[Aussie]

@jkdas: I have been following car sales in the world for over 20 years and the Fiat Punto has been leading car sales in Italy since its launch in November 1993 as I wrote in my blog quoted above.
The source is the official organism in Italy that compiles car sales called UNRAE. You can check out the ranking up to 2000 here:
Immatricolazioni in Italia di autovetture e fuoristrada - top ten dal 2000 al 2009 | Unrae | UNIONE NAZIONALE RAPPRESENTANTI AUTOVEICOLI ESTERI
The rest up to 1990 I have in my files and will publish on my blog shortly... so bear with me!
Hope you enjoy the blog!
Matt
Best Selling Cars – Matt's blog

[Swanand Inamdar]

Hey Matt,

Impressive stuff you've got there. Superb compilation.

As far as Australia is concerned, Holden Commodore it surely is. In the 3 years spent in Melbourne, every other cari saw, was a Holden Commodore or the Ford Focus. I, personally loved the HSV SS. Man, that car has some style.

Your hard work is seen in this compilation.
Good on ya mate!

Cheers

[avisidhu]

That's impressive Matt, amazing compilation of data you got.
What I fail to understand is, how come a premium car(at least in India) like Toyota Corolla is the best seller in Bangladesh, Nigeria, Uganda? I do not intend to say this in an offensive way, but it surprises me when I compare it with India. Or is it that majority of people in these countries cannot afford a four wheeler, automatically sending the sedans to bestseller category?

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by avisidhu

That's impressive Matt, amazing compilation of data you got.
What I fail to understand is, how come a premium car(at least in India) like Toyota Corolla is the best seller in Bangladesh, Nigeria, Uganda? I do not intend to say this in an offensive way, but it surprises me when I compare it with India. Or is it that majority of people in these countries cannot afford a four wheeler, automatically sending the sedans to bestseller category?

In most of the rest of the world, the Corolla is what Indigo or Dzire is to India, but selling at Alto figures.
But in India Corolla or in fact other compact cars are sold as luxury executive cars and only in the top end trim.

[Aussie]

@ Swanand Inamdar: Thanks very much for your praise, it's heartwarming to read all your comments!

@ avisidhu: Thanks so much, glad you're enjoying the compilation! To answer your question re: the Toyota Corolla ahead, in some Asian countries and most African countries, the reality of the market is that:

- the car is still a massive status symbol so when people can afford to buy a new car they will tend to buy a sedan like the Corolla or a 4WD, not the bottom of the range.

- there are not that many more affordable options to choose from (except maybe some Chinese brands). Which is why you see a lot of imported second hand cars in the streets. 2nd hand is the truly affordable option. Certain African countries only import a couple of models (Mercedes 190 in Mauritania for example, see the article here, or the Toyota Corolla in Afghanistan) so the mechanics know how to repair them and build new parts - this way the cars live on for decades...

- Toyota has the advantage of a pretty robust distribution system they have built over decades which means their cars are more readily available


There are a few new final 2010 figures on the blog since my last post above so I have listed them below:

Canada: Ford F Series breaks sales record at 97,913 sales

Colombia: Chevrolet Aveo #1 for the 5th year in a row

Estonia: Renault Megane best-seller

Japan Imports: VW Golf #1 by far

Lithuania: Peugeot 3008 #1

Malaysia: Perodua MyVi #1 for 5th year in a row

Pakistan: Toyota Corolla #1 at 30% share

Poland: Skoda Octavia in the lead for the 2nd year

Portugal: Renault Megane and Seat Ibiza in the lead thanks to Station Wagon versions

Thailand: Toyota Hilux #1 at 144,000 sales

Turkey: Renault Symbol, Hyundai Accent and Renault Fluence on the podium

[GreenDay]

Never knew about this. Feels Awesome to know that Punto has been standing in #1 for 17 years for now. I don't think any other cars all over the world can beat this awesome performance. Legendary Punto is creating history.

[HammerHead]

Great info.
No. 1 for 17 years in a country known for its car brands!! Great achievement .

[neil.jericho]

Wow 17 years at the top ! Was surprised to see the Fiat 500 so highly placed. Just goes to show that the Italians have great taste in cars

[headers]

I am happy to own 2 PUNTOs..

[DicKy]

Good work in there Matt, that's a surprise about the merc 190 in mauritania, and a bit ironic too(merc top seller in african countries)
What about Saudi Arabia? . The only post i saw in your blog was about Camry, any other news? , maybe able to help you on that country in about two months.

[Aussie]

@ DicKy: Thanks for your comment!
I don't have any official figures for Saudi Arabia so my post is an estimation following very long observation of YouTube videos of the streets of the capital Riyadh.
The post did mention that apart from the Toyota Camry (which is the official best seller in the country), other successful models include the Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Yaris sedan, Chevrolet Aveo, Chevrolet Caprice, Toyota Corolla and Honda Accord.

I would LOVE it if someone could help out with official figures!

[Aussie]

@ GreenDay: I believe the VW Gol in Brazil (see article here) has been #1 for 24 consecutive years, and the VW Golf in Germany (see article here) has been #1 since its launch there in 1975 so 35 or 36 consecutive years...
So the performance of the Punto is truly awesome, but VW does even better!!

[DicKy]

Not with official figures, but certainly from first hand observation 'cos that's what all am going to do when am there
BTW, one doubt. I see that SUV(the real full size thing) sales in North America is down because of high petrol prices, but at the same time the F-series continues it's winning streak.
I understand that the civilian market of SUVs are more urban and are now preferring crossovers to traditional SUVs, but the F-series is a pick-up and even after combining real workhorse ,rural sales and lifestyle sales how can it be more than other cars?
There should be some limits to the rural farm sales(or Texas sales).

[HammerHead]

^^ In a way we can say Maruti Alto has been #1 for last 24-25 years here in India.
M800 (a.k.a Alto worldwide) ruled till it lost its title to current Alto.

[noopster]

Hey Matt, welcome to TBHP and kudos on your achievement. You'll find true appreciation of your talents only here

Toyota, Nissan yada yada- no big suprises there. I was surprised by VW topping in 11 countries (all in Europe). Never knew it was such a big brand!

Wow I did say Toyota yada yada but topping in 37 countries out of 113- that is something! One in 3 countries has a Toyota as its best-selling car (God knows in how many it's second best. That's some achievement!)

Chevy Aveo in topping in 5 is a big surprise. That car is such a dud in India- possibly because of poor marketing and even worse positioning. I know a guy who drives one and he swears by it!
Sorry but what's a BYD F3 and why is it the #1 seller in China?

Not many more surprises: Peugeot leading in France, Seat in Spain, Skoda in Czech rep., Maruti in India etc. etc.

Didn't spot Pakistan or Nepal in your list. Do you have any data about our neighbours? I suspect Toyota leads there as well, but not sure!

Originally Posted by DicKy

Good work in there Matt, that's a surprise about the merc 190 in mauritania, and a bit ironic too(merc top seller in african countries)

Used Mercs have a decent market in Africa, or at least that's what I was told when I visited Nigeria. In fact this client of mine told me that Nigeria switched to LHD in the 70s ostensibly because they hated the Brits but more because they wanted to drive Mercs!!!