Australia: 1996-2009 Historical Data now available

2000 Holden Commodore. Picture by James Dobbin. All rights reserved.

After France, the second market I am adding some depth to is Australia. From 2004 to 2009, you will find the complete yearly Top 50 models ranking as well as every single monthly Top 20 for each year (that’s 72 consecutive Top 20’s… yes I have been hard at work!), the Top 35 for 2002 and 2003 and the best seller’s figures from 1996 to 2001.

The last 15 years in Australia have been dominated by the Holden Commodore, an impressive feat spanning 4 different generations of the model. Its volume, as well as its archenemy’s the Ford Falcon, have dropped over the period, giving room to smaller models like the Toyota Corolla, which nearly snapped the #1 spot in 2008. Utes (Australian for pick-ups), and particularly the Toyota Hilux, have also increased in popularity.

See below for all the direct links to the 9 available articles. Enjoy!

France: 2000-2009 Historical Data now available

Now that Best Selling Cars covers over 150 countries around the globe, I am adding a bit of depth to the site, showcasing some historical model sales data.

The first cab off the rank is France: yearly results from 2000 to 2009 are now available on here. Peugeot 206 then 207, three generations of Renault Clio, Scenic and Megane, the launches of the Renault Modus, Dacia Logan and Citroen C4 Picasso: it’s all in there and much more!

See below for the direct links to the 10 articles.

Zambia: Toyota king

Toyota Hilux in Livingstone, Zambia June 2007

The Zambian car market shows the strength of Toyota: at least 1 in every 3 cars is a Toyota Corolla! In all likeliness the Corolla is still the best-selling car in the country these days, with the Hilux also extremely popular.

Also worth noting are the Nissan Hardbody (aka Frontier), Mitsubishi Colt (aka L200) and Toyota Camry. This commentary is based on my observations in the streets of Livingstone in June 2007. Please get in touch if you have more info!

Street Scene in Livingstone, Zambia June 2007

More photos below.

Botswana: Hilux and Corolla in the lead

Toyota Hilux in Kasane, Botswana June 2007

Toyota ‘owns’ the Batswana market with 1,958 sales and 40% market share in 2007, ahead of Nissan at 8% and VW at 5%.

Observation in the country in 2007 showed two cars clearly dominating the sales: the Toyota Corolla and Hilux. Pick-ups are very popular in Botswana, with the Isuzu KB (aka D-Max) likely to be ranked 3rd, the Opel Corsa cabbie possibly #4 and the Nissan Hardbody (aka Frontier) in 5th.

Street scene in Kasane, Botswana June 2007

More commentaries and pictures below.

Zimbabwe

Toyota Corolla in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe June 2007

With the economic crisis striking the country, new cars are extremely rare in Zimbabwe. In this context the Toyota Corolla, Isuzu KB (aka D-Max), Mazda B-Series and Nissan Hardbody (aka Frontier) should lead the rankings.

A plethora of all generations of Corollas can be seen in the streets, but surprisingly very few Hilux. This estimation is based on my observation of the streets of Victoria Falls during my stay there in June 2007.

Isuzu KB in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe June 2007

More pictures below.

Serbia

 

Zastava Koral

Official Serbian car sales data very rarely pops up, and the latest figures I have are from 2007. Since then the Zastava brand disappeared, with the last Zastava-branded car rolling out of the Kragujevac factory in November 2008. The factory is now used to produce Fiats. If you have more recent data please get in touch!

So back in 2007, Zastava monopolised the podium: the Zastava Koral came 1st with a strong 10.2% of the market, ahead of the Zastava 10 (a Fiat Punto Classic) at 7.5% and the 1980 Zastava Skala at 6.1%.

Zastava Skala

Full Top 10 ranking table below.

Macedonia

Car sales figures in Macedonia are very rarely made available, so if you happen to have more recent data please make sure to get in touch.

In 2007, Chevrolet lead the sales in Macedonia and the Chevrolet Spark was the best-selling car in the country at 6.9% market share, ahead of the VW Golf and the Opel Astra.

Full Top 10 ranking table below.

Colombia 2007-2009: Aveo & Spark strong, Logan & Sandero grow

Boosted by the new generation called Emotion in Colombia, the Chevrolet Aveo keeps the lead and consistently reaches very high levels: 13% share in 2007, 12.7% in 2008 and 13.5% in 2009. The Chevrolet Spark grabs the 2nd spot in 2007 and stays there for the next two years, progressing from 5.5% share in 2007 to 6.8% in 2009.

Chevrolet delivers a 1-2-3 in 2008 with the Optra in 3rd, however the Renault Logan climbs onto the podium the following year with 4.9% share, up from 3.5% in 2007. The Renault Sandero appears in the rankings at #11 in 2008 and jumps up to 4th in 2009 thanks to the Stepway version.

The Chevrolet Grand Vitara is also very successful over the period, ranking 5th in 2008 and 2009 at around 3% share. Click on ‘Read more’ below for the H1 2007 Top 25 and the Full Year 2008 and 2009 Top 40.

Croatia 2005-2009: Opel Astra maintains stranglehold

Launched in March 2004, the Opel Astra new generation takes the lead of Croatian car sales in 2005 with 5,596 registration and nearly 8% of the market, far above the Renault Clio at 5.7% and the Opel Corsa at 5.3%. It is to be noted that Astra figures also include the Astra “Classic”, the 1998 generation still on sale in Croatia alongside the new generation.

The German compact car maintains its lead in Croatia for the next 5 years, improving its share to 9% in 2006 and 10.7% in 2007 (as at August), back down to 7.6% in 2008. 2009 figures were not available but the Astra was #1 then for the 5th consecutive year. During the whole period, the Renault Clio is #2, peaking at 6.3% in 2006.

The 3rd place changes hands each year: it is held by the Opel Corsa in 2005, the Fiat Punto in 2006, the Peugeot 207 in 2007 and the Skoda Octavia in 2008, topping a decade of progression in the country.

Full Top 10 2005, Top 20 2006, 8 months 2007 and 2008 Ranking Tables below.

Taiwan 2005-2009: Toyota Corolla Altis invincible

Throughout the 5 years leading to 2010, the Toyota Corolla Altis has remained the best-selling car in Taiwan. The figures available for this period only take into account the models produced in the country, but imports are minimal in Taiwan anyway.

Below the Corolla, the Toyota Camry, Wish, Yaris and Vios also sell very well in the country, making the Top 4 an exclusive Toyota affair, except in 2007 when the Honda CR-V manages to grab an excellent 4th place with 17,643 sales.

Full 6 months 2005 Top 10, 6 months 2006 Top 15 and Full Year 2007 Top 25 Ranking Tables below.