France 12-18 April 2011: Dacia Duster #2!

Dacia Duster

Last week was not a fluke, the Dacia Duster confirms it is now a force to be reckoned with in the French market and a serious contender for the 2011 podium. During the week of 12 to 18 April, the Duster is the 2nd best selling car in France with 1,474 sales and a stable 3.6% share, a full percentage point above it March level.

The Renault Megane takes the lead this week at 3.8%. The Renault Clio drops to #3, followed by the Peugeot 207 and a VW Polo confirming its exceptional strength at 3% share, down from 3.1% and #3 last week. The Peugeot 3008 is up to #7 at 2.8%.

Full Top 10 Ranking Table below.

France April 2011: Dacia Duster #1 in weekly ranking!

* Many thanks to my dear Mum and Dad for sourcing and scanning Auto Plus mag! *

According to Dacia’s Facebook page, the Dacia Duster was the best selling car in France during the week of April 5th to April 11th! This is confirmed by official data published by French car weekly Auto Plus. The Duster leads with 1,251 sales and 3.6% share, ahead of the Renault Clio at 1,177 units and the VW Polo at 1,086.

This is an exceptional achievement by the French/Romanian SUV after it broke into the Top 10 for the first time and achieved its best ever month in France in March in 7th place with 6,634 units and 2.6% share. These records look like they will be obsolete by the end of the month. It is the first time a ‘terrain’ vehicle ever tops French car sales.

Only a handful of models have topped the French weekly charts in the last 5 years: the Peugeot 207, Renault Clio, Renault Twingo, Citroen C3, Dacia Sandero and Peugeot 308 have done so. The Duster is therefore the 7th model to shine and the second Dacia.

Complete Auto Plus article, Full Top 10 Ranking Table below.

Brazil mid-April 2011: Uno back on top, JAC J3 up 50 spots Discover the Top 100 best selling models

* See the Top 100 best selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ at the end of the post *

The Brazilian car market is level year-on-year at 149,604 registrations over the first half of April. The Gol-Uno battle is heating up, with the Uno back in pole position over the period at 12,259 sales and 8.2% vs. 11,356 and 7.6% for the Gol…

The Chevrolet Celta stays on the podium at an excellent 5.2% share, ahead of the Ford Fiesta in really good shape, up 3 spots at 3.7%. The Renault Sandero excels and breaks into the Top 10 at 3,589 sales and 2.4%, the Kia Soul is up 14 spots at #31 and the Renault Fluence is up 15 at #70. The new VW Jetta appears at #72.

JAC J3 Turin

Now how is JAC do Brasil faring after their bigger-than-life launch last month? The answer is: pretty well! The JAC J3 is up 49 spots in 51st position with 630 sales, now by far the best selling Chinese model in the country, and its sedan version the JAC J3 Turin appears at #73 with 387 units, #2 Chinese model just above the Hafei Ruiyi.

Full Top 100 Ranking Table below.

Madagascar Q2 2010: JAC Tojoy among best-sellers

JAC Tojoy

Still very limited, the new car market in Madagascar is dominated by Asian brands: Toyota is in the lead in Q2 2010 at 11.8% (down from 17.9% in Q4 ’09), ahead of Nissan and Mitsubishi. However the big novelty in Q2 is the thunderous arrival of two Chinese brands in the Top 10: JAC in 5th at 7.3% and BYD in 8th at 5.1%.

Given JAC only sells one model in Madagascar, this means the JAC Tojoy is already within the best-selling models in the country, along with the Mitsubishi L200 (probably the best-seller), Nissan Hardbody, Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux. Remember we’re talking 30 to 50 units sold in the space of 3 months to be best-seller in Madagascar.

More commentaries, Top 10 brands ranking table, street scenes and videos here: 

Peru January-April 2010: Yaris dominates

One model is head and shoulders above the competition in Peru: the Toyota Yaris, with the sedan being the preferred version. It delivers 2,564 sales in just 4 months, or 12.4% of the market. The Kia Rio comes in 2nd at 5.5%, ahead of the Toyota Corolla at 4.2%.

Top 5 ranking table below.

New Zealand 4 months 2010: Suzuki Swift on podium

Car sales are up 10% in New Zealand over the first 4 months of the year at 25,037 registrations. The Toyota Corolla holds onto its pole position but see its market share slip slightly from 6.7% over the Full Year 2009 to 5.5% now.

The Toyota Hilux is stable at #2 with 4.5% whereas the Suzuki Swift gains one spot in 3rd with 1,079 sales and 4.3%, ahead of the Holden Commodore at 846 sales and 3.4%. The Holden Cruze delivers a remarkable entrance in the Top 10 in 6th with 692 sales and 2.8%.

Other good performances include the 11th place of the Mitsubishi Outlander, the Mitsubishi Triton at #15 and the VW Golf at #17. Full Top 20 Ranking Table below.