Best Selling Cars Around The Globe: Who Is Really The Winner In California?

Matt Gasnier
by Matt Gasnier

Last time I opened my mouth we went on an exhausting worldwide roundup that crowned the new generation Toyota RAV4 as the most impressive performer. So this time I thought we should just relax and enjoy the sights of California.

Sales by state is a rare luxury so please indulge…

…but don’t expect too many pick-up trucks or Fords or Chevrolets though…

See the Top 15 best-selling models in California here

California is the largest state in the USA in terms of new car sales, and over the first Quarter of 2013 it is up a massive 13% year-on-year to 403,658 registrations, to be compared with +7% in the USA overall. Toyota doesn’t separate sales of different Prius models in sales statistics by state, so as a result the Prius family is once again the best-selling ‘model’ in California with 15,661 sales and 3.9% share.

However the Honda Accord can be considered the most popular unique model here thanks to 15,369 units sold and 3.8% share, passing the Toyota Camry (now and Honda Civic (now that were both above it both over the Full Year 2012 and Q4 2012. So a very satisfying performance for the Accord really benefiting from the ‘new’ generation of the model…

Toyota Corolla

See the Top 15 best-selling models in California here

The Toyota Corolla also registers a very impressive gain, up to #4 with 14,188 sales and 3.5% vs. 2.2% over Q4. This means the 5 most popular cars in California over the period are all Japanese! In fact, Japanese brands represent 48% of the Californian car market vs. 37% in the US as a whole, while US brands account for 28% of sales vs. 45% in the US overall and European marques are at 16% vs. 9%…

The Ford F-Series remains the best-selling domestic model, up one spot on 2012 to #6 at 8,806 units and 2.2%.

Tesla Model S

See the Top 15 best-selling models in California here

In fact Ford brings two additional models in the Californian Top 15 this year: the Focus is up to #10 with 6,637 sales and the Fusion is up to #12 at 6,507 units. With the Chevrolet Silverado at #14 this makes 4 US models in the Top 15 vs. just two last year.

Would American brands be starting to reclaim Los Angeles streets?

Finally, notice the Tesla Model S selling 2,406 units or roughly half of all its total US sales over the period!

Check out also:

California (USA) Full Year 2012: Toyota Prius new leader

California (USA) Q4 2012: BMW 3 Series and Mercedes E-Class up

That’s all for today!

Matt Gasnier, based in Sydney, Australia, runs a blog named Best Selling Cars Blog, dedicated to counting cars all over the world.

Matt Gasnier
Matt Gasnier

More by Matt Gasnier

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 5 comments
  • Chicagoland Chicagoland on May 30, 2013

    "...the 5 most popular cars in California over the period are all Japanese!" Um, not a surprise at all, an '!' as if it's something never heard before? Biggest surprise is 'only' 48% market share, I expected higher, with all the talk about CA being nearly all Asian makes on freeways.

  • SCE to AUX SCE to AUX on May 30, 2013

    No Leaf sales in Q1? Something's missing from the data.

  • EBFlex It’s ironic that the typical low IQ big government simps are all over this yet we’re completely silent when oil companies took massive losses during Covid. Funny how that’s fine but profits aren’t. These people have no idea how business works.
  • Ajla Goldman Sachs 🥂
  • Rna65689660 DVR and watch all that are aired. Has been this way for 40 years.
  • Kwik_Shift_Pro4X The only car racing I'll watch is rally car.
  • Offbeat Oddity The price is definitely too high, but this generation of Accord has still been very reliable- not far off from the Camry. I believe the CVTs in these have held up very well, so while not ideal, it wouldn't deter me- the mileage is just way too high.
Next