In the last couple of weeks, we have travelled to France, Germany, Czech Republic and Oman. Today we fly North to land in Israel.

Now if you’re already Middle East-ed out after one week in Oman, that’s ok because I have prepared 159 additional countries for you to visit in my blog, so don’t be shy and click away!

For those of you who have been meticulously reading my articles week after week you will remember that we have already been in Israel back in August last year. Oh yes but at that time the only ‘data’ I had access to was from 2010 and it was very incomplete. Plus a lot of change has happened since, with Mazda not dominating anymore!

So jump into it after the jump…

Over the Full Year 2011, the Israeli new car market reached the record level of 225,949 registrations, up 5 percent year-on-year. Surprise surprise: Mazda is no longer the best-selling brand in the country with Hyundai taking a definitive advantage at 33,060 units and 14.6 percent share vs. 21,145 and 9.4 percent for Mazda…

But Mazda gets a consolation prize: for at least the 7th consecutive year, the Mazda3 is the best-selling model in Israel, with Australia the only other country in the world where it leads. However while in 2009 it commanded 12 percent of the market, this year it is down to 5.2 percent and 11,642 sales…

…only 221 units above the Toyota Corolla, #2 at 11,421 units and 5.1 percent share.

The Hyundai i30 rounds up the podium with 8,901 sales and 3.9 percent, the first of 6 Hyundais in the Top 25! Compact cars are definitely the favourite car size in Israel with the Chevrolet Cruze at #4 with 6,909 units and the Ford Focus at #5 with 6,286 sales.

The Hyundai i20 is the best-selling small car at #6 and 6,098 units, followed by the Mazda2 at #7 and the Suzuki Alto at #8. The Kia Rio and Renault Fluence close the Top 10.

Israel Full Year 2011 Top 30

Two US imports otherwise pretty discreet in the region rank within the Top 70: the Chevrolet Malibu at #55 and Buick LaCrosse (instead of the Opel Insignia) at #63. You can check out the Israel Full Year 2011 Top 80 here…

But wait there’s more: in January 2012, the Israeli market has gone into a spin…

And this is your mammoth-size golden nugget for the week… If you won’t shine in post dinners this week with that one, you’ll get your money back:

For the first month of the year, the Israeli car market is up 3 percent year-on-year at 20,194 registrations, and both brands and models ranking are totally upside down! Brand-wise, Kia takes the lead with 2,126 sales ahead of Ford (2,104) and 2011 leader Hyundai (2,019). Toyota and Skoda also sell more than Mazda, down 65 percent on January 2011 and the uncontested favourite brand in the country up until 2010…

In the models ranking, the Ford Focus flamboyantly takes the top spot with 1,719 sales and a mammoth 8.5 percent market share, compared to #5 and 2.8 percent in 2011.

It is followed by the Seat Ibiza at 1,034 units and 5.1 percent vs. 1.7 percent and #13 in 2011…

…and the Skoda Fabia with 711 sales and 3.5 percent (vs. 1.1 percent and #26)! The Toyota Corolla is down to #4 at 3.4 percent, ahead of the Kia Rio and Skoda Octavia.

Leader for at least the last 6 years, the Mazda3 is down to a worrying 7th place at 526 units and 2.6 percent share. Kia places 3 models in the Top 10 with the Forte at #8 and the Sportage at #9 while Hyundai lodges 5 cars in the Top 20: the i25 (aka Accent) is #14, the i10 #15, the i20 #16, the i35 (aka Elantra) #17 and the i30 #19. Notice also the Nissan Juke up to a brilliant 11th position and the Ford Edge up to #46.

Israel January 2012

You can check out the Israel January 2012 Top 55 here

And now you’re even more of an expert on Israel car sales than you were last August!

Till next week…

Data sourced from es.autoblog.com

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

From the good old days of 2007…

“Is that yours?” Millions of car buyers spend billions of dollars hoping that this statement will be born of admiration rather than pity. When these words come out of a car dealer’s mouth at trade-in time, they can be especially hurtful– even if the salesman is as honest as their spiel is long. That’s the moment when most car buyers finally discover whether or not their automotive “investment” has walked off a cliff and fallen into the financial abyss known as depreciation.

Here’s how to avoid the freefall.

It simply can’t be stressed enough. Depreciation is the mother of all automotive operating costs. Even if gas soars to four bucks a gallon, depreciation STILL represents the biggest hit to the car owner’s wallet.

To wit: The average cost for a new car in these great United States currently hovers around $30k. After seven to eight years–  still a few years less than the ever-increasing average amount of time American new car buyers hold onto their whips– the car’s owner will be looking at a depreciation rate somewhere between 65 percent and 85 percent.

In other words, come trade-in time, they’re facing an average loss between $19,500 and $25,500. That’s before any considering of the “opportunity cost” (i.e. money lost by NOT investing the cash in a house/money market/alpaca farm). Or inflation.

Bottom line: if you want to avoid depreciation, forget about buying a new car… or even a near-new car.  Yes, a new car offers warranty-related peace of mind and late model vehicles can be purchased as certified pre-owned models. . But it’s an extremely expensive security blanket. A carefully-selected used car may need repairs. But in most cases, repairs of those expenses still cost a lot less than depreciation.

If you’re willing to forgo that new(ish) car smell, figuring-out your buying pattern is the next step. There are two basic buying types: Keepers (keep cars for the long haul) and Traders (trade them in after a few years).

Many Keepers are ready, willing and able to enjoy a vehicle for well over a decade. “Keepers” believe their car should be a cruising companion until the point where the perceived risk of owning it (usually the cash outlay for major repairs) outweighs the fact that ownership itself eventually costs them nothing/virtually nothing.

In the automotive world they are what we call “married.”

The key to being a successful Keeper: marry genuine quality, not reputation. Say what you will about “import bigots” and brand loyalty. The automotive market is a place where perceived reputation translates into dollars and cents.

Toyotas and Hondas routinely receive price premiums– even though many of their products fall far short in value and performance as compared to their peers. By the same token, overlooked or unloved models represent an excellent way to keep the hounds of depreciation at bay.

In most cases, car buyers get more bang for their buck (power, features, etc.), lower up-front costs, and lower depreciation costs simply by buying a used example of a less well known/accepted car. Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Buick– there are plenty of brands that sell excellent products that simply fail to capture the public imagination. The fact that these cars take a huge initial hit on depreciation works entirely in your favor, both buying and selling.

For example, if you’re looking at a midsized commuter, a 2004 Buick Century or 2004 Oldsmobile Bravada, both of which finished first in J.D. Power’s dependability study and received strong ownership ratings, will cost thousands less to purchase than a comparable Camry, Accord or Pilot. Remember: badge snobs must pay for the privilege.

The Trader is a different animal. They are looking at a shorter time horizon than the Keeper. They require a different strategy.

To avoid depreciation, Traders are best off buying a carefully vetted seven to nine-year-old car of their choice. At that point, depreciation has exacted the majority of its revenge.

With due diligence, Traders can get a superb return on their money. The average seven-year-old car kept for two years experiences minimal depreciation (20 percent or so). The average nine-year-old car experiences even less, and so on. It’s a simple but highly effective buying pattern.

And then there is the Sage. The Sage can buy nearly anything and make a buck at it. Yours truly has enjoyed hundreds of vehicles over the last few years– and it’s only taken huge chunks of my free time to do it. Mechanics, auto auctioneers, wholesalers, retailers and hobbyists will always have an edge when it comes to depreciation costs. We know what’s hot, and we know plenty of people who appreciate hotness.

Again, wisdom comes at a cost. Sages don’t pay for depreciation (much), but their insight requires years of hard work, money (mistakes are never free) and a feel for the auto biz’ cycles of fashion and fame.

Whether you’re a Keeper, Trader or Sage, remember: a car is an expense. It may excite you or be a daily nuisance, but it is still an expense. By minimizing depreciation you will avoid the single largest cost in the process. With that money you can save the world, buy groceries or save up for your next car.

Detroit had a big comeback last year. Let’s look how big. And let’s discuss whether Bloomberg is right when it predicts that “U.S. automakers led by General Motors Co. may lose share in their home market this year.”

U.S. Automakers By Market Share Gain/Loss 2011

These are automakers, ranked by their gain (or loss) of share in the U.S. market for the full year of 2011.  The big gainers are Chrysler and Hyundai (incl Kia,) followed by GM and Volkswagen. “Big gainers” is relative. Each of the carmakers on top of the list had double digit (in the case of Volvo even triple digit) growth rates. However, when the year was over, the ten carmakers that gained market share only dislodged a combined 4.4 percent of the market. Who lost it?

Let’s go to the bottom of the list. There you see the tsunami victims. Toyota lost a whopping 2.35 percent of the market, more than half of the total market share that had been gained at the top of the list. Toyota is followed by most of the Japanese makers. But oops, amongst the losers is also Ford. Ford gained 9.4 percent in 2011. But with an overall market gaining 10 percent, that gain translates into a loss of share. Market share is brutal. You need to grab it from someone else. And you need to make money while you do it.

The list also provides a partial answer to the question many people asked in private after March 11: Who benefits from the tsunami?

What about this year? Bloomberg asked five analysts that very question. Bottom line answer:

“The U.S. automakers may each increase sales by less than the total market’s growth this year, according to all five analysts surveyed. While falling unemployment, rising consumer confidence and the need to replace aging vehicles will drive demand, increased Japanese output and improved competition from Korean brands and Volkswagen AG will test Detroit’s discipline on protecting profit rather than simply selling products.”

The analysts think that the Detroit Three “may drop a combined 1.3 percent of U.S. market share in 2012.”

That may not sound like a lot. Consult the table, and you will see that it would eat up most of the gains two of the three made in 2011. Who will take that share away? Says Bloomberg:

“Asia’s largest automaker, Toyota, may capture 13.8 percent of the U.S. market this year, from 12.9 percent last year, and Tokyo-based Honda may take 9.5 percent, from 9 percent, analysts estimate.”

That’s already 1.5 percent. Volkswagen will grab 0.3 percent, Hyundai 0.1 percent, think the analysts. Who else than the Detroit 3 is in for a haircut? Except for Nissan, which is predicted to experience a 0.2 percent slide, no other losers are mentioned in the Bloomberg story.

Who do you think will gain or lose?

Over the past few weeks, I have taken you on trips through The Entire World (yep!), France, Germany and Czech Republic. This week we fly over to the Sultanate of Oman…

Now if sand, rocks, blue sky and very sugary candy are not your thing, I don’t believe you – but hey that’s fine because I have prepared 159 additional countries for you to visit in my blog, so don’t be shy and click away!

Oman consumers have decided: they will only buy one brand of cars…

…well almost.

168,789 new vehicles were registered in the Sultanate of Oman in 2011, that 61 per thousand inhabitants, compared to 41 in the USA.

For most of the year the Toyota Hilux was the best-selling model in the country, but a weak month of December due to Thai supply issues brought it down to #2 with 18,996 sales and 11.3 percent market share.

The massive Toyota Land Cruiser, an icon in the Persian Gulf region, finishes the year as the best-selling model in the Sultanate in 2011 with 19,444 units sold and 11.5 percent market share.

In third place we find a Toyota: the Land Cruiser Pick-up sells 13,896 units for a 8.2 percent market share

In 4th position is a… Toyota, the Prado at 6.3 percent,

The 5th best-selling model this year in Oman is a… Toyota, the Hiace at 3.8 percent. Did I mention Oman loves Toyota? No? That’s awkward because the #6 best-selling model is also a Toyota, the Corolla at 3.6 percent share…

… as well as the #7: the Camry at 2.9 percent.

Yes, you read it right! The 7 best-selling models in Oman in 2011 are all Toyotas! Talk about a love story…

But wait there are also non-Toyotas in the ranking: first of them is the Kia Cerato at #8 with 4,485 units and 2.7 percent but it is the Nissan Sunny (#9 at 2.3 percent) that reached the highest monthly ranking for a non-Toyota in Oman this year at #4 in December.

Notice also the Lexus LX at #13, bringing the Land Cruiser family’s market share in Oman to an insane 28 percent!

Oman 2011 Top 30

You can see the Oman 2011 Top 100 best-selling models Ranking here.

Now for the golden nugget so you can shine at posh dinners this year: Oman is one of four countries in the world with Bahrain, Qatar and possibly Somalia (my estimation on that last one) where the Toyota Land Cruiser is the best-selling model!

Over and out for this week!

Thanks for listening.

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

Over the past couple of weeks, we have traveled to Iceland, The Entire World (yep!), France and Germany. This week again we won’t go too far and cross just another border to land in the Czech Republic.

Now if beer, beer, Prag and beer are not your thing, I don’t believe you – but hey that’s fine because I have prepared 159 additional countries for you to visit in my blog, so don’t be shy and click away!

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…

Car sales in Czech Republic are up 2 percent in 2011 at 173,282 units and Skoda monopolizes the podium like in 2010:

The Skoda Octavia is the best-selling model in the country for the third consecutive years albeit with sales down 8 percent to 23,661 units and 13.7 percent share.

The Skoda Fabia stays #2 with 16,532 sales, up 6 percent…

… and the Skoda Superb rounds up the podium at 4,659 units, up 4 percent.

Both Korean in 2010, the Top 2 best-selling foreign models are German this year: the Ford Focus is up 4 spots and 26 percent on 2010, thanks to the new generation to #4 and 4,536 sales or 2.6 percent of the market…

…and the VW Golf is up 2 ranks and 7 percent to #5 with 4,128 units and 2.4 percent share.

They are followed by the Skoda Yeti down 1 spot and 7 percent at #6…

…the Kia Cee’d (-9 percent) at #7…

…and the Hyundai i30 (-16 percent) at #8.

The only two Skodas not ranking in the Top 10 are the Roomster at #13…

…and the all-new Citigo at #81 but already #15 in December.

Outside the Top 10, great 2011 performers include the Renault Thalia up 51 percent to #11, Hyundai i20 up 98 percent to #12, Dacia Duster up 344 percent to #17, Hyundai ix20 landing directly at #19 and Kia Sportage up 101 percent to #26.

Czech Republic Full Year 2011 Top 30

You can see the Full Year 2011 Top 150 ranking here 

For the golden nugget this week you will have to click here to discover Historical Data for Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia up to 1969! Obviously a Skoda model has led sales all the way since then…

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

Over the past couple of weeks we have traveled to New Caledonia, Iceland, The Entire World (yep!) and France. For this week, we are just crossing the border to go to Germany.

Now if sauerkraut, Oktoberfest, Mercedes and BMW are not your thing and you’ve had enough of Europe already, I’m surprised – but hey that’s ok because I have prepared 159 additional countries for you to visit in my blog, so don’t be shy and click away, ach ja!

Well this year in Germany for the first time ever a certain brand monopolizes the podium…

But before I delve into the results for 2011 in Germany, I’d like to do a quick newsflash on December sales in particular as something special happened in Germany.

The main event in December is the 22nd place of the VW Up! with 3,058 sales and 1.3 percent share for its first true full month of sales in the country. This means that the new Up! is instantly reaching a level that the Audi A1 took a full year to get to for example – albeit not in the same price range. It will be fascinating to follow the Up!’s sales throughout 2012 as this is a category VW has struggled with in the past…

…with the Fox…

…and the Lupo

Over the full year, car sales in Germany are up 9 percent on 2010 to 3,173, 634 registrations. The VW Golf leads for the 31st consecutive time with sales up 3 percent to 258,059 units, its third strongest volume of the last 10 years.

For the first time ever in Germany, Volkswagen monopolizes the year-end podium with the Passat up a massive 56 percent to 103,507 sales and 3.3 percent share at #2…

…and the Polo down 6 percent to 90,720 units and 2.9 percent share at #3.

The Opel Astra (+19 percent)…

and Mercedes C-Class (+11 percent) both lose one spot to #4 and #5 in spite of growing sales…

…the Opel Corsa is up 2 ranks to #6 and passed the Polo twice in the monthly ranking this year…

…the Ford Focus is up 14 percent to #9…

…and the BMW 5 Series up a very healthy 30 percent and 6 spots to #10. It is only the second time since the launch of the 5 Series nameplate in 1972 and the first time since 1990 that der Fünfer manages to rank within the German year-end Top 10!

The Audi A6/A7 has a fantastic year, up 45 percent to #18, and even managed to be the brand’s best-seller for a couple of months. However it is the first time since 2000 that there is no Audi in the Top 10 and only the 2nd time in 26 years…

Foreign models-wise, the Skoda Fabia (#16) and Octavia (#17) are in the lead again…

…but Skoda being 100 percent owned by VW, the first ‘true’ import is the Hyundai i30 at #26 (+7 percent) followed by the Nissan Qashqai at #27 (+35 percent) and Renault Megane at #31 (+4 percent).

Notice also the BMW X1 up 26 percent to #25…

…the Audi A1 landing at #30 for its first full year of sales at 28,932 units and 0.9 percent share, breaking into the Top 20 in November…

…the Ford C-Max up 175 to #33…

…and the Peugeot 508 the best-performing all-new model at #92.

 Germany’s Top 30, full year 2011

You can also see the Top 300 here

 Germany’s Top 30, December 2011

You can also see the Top 50 here

Now for the traditional golden nugget: In the luxury segment, the Mercedes CLS multiplies its sales by 5 to 6,248 units at #117, the Porsche Panamera is up 27% to #148, the VW Phaeton up 47% to #161, BMW 6 series up 130% to #182, Mercedes SLS AMG up 40% to #206, Ferrari 458 Italia up 55% to #247 and Rolls Royce as a whole is up 66%.

And there you are, a total expert on the German car market look at you!

Source: www.kba.de, www.autobild.de

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

Click here to view the embedded video.

Over the past weeks we have flown into Zimbabwe, New Caledonia, Iceland and The Entire World (yes Sir!), this week it is time to stop in my own country, France. Yes I know I am confusing you, I am based in Australia but come from France… Only the French…

Now if Paris, baguettes, berets and grumpy old men are not your tasse de cafe au lait that’s ok, rest assured I won’t be offended because I have prepared 159 additional countries for you to visit in my blog, so don’t be shy and click away, oui oui!

Well this year in France the best-selling model had not been in that position in 5 years…Oh la la!

French car sales are down just 2% in 2011 at 2,204,065 in 2011, which is an outstanding performance in the current economic context. For the first time since 2006 the Renault Clio 3rd generation is the best-selling car in the country with 123,827 sales and 5.6 percent share, stable on last year. Boosted by heavy promotions on its petrol version, the Clio hit the 3rd generation’s highest market share in September at 9.4 percent.

It is the 13th time in the nameplate’s 20 year-life that the Clio finishes the year in pole position in France, making it the 2nd most successful nameplate below the Renault 5/Supercinq (14 times). The first year the Clio was #1 was 1992 when it sold 233,209 units for a 11.1 percent market share - See all the years the Clio ranked #1 here.

Losing its crown for the first time in a full year (it was #1 since its first full year in market in 2007), the Peugeot 207 is #2 with 103,321 sales and 4.7 percent share, down 19 percent. A difficult year for Peugeot’s best-seller but its successor the 208 has already been unveiled and will go on sale in March 2012.

Helped by the new generation of the model now if full swing, the Citroen C3 is up 8 percent on 2010, climbing up to #3 with 79,364 sales and 3.3 percent share. It is the first time a Citroen ranks on the French podium in 26 years! Since the Citroen BX was #3 in 1985 with 7 percent of the market…

The C3 is only the 6th Citroen to claw its way onto the annual French podium since 1945 with the Traction Avant, 2CV, Ami 6, GS and BX.

It is followed by 3 Renaults: the Mégane at 78,861 units (-1 percent)..

Twingo at 68,265 sales (-26 percent)..

and Scénic at 66,360 units (-12 percent).

Boosted by a light facelift, the Peugeot 308 is up one spot to #7.

Best-selling foreign model for the 2nd year in a row, the VW Polo takes advantage of a fantastic end of year to gain 10 percent and 4 spots on 2010 to #8 at 53,582 units and 2.4 percent share. This is the highest year-end ranking reached by a foreign model in 15 years! Since the Ford Fiesta ranked #8 in 1996…

The next two models make their first appearance ever in the French year-end Top 10: the Peugeot 3008 continues to progress at +7 percent and +2 spots on 2010 to #9 with 53,297 sales and 2.4 percent share. It broke into the monthly Top 5 for the first time in May at #5.

The Dacia Duster is the success story of the year: it sells 51,612 units for its first full year, landing at #10. This is the first time in the history of the automobile in France that an SUV/4WD ranks within the year-end Top 10. The Duster ranked #1 for one week in April and broke into the monthly Top 5 for the first time in November at #5.

The new generation Citroen C4 ramped up all through the year to break into the Top 10 in December, finishing 2011 at #12.

Excellent performance of the Citroen DS3 up to #17 with 33,015 sales and 1.5 percent share…

…and the Nissan Qashqai breaking into the French year-end Top 20 for the first time at #19, up 17 percent. It is one of only 5 foreign models in the Top 25 below the Polo, Ford Fiesta, VW Golf and Opel Corsa (Owned at 100% by Renault, Dacia is considered a French brand). It is also the first time ever Nissan manages to place a model in the French year-end Top 20.

All-new this year, the Peugeot 508 lands directly in Top 20 with 28,507 sales, already leader in its category ahead of the Citroen C5 (#24), Renault Laguna (#26) and VW Passat (#36). Further down the ranking, the Ford C-Max up 67 percent to #27, the Nissan Juke landing directly #32 and already flirting with the monthly Top 20 and the Audi A1 the brand’s best-seller straight from its first full year at #45.

France Full Year 2011 Top 30

You can see the Full Year 2011 French Top 392 here

You can see each year’s best-selling models in France since 1949 here. (Scroll down to the table and click on the year to see the detailed ranking)

And now for the golden nugget: the Renault 4CV you can see in the video at the start of the article was the first mass-produced car in France and the first one to pass the 1 million units mark. It was unveiled at the 1946 Paris Motor Show, started production in August 1947 and already sold over 50,000 units for a mammoth 29 percent market share in 1950! See the Top 15 best-selling models in France in 1950 here.

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

Click here to view the embedded video.

In our whirlwind journey across the planet, over the past couple of weeks we stopped in South Africa, Zimbabwe, New Caledonia and Iceland. This week I will make it easy for you and will cover the entire world all at once…

Yes it is possible.

Now if this is way too much for you to absorb, that’s ok too because I have sales info for 160 countries for you to visit in my blog, all one by one. So don’t be shy and click away!

Back to the world.

Forbes has recently released its estimated list of the world’s best-selling models in 2011. As I spend my time counting cars all around the globe I’m sure you can imagine how hard it was for me to mask my excitement when I discovered that list…

Yes but.

There are a few things in their list that I am not too sure about…so follow me please over the jump.

#2

The main event in 2011 is the fact that the Hyundai Elantra, outside the Top 10 in 2009 and 2010, is now the second best-selling nameplate on the planet with over 1 million units sold (1.01 million to be exact)…only 10,000 units below the Toyota Corolla! Yes sir, who would have thought the Elantra, with the new generation only one year old, would already threaten the Boss itself… Remember though that included in this figure are the two generations of the model that were on sale this year.

Now selling more than 1 million units in a single year is a feat not many cars have achieved in the past, and it is the first time a Korean model does so! A very, very significant benchmark indeed. Other millionaire cars that come to mind include the Ford Model T, VW Beetle, Chevrolet Impala, VW Golf, Ford F-Series and of course the Toyota Corolla.

#1

So yes, Corolla still #1 in spite of tsunamis and floods that disrupted its production, but just. Moreover, it is unclear whether that 1.02 million figure includes the Auris hatchback, sold in some markets (Australia, South Africa) as a Corolla… If it does include the hatchback, then the Hyundai Elantra is the runaway leader.

#3

In third place worldwide we find the Wuling Sunshine with 943,000 units sold. The Wuling Sunshine is a commercial minibus and the best-selling vehicle in China. Now I have reservations on this number because the Sunshine would have sold around 740,000 units in China this year and I’m not sure where the additional 200,000 sales come from…

#4

Then in 4th position is the Ford Focus, now with a unified design all around the world, with 919,000 sales. This in spite of a slow start for the new generation that ranked 7th in Europe.

#5

At #5 we have the Kia Rio/Pride with 815,337 units. This is an interesting one: yes, as a nameplate the Rio sells that much, but this figure is composed of 3 very different cars. Approximately 500,000 units are of the 1987 first generation Pride sold in Iran under a joint-venture with Saipa where it leads the market by far, the rest is a mix of 2005 Gen 2 and 2011 Gen 3…

#6

#7

#8

#9

At #6 comes the Ford Fiesta with 781,147 units, ahead of the VW Jetta at 745,000, Toyota Camry at 726,000 and Chevrolet Cruze at 691,000.

Here again the Jetta figure is composed of very different models: the 1984 second generation in China (pictured above), the 1998 fourth generation in China (called Bora) and Mexico (called Clasico) and the 2010 6th generation everywhere else…

The Cruze figure, nearly double that of last year and making it #9 in the world, is very impressive and reflects its success in as varied markets as the US, China and Australia.

#10

Leader in Europe, the VW Golf is only #10 with 648,000 units, a far cry from the million units it used to sell worldwide around 10 years ago.

Now the Ford F-Series didn’t appear in Forbes ranking but based on US and Canada sales and the fact that it doesn’t sell much outside those 2 countries I have estimated it to be #11 with around 645,000 sales, ahead of the VW Passat and Honda Civic.

Best-selling nameplates in the world in 2011 (according to Forbes)

Now I need to give you ammunition in case people challenge you when you share this ranking at posh dinners…

I’m sure you will notice the absence of such successful nameplates as the Toyota Hilux, Honda Accord, Opel Astra, Opel Corsa or VW Polo and the fact that there is no French car in the ranking.

Here are the explanations:

The Honda Accord sold around 230,000 units in the US, down 14%, and America is still by far its strongest market as the model doesn’t sell well in Europe or Asia, so no chance.

The Opel Astra, Corsa and VW Polo, although very successful in Europe where they sold between 280,000 (Astra) and 360,000 units (Polo), are not exceptionally strong anywhere else, preventing them to reach the highest ranks.

As for French models, again they are only truly popular in Europe, moreover both the Renault Clio and Peugeot 207 are at the end of their career, with their replacement both due in 2012 so even their European figures are not flash this year.

Last but not least, the Toyota Hilux. If you are an avid reader of my weekly updates you will know that the Hilux is estimated to be the best-selling model in no less than 33 countries around the globe. So the logic would dictate that you should at least see it in the worldwide Top 10, right?

Yes but 22 of these countries are in Africa where the volume are really low, with Thailand being its highest volume earner at around 100,000 units. So at maximum you are looking at 350,000 to 400,000 sales worldwide for the Hilux, which could possibly get it a spot in the Top 20, but certainly not in the Top 10…

There.

The world’s best-selling models have no secrets for you anymore.

But please feel free to fire any questions you have, I will do my best to answer them.

Figures were sourced on Forbes, except for the Ford F-Series which is my estimate.

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

Over the past few weeks, we flew over Romania, South Africa, Zimbabwe and New Caledonia. And what could be the complete opposite of a paradisiac island with white sandy beaches currently right in the middle of Summer? Try one with only a couple of hours of daylight, right in the middle of a traditionally very intense Winter: Iceland.

For those of you dear readers for which geography was not the forte at school (yes you in the back with the red shirt, I’m talking to you), Iceland is a lovely island up north of the Atlantic Ocean roughly midway between Greenland and England. Just don’t visit it in winter because 1) everything is closed, and 2) blink and you missed daylight. Iceland was under the spotlight so to speak last year when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano (say that word very very quickly so we can have a laugh) erupted, causing widespread air travel disruption.

If very very very long winter nights by the fire are not your thing, that’s OK, I’m with you, and this is why I prepared 159 additional countries for you to visit in my blog, so don’t be shy and click away!

Now. Cars. Yes. It’s a car site after all. The Icelandic car market, although very limited, has gone through a radical transformation since the economic crisis of 2008-2009…

You see Iceland being a rough country with some unsealed roads and all, 4WD are actually justified, not just for dropping the kids at school (they walk to school anyway because it’s around the corner). That is, if you have enough $$ to buy them.

Pre-crisis, there were a lot of 4WDs and SUVs among the best-selling models in Iceland. Precisely 11 in the Top 20. And if the Toyota Yaris (no, not a 4WD) was #1, the Toyota Land Cruiser ranked #2 (admire it above in location – picture taken by myself yes sir)…

…the Toyota RAV4 was #5 and the Land Cruiser 200 was #7.

Then the crisis hit.

And the car market in Iceland was annihilated. At its worst, it was down 89 percent year-on-year over the first 5 months of 2009. Over the full year 2009 it was down 76 percent at 2,132 units. Since then it has slowly crept back up but is still nowhere near its pre-crisis levels: up 46 percent in 2010 at 3,106 units and a further 66 percent over the first 11 months of 2011 at 4,771 registrations. To be compared to 15,942 in 2007…

And with the crisis, a completely new set of cars appeared atop the best-seller rankings. The most recent data I have is already one year old and covers the first 7 months of 2010 but the difference is already striking. Much less 4WDs, only 2 in the Top 10: the Suzuki Grand Vitara and Toyota Land Cruiser 150.

Instead, it’s a (cold) flood of small cars: the VW Polo takes the lead with a very respectable 9 percent market share…

…followed by the Toyota Yaris at 7.3 percent (in-situ here courtesy of me)…

… then the Suzuki Swift at 6.5 percent

and the Hyundai i30 at 6.2 percent.

In the Top 10, there’s also the Chevrolet Spark…

…VW Golf and Hyundai i20!

And I can’t let you go without the traditional golden nugget that will make you shine in the darkness of boring dinners…

The Icelandic consumer is also rediscovering the joys of more rustic 4WDs, resuscitating the Lada Niva (up to #33)

and the Land Rover Defender (at #39) – granted, this is one overpriced 4WD but hey, it sold just 11 units, not enough to put the government in bankruptcy yet again…

If you want more sales data about Iceland click here.

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

Click here to view the embedded video.

Over the last couple of weeks, we have stopped in Canada, Romania, South Africa and Zimbabwe. And I will continue to surprise you because this week our stopover is New Caledonia. Now before the geeks among you raise their voice, I know, I know, technically this is not a country but a French Territory (and I would know, as I am French oui oui).

If you are not into paradisiac islands with white sand beaches currently in the middle of Northern Hemisphere summer, I don’t believe you but hey that’s still ok because I have prepared 159 additional countries for you to visit in my blog, so don’t be shy and click away!

Now this French Territory located East of Australia is actually 12,000 miles away from Metropolitan France, and therefore its car market behaves very differently from France.

So differently that a landmark event happened there last month…

Traditionally in New Caledonia the Ford Ranger dominates car sales in New Caledonia. It was the best-selling model there in 2009 and 2010 and is en route to reiterate the same feat in 2011. It had been #1 there each month since April all the way through to October…until a landmark event happened last month…

A commonality with the French market, New Caledonians have fallen for Dacia’s low cost 4WD, the Duster. It even managed to lead the market in April and has grabbed the second spot three times since: in May, June and November. That’s because a landmark event happened in November…

Alright I have made you wait long enough. In November and for what I believe is a world first, a Chinese model lead sales outside China! We are talking here about the Great Wall Wingle. Fair enough, it’s a tiny market, not a real country and only 56 units sold were enough for it to grab the pole position, but still, it’s a landmark event.

It almost certainly makes New Caledonia the first territory/country in the world outside of China where a Chinese model is in pole position of the monthly ranking. The Wingle’s previous best in New Caledonia was #6 last July. And very interesting that this would happen of all countries in … France given no Chinese model is on sale yet in Metropolitan France.

A few countries have approached this feat but as far as I know none had managed it thus far (if you know otherwise please let me know): Uruguay with the Chery QQ possibly going up to #2 for a month and Madagascar with the JAC Tojoy on the podium at launch are the other two locations where Chinese models have already made their way towards the Top 3 selling models. Now it’s done: a Chinese export has managed to beat all other models on sale for the space of a month in one territory. It will be interesting to see which country will be next.

And now you can be proud to have witnessed… (hint: start with landmark)

Until next week!

If you want to check monthly rankings since April 2011 for New Caledonia click here.

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

Continuing our whirlwind trip around the globe, we have last stopped in Sweden, Canada, Romania and South Africa. This week I’ve decided I would be creative and take you to the last country on the alphabetical list: Zimbabwe!

If like last week in South Africa, lions, rhinos and zebras are still not your thing, well you’ve got an issue on your hands because there are still a lot of these in Zimbabwe… But hey, that’s ok, because I have prepared 159 additional countries for you to visit in my blog, so don’t be shy and click away!

Now Zimbabwe is in a very particular situation as far as its new car market is concerned…

…and that situation is similar to a country in war: the new car market has slowed down to a grinding halt.

And this is where I need your help: the observations below are based on my trip to Victoria Falls in 2007, and it is very difficult to understand the reality of car sales in Zimbabwe since then. Is the economy recovering? Is it not? If you have recent info, please, by all means comment on the article so we can all know a little more.

So here is what I know.

Outside South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Nigeria and a few others, the new car market in African countries is shy at best. So when Zimbabwe’s economy imploded, what was already a very limited market became close to inexistant.

Based on my observations in the country, the Toyota Corolla is and has been the best-selling model in Zimbabwe for many, many years. A plethora of various generations of the model can be seen in the streets, indicating that its leadership is at least a couple of decades in the running.

It may have been threatened in the eighties by the Datsun/Nissan Sunny as there are a lot of these as well in the streets of Victoria Falls where I stayed.

The Corolla and Sunny are by far the most popular passenger cars in Zimbabwe, with all other popular vehicles being pick-ups.

Surprisingly and contrary to the majority of African countries, the Toyota Hilux is not tremendously popular in Zimbabwe. Instead, the Isuzu KB can be seen at every street corner…

…while the Mazda B-Series and Nissan Hardbody also rather successful.

And ladies and gentlemen, there is not much more to the Zimbabwean new car market than this!

As I said, new car sales in Zimbabwe are a rare and disappearing occurence.

Now.

Have you been in Zimbabwe in the last few years?

Can you add to this article with inside knowledge?

Photos?

Or – controversial – actual sales figures?

It is your turn to unearth the Zimbabwean golden nugget…

Over and out!

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

Click here to view the embedded video.

Over the last few weeks we traveled to South Korea, Sweden, Canada and Romania. It’s been a while since we haven’t been to Africa, so this week I have decided to stop in South Africa.

If lions, rhinos and zebras are not exactly your thing, that’s ok, I’ve prepared 159 additional countries for you to visit in my blog, so click away!

South Africa is a production hub, and this has an impact on the best-selling cars there, on either side of the scale…

The South African market is in great shape in 2011: in November it is up 11 percent at 49,499 registrations and up 16 percent year-to-date at 526,223 units. Toyota and Volkswagen are masters in South Africa with the first one grabbing a 23.1 percent market share in November and the second one at 15.2 percent. Both brands produce in the country and the majority of their models sold in South Africa are produced there. They even export roughly half the amount they sell.

For Mercedes and BMW it’s a different story. The two German brands are respectively 6th and 7th in the manufacturers ranking, a very high position in itself, but interestingly they both export exactly twice as much as what they sell in the country.

As a whole, South Africa currently exports vehicles to over 70 countries, mainly Japan (around 29% of the value of total exports), Australia (20%), the UK (12%) and the US (11%).

Now to the best-selling models which is, as you know, my specialty.

Thanks to the new generation recently arrived in dealerships, the Toyota Hilux has reclaimed the title of South Africa’s best-selling vehicle it held since 2008. With 4,335 sales and an outstanding 8.8 percent share of the market in November, it even lodges the best score from any model in the last 7 years, and possibly ever but my data is not exhaustive enough to be able to affirm this with 100 percent certainty. Still, an amazing performance that augurs well for the new generation Hilux’s career in South Africa.

Now having the Toyota Hilux as the best-selling vehicle is far from extraordinary I hear you say, and you would be right given South Africa is estimated to be the 33rd country to be in that position. But with such a strong penetration it is up there with Thailand (where it is produced) as one of its strongest markets in the world.

Holding the pole position for most of 2011 and up until last month but now down to 2nd place, the VW Polo Vivo is an interesting exercise in low-cost by Volkswagen, a similar one to what Nissan is doing with the Tsuru in Mexico. Up until 2010, VW South Africa kept the first generation Golf, yes the one dating back from 1974, in the catalog with continued success. It was renamed the CitiGolf and ranked within the Top 10 during all these years with only minor changes due to its low price.

As the new generation VW Polo arrived in 2010 , VW stopped the CitiGolf production and kept the old gen Polo, a raging success in the country already (#1 in 2006 and 2007), in the catalog, renaming it Polo Vivo.

And it worked, even better than the CitiGolf in its time. The Polo Vivo was the best-selling model in South Africa for most of 2011′s first half…

…with the new generation Polo taking the 3rd spot!

Toyota is also strong in passenger cars, placing the Corolla/Auris #4.

Ford is also trying a low-cost solution in South Africa (as well as India) with relative success, placing the Figo, basically a stripped down previous generation Fiesta, #6 year-to-date.

Illustrating the low-cost/premium paradox in South Africa, the Mercedes C Class holds an impressive 7th place year-to-date in South Africa, nearly as high as in Germany, perhaps because South Africans have access to premium models at … relatively low-cost, having them produced there.

The BMW 3 Series ranks #10 so far this year.

South Africa November 2011 Top 30

South Africa Year-To-Date  2011 Top 30

Now for the little nugget: South Africa is proving to be one of the most welcoming countries (with Japan, Finland and France) for the Nissan Juke: already #19 for its second month of sales in the country.

And there you go, just like that you have become an expert in South African car sales…

You’re most welcome.

You can see the Top 80 best-selling models in South Africa in November 2011 here.

You can see monthly reports for South Africa in 2011 here

You can see South African historical data up to 1973 here

Sales figures are sourced from NAAMSA.

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

Over the last few weeks we took you on a trip to the USA in 1975, South Korea, Sweden and Canada. We are back in Europe this week to stop in the country of Dracula, Romania.

If the prospect of visiting the eerie forest of Romania is a little too scary for you, think of it as another Twilight movie. Scarier still? Thought so. This is why I’ve prepared 159 additional countries for you to visit in my blog, so if Romania is not your cup of blood, click away!

Now. For those thick-skinned of you who are on for the trip. Romania is the country of Dacia. Dacias everywhere… But who is Dacia I hear some of you ask…

Well. Dacia is the main Romanian car manufacturer (with Aro) and always had close links with French manufacturer Renault, and in 1999 Renault bought Dacia, to make it their low-cost center.

The first completely new model to be launched by Dacia was the 5,000 euros ($6,700) car, which ended up being more like the 6,500 euros ($8,700) car – but still a bargain for its size – aka the Dacia Logan. What happened after the launch is interesting. First, it shot straight to the top of the ranking in Romania, grabbing no less than 33 percent of the market in September 2004 for its first month, and improving to a high of 44 percent in May 2006. Yes that’s 44 percent for a single model.

You can try searching, no other model dominates the sales that much in any other country in the world. Go on, search the 160 countries in my blog…

Then, the success was such that Renault had to rethink its original decision to not make the model available in Western Europe. ‘Grey ‘ imports reportedly started occurring and Renault finally launched the Dacia Logan in France among other countries in 2005 within Renault dealerships but in a separate area, without TV advertising, and to great success: it reached #15 in France in November that year, and went on to peak at #7 in December 2007.

Today, the Dacia Logan has managed 86 consecutive months atop the Romanian ranking and still commands close to 27 percent of the market 7 years after its original launch. Impressive.

But Dacia doesn’t just manufacture the Logan. In 2008 a hatchback based on the Logan was launched: the Dacia Sandero. Interestingly, the Sandero has not been met with great success in its native country: it struggles to get into the Top 10 but ranked #7 in October with 223 sales sales and 2.8 percent share. It is #10 year-to-date.

Conversely, the Sandero has been a clear success in France. It reached an outstanding 2nd place in March 2010, ahead of all Renault models. It also is doing really well in Brazil, where it is sold as the Renault Sandero and regularly ranking within the Top 10 in a very vigorous market.

Next in 2010, Dacia launched the Duster, a crossover SUV. The Duster does really well in Romania, ranking on the podium for most of 2011 and #3 at 3.9 percent market share in October. In France too: The Dacia Duster even ranked #2 there for one week in April this year. And in Brazil where it just launched with a Renault badge, it is already knocking at the Top 20′s door.

The next model to be launched by Dacia is the MPV Lodgy which will be presented at the Geneva Motorshow next March. It will be interesting to see where it fits in the Dacia range success-wise.

Now of course there are not just Dacias sold in Romania. Other very successful models include the Skoda Octavia, very strong at #2 with 6.6 percent share in October…

The Renault Symbol, a Clio sedan only sold in Eastern Europe, at #4… Strangely (or not) it kind of looks more like a Dacia Sandero sedan…

…and the new generation Toyota Yaris at #5.

You can see the Full Top 30 best-selling models in Romania in October 2011 here:

Now for the golden nugget: to be a perfect expert in Romanian car sales you need to know that Dacia actually is the ancient name for the region constitutes much of present-day Romania.

There. You. Are. An expert.

You can check out the Top 50 best-selling models in Romania in October and year-to-date 2011 here

There is also Historical Data for Romania up to 1969 here.

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

Over the last couple of weeks you had the pleasure to travel to China, the USA in 1975, South Korea and Sweden and this week we are coming back to our very doorstep, Canada.

Yes. Canada. If this is too much for you to bear, I understand and this is why I’ve prepared 159 additional countries for you to visit in my blog, and I can tell you it is extraordinarily good, so click away!

At first sight, the best-selling models in Canada are very similar to those in the US…

But in fact they are not…

The Ford F-Series has been the best-selling pick-up in Canada for 45 consecutive years. Compare that to 34 years in the US. It even beat its volume record in 2010 with 97,913 units sold in a single year… whereas in the US, the record reached in 2004 (939,511 sales) is all but unattainable nowadays. The F Series is the best-selling vehicle in Canada both in October with 6,950 sales and over the first 10 months of 2011 at 81,570 units sold.

As far as passenger cars are concerned, the Honda Civic, it is on its way to be the best-selling passenger car in the country for the umpfourteenth consecutive year. Thanks to the new generation just arrived in dealerships, it is number 3 overall in October with 4,974 sales and number 4 year-to-date at 42,748 units. #1 passenger car in both rankings. Note the Honda Civic was never the best-selling passenger car in the US, this privilege being reserved to the Honda Accord in the nineties and in 2001.

Had the new generation not been launched this year, the Civic would have been in danger of losing its title and the lone culprit would have been the Hyundai Elantra. With the new and improved generation launched in late 2010, the Elantra went from strength to strength in Canada this year and even topped the passenger car ranking for a few months. It is #7 and 3rd best-selling passenger car in October and #5 and #2 passenger car over the first 10 months of 2011 with a shiny 40,051 sales, only 2,700 units below the Civic…

Trucks are back in fashion in Canada in the same way they are in the US. Below the F-Series, the RAM posts very strong figures, much stronger than in the US: it is #2 overall with 5,386 sales in October and 53,833 sales over 10 months.

But the surprise comes from General Motors. With the GMC Sierra at #4 with 4,639 sales and the Chevrolet Silverado at #5 with 3,805 units (notice the reverse order vs. the US), the twin trucks from GM do much better than the F-Series at 8,444 sales vs. 6,950, an performance they are far from accomplishing in the US.

The Toyota Corolla disappointed in 2011, falling from #4 over 2010 to #10 over the first 10 months of 2011. It is however #6 in October.

In 9th place in October but #3 over 2011 we find the Dodge Grand Caravan. Yes Canadian have been having a 20-year+ love story with the Grand Caravan, placing it on the overall models ranking podium almost every year, a score much superior to its US performance. Does it start better on snowy mornings? Canadian friends could you please unlock this mystery for me?

Another trait particular to Canada is the prevalence of small cars in the Top 30: Mazda3 at #10, Chevrolet Cruze at #12 (although in this case this is poorer than in the US), VW Jetta at #13, Hyundai Accent at #17, Toyota Matrix at #18 (yes Canada separates its sales from the Corolla as the Matrix has a life on its own here!), Ford Focus at #19, Nissan Versa at #27 and VW Golf at #29… Canada is starting to look like Australia a little bit – minus the hole in the ozone layer…

A few more models that are much more succesful in Canada than they are in the US: the Dodge Journey, Hyundai Santa Fe and Toyota Venza (#21 in October).

Reversely, some US superstars are snubbed in Canada: the Toyota Camry is only #37!

The Honda Accord is #52, even with the Crosstour!

Canada 2011 year-to-date Top 30
(Through October 2011)

Canada October 2011 Top 30

And the golden nugget to finish: some models available in Canada are not even on sale in the US!

Cue the Mazda2, #56 in October

Or the Chevrolet Orlando, #75 in October for its first full month of sales.

Canada.

A land full of surprises.

And just like that, you’ve become an expert on car sales in Canada.

Without even noticing!

That is all for this week.

Oh wait.

If you want to check out the Top 150 best-selling models in Canada in October 2011 and year-to-date click here.

For 2011 monthly data and historical data up to 2004 click here.

Sales figures are sourced from goodcarbadcar.net, manufacturers and Automotive News Data Center

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

Over the last couple of weeks we traveled in space through Colombia, China and South Korea, and in time through the USA in 1975. This week we are getting icy and hop onto Sweden.

If you are not in for a snowstorm, you are going to struggle through this article I’m afraid! But hey, I’ve also prepared 159 additional countries for you to visit in my blog, and I can tell you it is super good, so click away!

Volvo is still the king of Swedish roads, placing 4 models in the Top 8 last month, while there was no Saab model in the Top 50…

The Swedish car market is in great shape this year, with 252,590 registrations over the first 10 months of 2011, up 8 percent on the same period in 2010. In October though, sales were down 5% at 25,052 units.

We may be on the cusp of a once-in-15-years event as far as the best selling models in Sweden are concerned…

Since 1996, the Volvo V70 has been the most popular car in the country. Yep, that’s nearly 16 years in a row, simply the longest-running #1 in the history of Swedish automobile. No less. For 2011, its title is safe: the V70 has accumulated 17,931 sales over the first 10 months of the year for a 7.1 percent market share… In October it is still Number 1 with 1,883 sales and 7.5 percent share. But 2012 might be a different story.

Launched exactly one year ago, the Volvo V60 – yes, another station wagon, I’ll come back to this – has been improving its scores all through 2011 to reach the 2nd place with 1,724 units sold and 6.9 percent share in October, its best performance so far. Slightly less expensive than the V60 and more modern, it has real chances to upset the cards and become Sweden’s best-selling car in 2012… so stay tuned for an update next year.

Like in Norway, Volkswagen is in a very strong position in Sweden: the Passat is #3 in October with 6.4 percent of the market, and #2 in 2011 year-to-date at 5 percent, while the Golf is #4 in October with 4.1 percent and #3 year-to-date at 4.2 percent.

Now. The 5th place in October goes to the Volvo V50. And that’s 3 Volvo station wagons in the Top 5! So yes, Swedish consumers are very fond of station wagons. They are even the world’s biggest fans of station wagons! So much so that Volvo can sustain 3 large wagons in their range.

The best-selling Volvo sedan in Sweden in October is only 24th and it’s the S60 at just 1 percent share…

…well below the best-selling Volvo 4WD, the XC60 at #8 and 2.1 percent share.

And far as Volvo’s only (kind of) hatchback, the C30, it stands well below the Top 50 with just 76 sales and 0.3 percent share in October, #54 with 1,295 sales and 0.5 percent share over 2011 year-to-date…

Other notable performers in Sweden include the Kia Cee’d at #6 with 2.4 percent share in October, the Audi A4 at #7 and th Renault Megane at #9 year-to-date.

Sweden, October Top 20

Sweden, 2011 Year-to-Date Top 20

And now for the golden nugget, let’s spare a few words for Saab.
The troubled manufacturer cannot even count on its home country to sustain a few sales: the Saab 9-3 only sold 36 units in October for a meager 0.1 percent market share, it is #24 year-to-date at 1.1 percent share, while the Saab 9-5 is at just 6 sales in October a 719 (0.3 percent share) over 2011…

That’s it!

You are now an expert on Swedish car sales – yes you are!

You can also check out the October and year-to-date 2011 Top 50 in Sweden here 

You can check out Historical Data for Sweden up to 1957 here (click on ‘Older entries’ to see older data – doh!)

Sales figures sourced from BIL Sweden

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

Over the last few weeks we have visited Panama, Colombia, China and the USA in 1975. This week I thought we would go back to Asia for a little trip to South Korea.

The kingdom of Hyundai and Kia is up there with Germany and Japan when it comes to chauvinistic tastes: having an import model in the Top 30 best-sellers is a rare occurrence…

If you’re not a fan of Hyundais and Kia, well am afraid this article is not for you! But it’s ok, I’ve prepared 159 other countries for you to visit in my blog, and I can tell you it is 아주 좋은 (very good), so click away!

Hyundai and Kia truly are the kings of South Korea, both accounting for 9 of the 10 best-selling models last month…

The Hyundai Avante (aka Elantra) has been South Korea’s best-selling model for the last 5 months and is in pole position in October with 12,625 sales for a 10.4 percent market share, its highest share since January.

The new generation Kia Morning (aka Picanto) comes in 2nd place for the fourth consecutive month in October at 9,677 units and 8 percent share…

A massive hit (it was even #1 for a couple of months) at its launch last year, the Kia K5 (aka Optima) had slowed down during 2011 but is now back on the podium in October for the first time in 13 months with 9,138 sales and 7.6 percent share.

For a long time the best-selling model in South Korea (from 2005 to 2008), the Hyundai Sonata is 4th this month with 8,791 sales and 7.3 percent share and year-to-date at 85,190 units and 6.9 percent.

The Hyundai Porter is #5 with 7.2 percent, followed by the Hyundai Grandeur at 7.1 percent and the Hyundai Grand Starex and 4.3 percent.

During 2011 all Daewoos produced in the country were renamed Chevrolet and this is why we have the Chevrolet Spark in 8th place with 4.2 percent share.

The Kia Sportage closes the Top 10 with 4,370 sales and 3.6 percent share.

Notice also the Samsung SM5 (aka Renault Latitude) at #11, the familiar Chevrolet Cruze at #18…

and further down the ranking the Kia Pride (aka European Rio) at #21 and the Hyundai Veloster at #26.

 Korea October 2011 Top 30

Korea year-to-date Top 30

When it comes to imports, the figures come with one month delay and for September the BMW 520D and the Mercedes E300. Posh tastes in South Korea! (Notice the Ford Taurus in 10th place!)

Korea Imports Top 10 for September 2011

And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the weekly golden nugget! Well. Some South Korean models that are very successful around the globe are not even sold in South Korea! Fancy that!

Exhibit 1: the Hyundai i20

Exhibit 2: the Hyundai i30 (ok that’s a lie, it actually sells in South Korea but is only #42 with 226 units sold in October…)

Exhibit 3: the Kia Ceed

Exhibit 4; the Hyundai i10

And that’s all for today!

You are now an expert on the South Korean market. Yes sir!

More info on the South Korean car market in October 2011 can be found here, including a Top 40.

More info on the South Korean car market since 1997 can be found here.

Many thanks to DC at www.autoweek.nl and www.bobaedream.co.kr for the data in this article.

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

Someone asked yesterday: “And what exactly is the difference between journalism and blog anyway?” Let me tell you a story:

Last Wednesday, I walked down the shop floor of Nissan’s humungous factory in Smyrna, Tennessee. A monitor pronounced that Volkswagen would end the year as the world’s largest automaker. My stomach knotted.

Two days before, Bloomberg had made the same proclamation: “VW Likely to Overtake Toyota as Top Carmaker in 2011, GM to Remain Second.”

I immediately warned the world that this is nonsense. But it didn’t stop the story from going viral. After all, who are you going to believe, a blogger at TTAC, or the professional journalists at Bloomberg?

The following day, I received a surprising email from someone very high up the food chain at Bloomberg … He confirmed that the story was wrong and that it should have never gone out “with the data the way it was presented.”  The author of the email requested and receives anonymity. Professional courtesy.

The big mistake

Bloomberg had written correctly that analysts of J.D. Power, IHS Automotive and PwC Autofacts see Volkswagen’s sales rise 13 percent, they estimate that sales of GM would gain about 8 percent, while Toyota’s sales should drop 9 percent. 10 months into the year, that’s an easy call.

Then, however, a serious mistake was made. The estimates were “used to calculate the average projections.” By Bloomberg. Bloomberg calculated Volkswagen’s year-end sales as 8.1 million, those of GM as 7.55 million, and those of Toyota at 7.27 million.

You need to know only one number to immediately notice the error: GM’s global sales in 2010 were 8.39 million. If you don’t know that number off the top of your head, you can google it. Add 8 percent growth, and you end up with more than 9 million. Even if you can’t figure a tip without a pocket calculator, it should be evident that 8.39 million plus 8 percent can’t possibly be 7.55 million.

Due diligence

But miracles happen. Allegedly. So as a precaution, I picked up the phone and called all three automakers. After making the requisite noises that they cannot comment on results before the results are in, all three told me that the Bloomberg story is bunk. A knowledgeable contact at GM assured me that I wouldn’t look stupid if I would guess that GM would end the year a little less than a million units ahead of the number 2 contender, Volkswagen.

Bloomberg could have done the same. They didn’t.

They blew the chance to google the right number. They blew the chance to pick up the phone. Instead, they picked the wrong number, or as my emailing contact at Bloomberg put it, “the estimators didn’t start from the 2010 base as reported.” The disaster was in the making.

What is really shocking is that the rest of the media did not notice the mistake either.

Going viral

Instead of landing on Snopes, the story went viral. Everybody, from Autoblog to the Zimbabwe Metro happily told its readers that Volkswagen will be the world’s biggest carmaker this year, half a million cars ahead of GM, and 800,000 units ahead of Toyota. Seasoned experts like Paul Eisenstein of the Detroit Bureau swallowed hook, line, and sinker “that sales will rise 13% this year for Volkswagen – which was the number-three maker for 2010 – to 8.1 million. General Motors will gain 8%, to reach 7.5 million. “

Formerly respected papers like the New York Times, the New York Daily News, The Guardian in the UK, the Chosun Ilbo in South Korea , and the Economic Times in India reprinted the admitted garbage. Solid business papers such as the Financial Times, even the world’s oldest car magazine, Autocar in London, fell for the numerical nonsense. Other wire services like Agence France Presse picked up the gobbledygook. Even Automotive News [sub], who really should know better, stepped into Bloomberg’s trap.

Untold numbers of blogs duplicated the drivel.

It is only a matter of minutes until Wikipedia will crown Volkswagen the world’s largest automaker. After all, the threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is “verifiability, not truth.” And we now have hundreds of reliable sources with the requisite editorial oversight. Or not.

That oversight failed worldwide, except at The Toronto Star. It printed the story, but wisely hedged its bets by commenting that “meanwhile, contrasting analysis at TheTruthAboutCars.com has GM finishing on top for 2011, with VW in second and Toyota in third.”

Twice burned, not shy at all

Seasoned auto and business writers should have been more careful, because they had been burned before. In November 2009, IHS Global Insight, using math bordering on lunacy, crowned Volkswagen as the world’s largest automaker to wide echo in the media. A month later, Volkswagen ended the year in place 3, around 1.2 million behind number one Toyota. IHS, which should have been relegated to counting the moose population of Nome, AK, was one of the experts queried by Bloomberg for this humdinger. To be fair, this time, the error was not that of IHS.

While I scoured the web for someone who has the guts to concede that 8 percent added to 8.39 million can’t possibly be 7.55 million (I finally found a lone voice,) my contact at Bloomberg tried to track down where the error was. Could the Wuling minivans be missing? Could either Daihatsu, or Hino, or both have been ignored at Toyota? After crunching the data looking for faulty logic, my newfound Bloomberg buddy gave up: “I can’t get the number to match exactly.” And he came to the conclusion:

“This looks like a garbage in, garbage out story.”

The B&B chime in

What personally made me sad was that most of our Best & Brightest who did comment on the initial story were likewise duped. They just could not believe that a reputable wire service like Bloomberg can make a simple, but glaring mistake. A lot of the comments were about Bloomberg using sales and silly me using production numbers. Well, first of all, the number to use is production (more on that below.) And second, it does not matter. Whether you use sales or production numbers as a base, in this case, the ranking remains the same.

Whether you use the production numbers reported to OICA (hyperlinked), or the sales numbers announced in the official financial reports (hyperlinked in the table above), you will end up with GM a little less than a million ahead of second placed Volkswagen. The actual numbers don’t really matter at this stage of the game. This is a simple 1,2,3 ranking, and no baseball stats.

Congratulations to commenter KitaIkki: He came to the same conclusions as the Bloomberg honcho: “Garbage in, garbage out.”

Car Stats 101

Following recent incidents, here is, for all business and motor journalists, a little primer on car counting. The small lecture on the use and abuse of auto industry statistics has been given before, but some may have skipped class.

The number that decides the final ranking is the number reported to OICA, the umbrella organization of the worlds automobile manufacturer organizations. Whether you agree with the methodology of OICA or not, use their rules. OICA crowns the king of the hill, you don’t. Esteemed members of the media, dear colleagues of the future telling profession: If you want to predict the future king, then you want to replicate exactly how the king is chosen.

• The reported number is production, not sales. Why? Because only production is halfway comparable around the world. “Sales” is a term of high elasticity and subject to intense interpretation. If Toyota Japan sells a car to Toyota Motor Sales in the U.S.A., then this can be recognized as a sale. On the other end of the spectrum are hard registrations as reported by governmental agencies. Counting units produced is hard enough. There are CKD units floating around the globe. And it is not unusual that there are big differences between the year-end production number and the number reported to OICA for their table that is issued by the middle of the year. Despite the inevitable surprises, always use production numbers.

• The reported number is on the group level, not by brand. A Toyota for instance includes Daihatsu and Hino. Who is part of the group and who is not is decided by the whims of the group’s rulers. Porsche is not counted as part of Volkswagen – never mind that Porsche owns half of Volkswagen and v.v. If Suzuki and Volkswagen would be counted as one, then the whole largest automaker business would be settled for good. But they aren’t counted as one, never mind that Volkswagen thinks of Suzuki as an associate. Hyundai and Kia are reported as one, despite the fact that Hyundai has fewer shares in Kia than when they were counted separate. Even if Renault and Nissan send out the occasional joint press release, Nissan and Renault are not reported as a group to OICA. Go figure. Attempts on logic will fail. Leave it to the people who run the group. Use what each group uses. It is what it is.

• The reported number includes all automobiles from cars to heavy trucks and buses, but no motorcycles. Attempts on arriving at a light vehicle count outside of the U.S. and Canada will end in utter disaster. Don’t do it. Careful: J.D. Power often calculates light vehicle numbers outside of the U.S. Mistaking passenger vehicles for the total is a common mistake. (I am looking at you, Associated Press.) Make that mistake in the U.S., and you suddenly end up with 2.7 million units instead of 7.8 million produced. Nobody would do that in the U.S. – but they do it all the time elsewhere. Japan reports regular vehicles and minivehicles separately. Wade into that morass at your own peril. Instead, stick with the total of all automobiles, and you won’t go wrong. Don’t even bother taking out heavy trucks and buses. They amount to less than 6 percent of the world total, and nobody knows for sure where a minivan ends and a bus starts. Use total automobiles.

• And finally, joint ventures. All cars made by a joint venture are usually recognized as made by the joint venture partner that provides the brand. This may make sense for a Buick or Chevrolet made in China. But why a Wuling? Because GM has a contract that allows GM to count all Wulings as GM’s. This is a matter of intense debate and controversy. You can and should disagree with it, but you should never adjust the numbers. Use the published number, as whacko as it may be.

Any deviation from the above, as sensible as it may be, is the beginning of a debacle. Once you start adjusting the numbers, your base is way off, and you’ll have the dreaded garbage in, garbage out situation that led Bloomberg and the world media astray.

And now for my favorite argument: “Numbers don’t matter!” Sure, everybody (except Volkswagen) says that officially. Sure, officially at the Olympics, it’s the taking part that counts. Both baloney.

Aftermath

Bloomberg killed all mentions of the erroneous story. Easier said than done: The story remains immortalized in the Google cache, and in thousands of Google hits around the universe. These days, when stories race around the globe at the speed of light, and remain accessible for eons without a library card, they should be written with more care and responsibility than ever. Instead, the fact checkers we used to have when I was a cub reporter appear to be among the many unemployed.

And where is the difference between a blogger and a journalist? Frankly, I have no idea. Kris Kristofferson has a song that describes both.

Last year, world car production had jumped 26 percent to 77.8 million units, as it recovered from  a carmageddon-induced slump. This year, global car output will see a “sharp slowdown,” if  The Nikkei [sub] is to be believed. The Tokyo business paper cites IHS and J.D.Power, both expect only 4 percent growth. The Nikkei however should do some chart studies before writing.

As the graph above shows, that growth rate is not a sharp slowdown, is simply is a return to normalcy. Last year’s 26 percent jump was the counter-reaction to a 12.4 percent slump in 2009. From 1998 to 2007, the global car market expanded at an average rate of 3 percent per year – in a more or less linear fashion.  Pre-carmageddon, the rolling 3 year average was a little above 4 percent annual growth. The worldwide market is simply getting back into its old pace.

The cars lost during carmageddon however appear to be lost for good.

What I am seeing is a sharp slowdown in my trust in major wire services.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Over the last few weeks we have visited Panama, Colombia, China and Indonesia. But really, I know the post you liked most was when I went back in time to explore America in 1986. Come on, you know it’s true.

Which is why I have more time travel for you this week: let’s go back to 1975, a time when the average house cost $39,000, the average new car $4,250, both inflation and unemployment rates hit 9.2% and a gallon of gas cost an outrageous 44 cents…but most importantly it was the year Jaws was released.

If the idea of going back to these depressing times is not what you need today, that’s ok. I have prepared 160 countries for you to visit in my blog, and I can tell you it is worth the browse, so click away!

“It’s a good feeling to have an Olds around you” the ad said, and a lot of Americans agreed…

The 1975 US ranking I have for you this week is the best-selling American Passenger Cars, so before you ask, no there are no imports – Toyota led the way then apparently but I don’t have any official figures – and there are no trucks – the Ford F-Series only took the lead in 1977 so the best-selling truck would probably have been a Chevrolet then.

America’s favorite car in 1975 was the Oldsmobile Cutlass. Yes, it’s hard to believe that a brand that doesn’t exist anymore today could produce the best-selling model in the entire country then…but it was 36 years ago after all.

The Cutlass is up 8 spots and 20% on 1974 to grab the pole position with 324,610 sales. The Cutlass would be a regular fixture atop the US ranking up until the early eighties.

In second place we find the Ford Granada, a huge success for its first full year of sales in the country at 291,140 units.

The Chevrolet Chevelle is 3rd with 276,206 sales, it has been on the podium for a few years…

…ahead of the Ford Pinto at 271,880 units. This is much lower than the last couple of years, possibly showing that America’s oil crisis-forced love story with the small car is about to end…

The Chevrolet Monte Carlo is 5th with 267,803 sales…

…followed by the Chevrolet Nova is #6 with 256,438 sales…

…and the Plymouth Valiant dropping from 2nd place in 1974 to 7th in 1975.

The other 2 American cars to sell over 200,000 units in 1975 are the Chevrolet Vega and Ford LT D.

Further down the ranking, notice the Dodge Dart in 13th position…

…the Chevrolet Monza up 64 spots to #19

and the Ford Elite up 33 spots to #21.

And now for the golden nugget: the best-selling newcomer in 1975 is the very original/controversial AMC Pacer landing directly in 28th position with 88,641 units sold for its very first year…

Top 30 best-selling American Passenger Cars in 1975

If you want more, the 1975 Top 80 best-selling American Passenger Cars Ranking is here.

If you are interested in monthly updates about the best-selling models in the USA see here.

Source of the 1975 average costs is www.thepeoplehistory.com

Source of the 1975 sales figures is German Auto Katalog

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

There are days when I wish industry analysts and auto industry journalists should be required to carry maltreatment insurance. This is one of those days.  Bloomberg reports that “Volkswagen AG will probably become the world’s biggest carmaker this year, vaulting past Toyota Motor and General Motors on gains in emerging markets.” Pure and unadulterated nonsense.

Bloomberg bases this daring prediction “on the average of three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.” The analysts and their detailed predictions remain unmentioned – which is probably better that way. The analysts see Volkswagen’s sales “rise 13 percent to 8.1 million vehicles this year. GM sales will gain about 8 percent to 7.55 million, while Toyota will drop 9 percent to 7.27 million.”

Excuse me? The totals are waaaaaaaay off.

The percentages jibe halfways. We predicted similar ones last August. Let’s assume, they are right. It doesn’t take a genius to get them straight. Volkswagen just reported 13.9 percent plus for the first 9 months. GM will announce its quarterly results in November, but 8 percent sound about right. Toyota had budgeted a shortfall of 6 percent for 2011, but just for the sake of argument, let’s assume the analysts are right with 9 percent less. Now for the hard part: Let’s do the math.

I don’t know what kind of a spreadsheet Bloomberg is using, but if you apply the predicted percentages to last year’s official numbers (as supplied by OICA), then GM can hardly gain 8 percent and end up at 7.55 million if they sold 8.48 million last year.

A rise of 13 percent won’t bring Volkswagen to 8.1 million, but to 8.29 million, a little bit less than a million behind the world’s largest carmaker, GM.

And just for the record, 9 percent down from 8.56 million won’t land Toyota  at 7.27 million, but at 7.79 million. Not that it matters ranking-wise.

Unless the sky falls (and it would have to fall quickly), the year will end as we predicted it back in June: GM #1, Volkswagen #2, Toyota #3. It also should end with Bloomberg in remedial math class.

The numerical nonsense has already been picked-up widely by likewise mathematically challenged news outlets. One of them is – to our great disappointment – the Financial Times, which usually has its act together.

Instead of rectifying the story, the FT added to the confusion by predicting combined Renault and Nissan sales numbers of 6.8 million. Wrong. Renault and Nissan never consolidated numbers in the past, and probably won’t consolidate in the future either. A usually well informed source told us that the consolidated number would be 8.15 million – if the Alliance would consolidate. This includes results from the joint venture with AutoVAZ, which must be taken in consideration when joint venture results of GM, Volkswagen, and Toyota are counted. This would put the Nissan/Renault Alliance in the #3 slot, but again, it won’t, because they don’t want to be counted as one.

(Before you start reading you need to play the video above – just for the music)

Over the last few weeks we have visited Cambodia, Panama, Colombia and China. Not quite sure why there is so many countries starting in C in that list… which is partly why we are now off to Indonesia.

You’ve been to Bali recently and can’t bear to hear any more about it? That’s fine, I’ve prepared 159 other countries for you to visit in my blog, and I can tell you it is sangat baik (very good), so click away!

Toyota is experimenting a little bit in Indonesia, including releasing twin models quasi-exclusively to this country under its Daihatsu brand…

A health check on the Indonesian car market gives a simple verdict: never been better. Indeed Idonesian consumers have never bought that many cars than in 2011. It was already the case in 2010 with a record 764,710 registrations, and over the first 6 months of 2011 the market is up a further 13 percent at 417,687 units.

If you haven’t been to Indonesia you probably haven’t heard about the best-selling car there. Its name is the Toyota Avanza. It is produced locally by Daihatsu (bear with me here). Daihatsu then supplies the vehicle to Toyota under a consigned production and OEM manufacturing agreement, and it is sold both under the Toyota brand as Toyota Avanza and under the Daihatsu brand as the Daihatsu Xenia.

Indonesians are huge fans of small MPVs which is good because that’s just what the Avanza/Xenia is. And when I say huge fans, I mean it. Over the first 6 months of 2011 the Toyota Avanza leads the Indonesian market with 85,040 sales or 20.4 percent share (up from 18.5 percent in 2010). It has even led the market since its launch in 2003.

But wait it doesn’t stop there. Its absolutely identical twin, the Daihatsu Xenia, comes in 2nd place with 30,963 units sold in 6 months for a solid 7.4 percent market share. Yes Sir! That is a combined market share of 27.8 percent in a growing market. That’s what we call a good bet. Toyota’s done it again!

In June these two models both improve on their already impressive figures, with the Avanza at 21.2 percent share and the Xenia at 7.8 percent, adding up to a combined market share of 29 percent.

Another Toyota model produced specifically for the region ranks third in Indonesia, it is the Toyota Innova, a larger no-frills MPV, with 4,319 sales and 6.2 percent share in June.

The Suzuki APV, yep another MPV (I told you they were fans) is 4th, up 3 spots on its 2010 ranking, with 2,599 sales and 3.7 percent in June.

And now two more Toyota twins, and again Toyota is taking advantage of its agreements with Daihatsu. Daihatsu designs and manufactures the small 4WD Terios and also supplies the vehicle to Toyota under the same type of agreement as the Toyota Avanza. The fruit of this collaboration is called the Toyota Rush or Daihatsu Terios. And here again, the Toyota version sells better in 5th place with 2,046 units sold compared to 1,860 for the Terios in 6th position.

The best-selling passenger car is only 7th and it’s the Honda Jazz with a shy 2.1 percent share of the market. I know it kind of is a mini-MPV anyway…

A 5th MPV takes the 8th spot: the Nissan Grand Livina.

It is followed by the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, a newcomer in the Indonesian Top 10, while the Toyota Yaris rounds up the Top 10, which makes it only 2 passenger cars within the 10 best-selling models in Indonesia.

And there are no golden nuggets this week… Yes don’t you think that being able to shout at dinners that you know all there is to know about the little Toyota (but really Daihatsu) MPV that’s kicking arse in Indonesia is golden enough?

I knew you’d agree.

Data for this article was sourced on us.oto.detik.com and in.reuters.com

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

Over the last few weeks we have traveled to the USA in 1986, Cambodia, Panama and Colombia. Now we’re getting serious and exploring the second biggest market in the world: China!

Bertel has been giving you regular updates on the Chinese market , so you are already all set for an in-depth exploration of which models the Chinese prefer… Not interested? Too bad… Oh wait. Actually, if you are already China-ed out, that’s fine, I’ve prepared 155 other countries for you to visit in my blog, and I can tell you it is 非常好 (very good), so click away!

There is one – I repeat one! – country in the world that has a Buick as the best-seller, and it’s China!

Formerly dominated by Volkswagen, the Chinese market has been getting cozier with American models recently.  For the year, VW has sold the most cars in China with 1.7 million delivered January through September 2011,  General Motors sold 1.1 million cars in the same period. Note that I said “cars.”  Had I said “vehicles,” or “automobiles,” then GM would rank first with 1.9 million sold, followed by Volkswagen with 1.7 million, again January through September. Welcome to Chinese numerology. More on that below.

Volkswagen has reason to get nervous, because in September, General Motors managed to place 3 models in the Chinese Top 4 best-selling models ranking for the first time ever! In pole position, we have the Buick Excelle, in fact a face-lifted Chevrolet Optra, with 27,992 sales in September and 191,495 units over the first 9 months of 2011, in pole position here too.

The VW Lavida is a China-exclusive model and it is hitting its cruising rhythm this year in 2nd place both in September with 23,852 sales and year-to-date at 176,362 units.

In third position is the very familiar Chevrolet Cruze, managing the mean feat of pleasing both American and Chinese audiences. It ranks 3rd in September with 23,212 sales, its third highest monthly volume ever, and 4th year-to-date with 162,072 sales.

The third GM model in the Top 4 in September is the Chevrolet Sail, a revamped Opel Corsa exclusively built in China that had started being exported around the globe, notably to Algeria. The Sail beats all its records this month in China: best ever monthly volume at 20,958 and best-ever ranking at #4.

The Honda CR-V is at an impressive 6th place…

…while the VW Jetta is Number 7 in September with 19,819 sales but Number 3 year-to-date at 166,210 units. Now the Chinese Jetta has nothing to do with the American one, it is in fact a slightly face-lifted 1984 European Jetta! Yes, Sir! The Chinese Jetta was the best-selling car in the country from 2002 to 2004 and from 2006 to 2008.

The VW Passat new generation is Number 9 this month after an exceptional month of August when it ranked Number 2.

Notice the Nissan Sunny (aka Versa) in 11th position and 13th place year-to-date.

“But where are the Chinese brands?” I hear you ask.

And it is a very good question indeed…

In 2010, the best-selling model in China was the ‘home-grown’ BYD F3, in actual fact a mix of previous generations Toyota Corolla and Honda City. This year it is only 7th and 19th in September.

The FAW Xiali N Series was 6th in 2010, it is 8th year-to-date in 2011 and 18th in September.

Lastly the Chery QQ was 13th in 2010, is 15th in 2011 and 16th in September.

That’s right, there are no ’100% Chinese models’ in the Top 15 this month!

Now. Before you hit me with yet another TTAC controversy, what I mean by that is that there are no models by a Chinese brand in the Top 15. All foreign manufacturers are engaged in joint-ventures with local manufacturers and so only qualify as 50% Chinese at best. Did I just confuse the hell out of you? Never mind. Just ask Bertel.

The Top 30 best-selling models in China in September 2011:

And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the golden nugget.

But first: for the nerds among you, the entire models ranking in China for September 2011 (Top 243) is here.

I will stay on the General Motors theme for my weekly nugget: GM’s new low-cost brand Baojun has just launched in China with the very first model, the 630, ranking 143rd with 1,945 sales for its second month in market, up 125% on its first month. Promising? Not yet but worth following closely.

But wait I have a second nugget for you today – how generous! If you want to know which models topped the rankings in China from 1986 to 2002 click here and from 2003 to 2010 click here. Monthly rankings are here too.

A last bit of warning: you may find super-nerds challenging you when you say the Buick Excelle is the best-selling car in China this year. They will utter the words ‘Wuling Sunshine’. Fear not. The Wuling Sunshine is a Commercial Vehicle and the best-selling vehicle in China. A bit like saying the Ford F-Series is the best-selling vehicle in the US and the Toyota Camry the best-selling car. See what I mean?

But do not dismiss the Wuling Sunshine so quickly: most months, well over 50,000 units of the model find a happy Chinese buyer – more than the above mentioned F Series in the US or the VW Golf in the whole of Europe. I know. Stupendous. The Chinese will never stop to amaze us. (And you can see the Chinese Light Commercial Vehicle ranking for August 2011 here).  Actually, Wuling is the secret of GM’s greatness in China. Without Wuling, GM would be just another car manufacturer. With Wuling, GM can carry the title “China’s largest manufacturer of automobiles.” First of, some explanation of what GM is doing:

Shanghai GM, a joint venture with SAIC, makes the ubiquitous Buicks and Chevrolets and imports Cadillacs. Allegedly also Opels.

SAIC-GM-Wuling is a three-way joint venture, with SAIC holding the majority. Previously, it made the vans shown above, and it still makes them in large numbers. Recently, the JV added the Baojun “Chinese” brand.

The FAW-GM joint venture, a fairly recent business, is making medium duty commercial vehicles under the Jiefang brand. This year, it showed a pickup called the Kuncheng.

Volkswagen sells no commercial vehicles in China. With the commercial vehicles added in, the situation looks like this:

Passenger (PV) and Commercial (CV) Vehicle Sales, January-September 2011

As you can see, China has two kings of cars. In pure passenger vehicles, Volkswagen leads. In total vehicles, GM is first. From now on, when someone asks you “who sells the most cars in China?” you can answer: “That depends on what you call a car.” And now, you are the real expert about China.

Happy?

Thought so.

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

We’ve been traveling quite a fair bit over the last few weeks, stopping in Venezuela, the USA in 1986, Cambodia and Panama. We are staying in the Americas this week to hop our way to Colombia.

Not interested? Move along… Oh wait. Actually, if this is not your cup of Colombian coffee, that’s fine, I’ve prepared 155 other countries for you to visit in my blog, and I can tell you it is muy interesante, so click away!

Colombia is one of a few South American countries to be dominated by Chevrolet…

But first a quick health-check on Colombian car sales: they are up a massive 48 percent year-on-year over the first 6 months of 2011 at 150,464 registrations. Healthy? Check.

Now to the models ranking: since 2006 the Chevrolet Aveo has been topping the Colombian charts since 2006 and 2011 is no exception: with 16,556 units sold in 6 months, the Aveo grabs a very respectable 11 percent market share.

However this year it is threatened by another member of the Chevrolet family: the Spark, now boosted by the new generation called ‘GT’ there, manages 15,642 units for a very robust 10.4 percent market share, compared to 7.3 percent in 2010.

Renault is the other strong marque in Colombia and has been for decades with a production facility in the country opened way back in 1970. The Sandero is on the podium with 9,272 sales and 6.2 percent share (up from 5.1% in 2010)…

…and the Logan ranks 4th with 8,838 sales and 5.9 percent share (up from 4.4% last year)

Another Chevrolet rounds up the Top 5: the Captiva, with 3.3 percent of the market.

Excellent performance of the Nissan Tiida going from #15 in 2010 to #6 over the period, while the Ford Fiesta is up 16 spots to #10 and the VW Jetta is up 4 spots to #17.

Top 30 best-selling models in Colombia over the first 6 months of 2011:

Not for the weekly gold nugget that will make you shine in posh dinners…

Chinese manufacturers are starting to get noticed in Colombia: the Chery Face is the best-selling Chinese model in the country with 222 sales, followed by the Great Wall Wingle (207) and BYD F0 (201).

Figures are sourced from es.autoblog.com

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

Over the last few weeks we have visited Bangladesh, Venezuela, the USA in 1986 and Cambodia. May I interest you in a little trip back to the Americas this week to Panama?

No? OK fine, if you don’t want to go there, I’ve prepared 155 other countries for you to visit in my blog, and I can tell you it is muy bien, so click away!

The interesting thing about car sales in Panama is the way Hyundai is progressively establishing itself as the ‘go-to’ brand there, with 3 models in the Top 4 so far this year…

But first to the pole position: as it was the case in 2010, the Toyota Hilux is the best-selling model in Panama over the first 8 months of 2011 with 1,981 sales.

You may be surprised to learn that Panama is only one of 28 countries in the world where the Hilux is atop the ranking… Yes 28! No other car does better, and you can see the full list here.

Weekly bit of trivia: tick!

Below the Toyota Hilux is a full Hyundai armada:

The new generation Hyundai Accent is #2 with 1,733 sales, it was even #1 between May and July!

Down from #2 in 2010, the Hyundai Tucson IX (aka Hyundai ix35) ranks #3 in the 2011 year-to-date ranking at 1,632 units…

… and the new generation Hyundai Elantra is #4 with 1,098 sales but is up to #2 in August at 256 units.

As I said earlier, that’s 3 Hyundais in the Top 4 and by far Hyundai’s best year ever in the country. In fact, last October Hyundai sold the biggest amount of cars in a single month by any brand in Panama, with 1,409 models sold.

Further down in the ranking you will find the Toyota RAV4, Nissan Frontier…

…Kia Rio, Nissan Tiida and Nissan Navara.

The best-selling models in Panama over 8 months 2011:

Figures are sourced from the Registro Único Vehicular.

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

Over the last few weeks we’ve been to Malta, Bangladesh, Venezuela, and then last week was a trip down memory lane to the USA in 1986. Now we board our plane again to travel to Cambodia…

Yes but you might not want to go to Cambodia this week – I hear some of you moan already…That’s OK I will respond, because I’ve prepared 155 other countries for you to visit in my blog, and I can tell you it is just great, so click away!

The one thing in common Cambodia has with America is: their love for the Toyota Camry!

While in the States the Camry love story has been going on for nearly 15 years with no divorce in sight, in Cambodia it goes even further.

The story of why Cambodians love the Toyota Camry is a familiar story for a lot developing countries. Where cars are still a luxury and most of them are taxis, it helps if most cars on the road are the same model, so you can pick /steal parts from other cars, so the mechanics can become experts in that model and so spare parts can be easily found. In the late 1970s/early 1980s when Cambodia fell to the Red Khmers then the Vietnamese army, it was decided that the Camry was the perfect taxi.

Thanks to its reliability in the wild, the Camry established itself as the omnious car in Cambodia and different generations of the model poured onto the country’s roads. Nowadays, the Camry is by far the most common sight on Cambodian streets. Their provenance is another story.

In Cambodia, due to very high import duties on new cars and a non-existent local industry, sales of new cars are very limited and account for only around 10% of the total sales of cars in any given year. For example in 2010, Cambodia imported a total of 562,529 old and new vehicles, up from 361,146 units in 2009. Only a few thousands of these were actually new cars.

And here comes an interesting fact: most Camrys in circulation in Cambodia are actually imported pre-owned, directly from the US, Japan, or the Middle-East…

After the Camry, another very common sight in the streets of Phnom Penh are Lexus SUVs, different generations of GX470 or RX Series… Except that Lexus doesn’t officially sell in Cambodia…

That’s because these luxury SUV’s are privately imported from the Middle-East or the USA, sometimes even keeping their original registration tags…

Other popular cars in Cambodia are the Honda CR-V

Toyota Hilux

and Mitsubishi L200

This estimation is based on the observation of the streets of Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh through recent You Tube videos. For more information on the Cambodian car market you can go here. If you have official sales data for Cambodia by model please ensure you comment on this post!

Figures are sourced from the Cambodia Ministry of Commerce.

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