Europe: 1983-2010 Historical Data now available

1998 VW Golf

* 23 new posts have been uploaded – click on ‘Read more’ below for the direct links *

Historical info back to 1983 is now available for Europe! I have also added every Monthly Top 10 from 1996 to 1999 and from 2005 onwards, so you can see the complete evolution of the market over the years.

Out of the last 28 years, the VW Golf was the best selling car on the continent for no less than 24 years, with only four other cars holding the pole position at year-end: the Fiat Punto in 1997, Peugeot 206 in 2003, Opel Astra in 2006 and Peugeot 207 in 2007.

The Peugeot 206 was #1 in Europe in 2003

If you go into the detail of each month, then a few more cars managed to lead the European market for that amount of time: the Renault Megane, Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus, Renault Clio and Opel Corsa all ranked #1 at some stage over the last 20 years.

Click on ‘Read more’ below for the direct links to these 23 new posts.

Italy March 2011: Fiat Punto and Panda up vs. February UPDATED

Fiat Punto

* Now updated with the Top 50 best selling models over Q1 2011. See ‘Read more’ below *

Italian car sales are down a worrying 28% year-on-year in March at 187,774 units. First Quarter figures are down 23% at 513,794 registrations.

Both the Fiat Punto at 7.5% (14.035 sales) and the Fiat Panda at 6.7% (12,640 sales) improve their market shares compared to last month and continue to dominate the Italian market. The Ford Fiesta jumps onto the podium for the 2nd time in 3 months at 8,082 units and 4.3%, followed by the VW Golf at 3.3% and the Lancia Ypsilon at 2.8%.

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta confirms its outstanding popularity once again and places 8th, its third month in a row in the Top 10. It sells 4,166 units for a 2.2% market share this month. Notice also the Audi A1 in the Top 30 at #29.

Full March and Q1 2011 Top 50 Ranking Tables below.

Australia March 2011: Commodore #1, Lexus CT200 & Chery land Now with the Top 65 best selling models

Lexus CT200h

* Now with the Top 65 best selling models in Q1 2011: click on ‘Read more’ at end of post *

At 93,984 registrations, Australian car sales are down just 1% year-on-year in March. The Holden Commodore stays #1 at 4,170 sales and 4.4%, but the 2011 leader is still the Mazda3 at 11,159 units and 4.5%, thanks to another strong month at 3,979 sales and 4.2% in March (#3).

The Toyota Hilux takes the 2nd place only 140 sales behind the Commodore. Just behind the Toyota Corolla, the Holden Cruze is up 1 spot at #5 with a strong 3% share, and the Mitsubishi Triton is up to a brilliant 8th position. The Lexus CT (223 sales) and the Toyota FJ Cruiser (209) both appear for the first time in the Australian ranking.

March 2011 will also be remembered as the month Chinese brand Chery started in the country, launching the first Chinese passenger cars in Australia. The Chery J11 SUV (aka Tiggo) delivers 166 sales and the J1 (aka Face) lands 53 buyers. In the meantime the Great Wall V240 ute continues to grow, #64 in Q1 at 989 sales.

A few new models perform well in Q1: the Ford Fiesta is #17, the Hyundai ix35 #28, the Nissan Dualis multiplies its share by two at 1% and #31, the Mistubishi ASX is #50 and the VW Polo #57. With the discontinuation of the the Falcon model last year, the Ford Mondeo is now the default Ford station wagon and is up to #39.

March Top 10 & 1st Quarter 2011 Top 65 Ranking Tables: see ‘Read more’ below the Chery J11 pic.

Chery J11

Europe March 2011: VW Golf leads, Ford Focus up to #6

Ford Focus

Car sales are down 5% in Europe this month, dragged down by the 8% drop of the UK market, a traditional powerhouse in March due to the registration change.

The VW Golf still leads but is down 10% at 53,055 units, followed by the Ford Fiesta, up 2 spots on February but down 27% year-on-year at 50,534 sales. The Fiesta is back to #2 year-to-date, ahead of the VW Polo, #3 in March too at 39,311 units and +4% year-on-year.

Boosted by the new generation, the Ford Focus gains 6 spots on last month and ranks 6th with 36,339 sales, its best position in Europe over the last 12 months. The Citroen C3 is #10 and in the Top 10 for the third time in the last 5 months.

Full Top 10 Ranking Table below.

Denmark March 2011: Chevrolet Spark and Suzuki Swift on top

The Danish car market continues on its good run, up 28% in March at 16,381 sales and 26% year-to-date at 40,341. The Chevrolet Spark is #1 for the third month in a row at 654 units at 4%, a distant leader year-to-date at 2,254 sales and 5.6% share.

The Suzuki Swift has a stellar start of the year, #2 this month at 2.7% and #3 year-to-date at 2.9%, up 24 spots on its 2010 ranking. The Toyota Aygo, #1 last year, is #3 in March at 2.6% ahead of a Ford Fiesta in good shape at #4 and 2.5%.

Notice the VW Passat at #5, the Mazda6 at #9 and the Peugeot 508 coming in directly at #39 for its very first month of sales with 159 units changing hands for a 1% market share.

Full Top 40 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.

Poland February 2011: Skoda Fabia in the lead

21,763 new cars were sold in Poland in February, up 1% year-on-year. For the first time since 2009, the Skoda Fabia is the best selling car in the country, ahead of its big sister the Skoda Octavia with 908 sales (4.2%) vs. 856 (3.9%). The Octavia is still #1 year-to-date at 6.1% share, with the Fabia #2 at 5%, both well above their 2010 levels.

In 3rd position, the Opel Astra gains one spot on January at 789 sales (3.6%) and is also #3 year-to-date at 3.8% share. It is followed by the Fiat Punto and Ford Focus. Notice the excellent performance of the Chevrolet Aveo, outside the Top 20 in 2010 but #8 in 2011 year-to-date.

Full Top 10 Ranking Table below.

Venezuela March 2011: Ford Fiesta leads, new Ranger #5

Ford Fiesta

The Venezuelan car market is down 5% in March at 10,289 registrations, and down 7% year-to-date at 25,790 units. There is a bit of a reshuffle in the models ranking this month: after leading with nearly 20% share for a few months, the Chevrolet Aveo drops to #2 and let the Ford Fiesta access the pole position with 1,122 sales and 10.9% market share. The Venezuelan Fiesta is a restyled version of the 1999 European model identical to the Fiesta sold in Brazil.

The Aveo is still #1 year-to-date by far at 15.5% share, and the Chevrolet Optra ranks 3rd this month at 6.7%, but it is still #2 in 2011 with 2,582 units and 10%. Excellent performance of the Chevrolet Silverado, up 8 spots on February in 4th place with 532 sales and 5.2%.

The new Ford Ranger, a unique design for South American that has nothing to do with the US version, is an instant hit: already #5 for its very first month of sales with 488 units changing hands and 4.7% share.

Full Top 20 Ranking Table below.

Latvia March 2011: Golf #1, Renault Scenic & VW Caddy in Top5

VW Caddy

* See the Top 50 best selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ below *

At 1,902 units over the first 3 months of 2011, new car sales in Latvia are up 132% on 2010 and 45% on 2009 but are still a far cry (-68%!) from the 5,934 registrations achieved in Q1 2008.

Stable on top, the VW Golf leads the way again and improves its market share over last year at 5.2% thanks to 98 sales. The Renault Megane takes the 2nd spot at 4.7% share, followed by the Ford Focus at 3.6%.

3 models deliver explosive growth to land in the Top 10 over the period: the Renault Scenic is up 50 spots to reach the 4th place with 64 sales and 3.4%, the VW Caddy gains 30 spots to #6 at 59 sales (3.1%) and the Suzuki SX4 grows by 53 spots to #8 at 54 units (2.8%). Notice the Lexus RX at #17, the Nissan Juke at #18 and BMW X6 at #19.

Full Top 50 Ranking Table below.

China March 2011: FAW Xiali N-Series grabs the pole position Discover the Top 150 best selling models

FAW Xiali N5

* See the Top 150 best-selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ at the end of the post *

The Chinese car market continues to take a breather after the extravagant growth of 2010, up 5% in March at 1,828,500 vehicles and 8% over the first quarter at 4,983,800. Passenger vehicle sales are up 6% in March at 1,347,600 units.

For the first time since the launch of the N5 last year, the FAW Xiali N-Series takes the lead at 24,060 sales, and by the same token climbs to #1 year-to-date at 64,250 units. The VW Lavida drops to #2 at 22,265 sales and #3 in 2011 at 62,605 sales, and the veteran VW Jetta is #3 at 21,419 but #2 in 2011 at 63,033.

Honda CR-V

The Buick Excelle is solid in 4th place at 19,242 units, above the Ford Focus in very good shape at #5 with 18,247 sales. The BYD F3 continues to slide down, #10 this month and #5 year-to-date. The best selling SUV is the Honda CR-V, up 13 spots on February at #11 with 15,156 sales.

The Nissan Sunny continues its progression and ranks 13th with 13,865 units changing hands, the ChangAn Benben Mini is holding very well at #21 and the Mazda6 gains 48 spots at #24 with 12,104 sales.

Full Top 150 Ranking Table below.