign
Despite its British origins, the Ambassador is deemed as a definitive Indian automobile and is fondly called “The king of Indian roads”. The automobile is manufactured by Hindustan Motors at its Uttarpara plant[1] near Kolkata, West Bengal.
Mobile Mechanics Perth
Norway is a maritime country warmed by the Gulf Stream, so most Norwegians live in a mild climate, unless they’re in thinly populated Finnmark, which would be the only place to see 30 below regularly (is that in C or F?). I know our Norwegian relatives never see the winter temps we regularly get in Minnesota.
I think their choice of vehicle has more to do with road holding ability on the notoriously twisty Norwegian roads and fuel economy in a country with some of the highest fuel prices on the planet.
-40 C = -40 F so it really doesn’t matter much
There are lots of Mercedes in Albania, that one episode of Top Gear did not lie. If older Corollas go to Afghanistan to die, then older Mercedes go to Albania to die! Also to comment on Russia and the Lada, they are also all over the Ukraine. People who live just outside of Kiev’s city center sell produce out of the trunks of their Lada’s. The Lada Niva is one of the coolest cars I’ve seen. It’s like a lifted VW golf on steroids.
What about Ecuador? Chevy has 70% of the market there. You should see how many Chevies there are on the road: http://blog.rvinyl.com/2012/11/13/chevy-cavalier-3-must-have-mods/. My cousin works for GM and it’
s insane how many dealerships they have.
I think it would be interesting to see some of the factors at work here. Perhaps there’s a correlation between marketing and the amount of that company’s vehicles being more popular in that area. I’m sure there are other reasons but I would love to see why they are popular in the places they are, what’s working for them there?