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.

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.

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.

Algeria March 2011: Renault Symbol leads, Kia Picanto #2

Outstanding month for new car sales in Algeria: the market is up 40% year-on-year in March at 25,971 registrations, and 35% year-to-date at 74,781. The Renault Symbol keeps the lead with 2,469 sales and 9.5%, and this month it is followed by the Kia Picanto and Peugeot 207, both at 1,525 sales and 5.9%.

Hyundai stays strong with the Atos in 4th place at 5.2% share and the Accent in 5th at 4.7%. The Dacia Logan has a weak month in 9th place at 2.3%, it is however #3 year-to-date with 3,306 sales and 4.4%. The Peugeot 308 slips into the Top 10 at 510 units and 2% share.

Full Top 10 Ranking Table below.

Slovenia March 2011: Clio and Megane on top, Peugeot 508 arrives

Peugeot 508

* See the Top 50 best selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ at the end of the post *

Slovenian car sales are stable in March at 5,909 registrations. The podium is unchanged vs. February and 2010, with the Renault Clio in the least at 6.2% share, followed by the Renault Megane (4.7%) and  VW Polo (3.4%).

The Opel Astra climbs to 4th place with 174 sales and 2.9%, ahead of the VW Golf at 2.7% and the Peugeot 207 at 2.4%. At #10 with 2.2% share, the Peugeot 308 gains 10 spots on February, the Renault Scenic gains 12 spots at #11, the Opel Insignia gains 29 at #12 and the VW Passat gains 15 at #23.

Notice the Peugeot 508 in the Top 50 for the first time at #49 with 37 sales and 0.6% of the market.

Full Top 50 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.

Slovakia March 2011: Dacia Duster on podium

New car sales in Slovakia are up 20% in March at 6,480 units. After a weaker month of February, the Skoda Octavia is back in shape at 616 sales and 9.5% market share, well above the Skoda Fabia at 396 units and 6.1%.

The Dacia Duster continues its fantastic progression and climbs onto the podium for the first time in Slovakia at 224 sales and 3.5% share. The Suzuki SX4 is down one spot at #4 but still strong at 3% share, whereas the Kia Sportage is up two spots at #5 with 190 units and 2.9%. The Renault Thalia is stable in 6th place at 2.3%, above the BMW 3 Series unusually high at 147 sales.

Full Top 50 Ranking Table below.

Croatia March 2011: Skoda Octavia #1 thanks to… police fleet!

Skoda Octavia Policija. Picture by Rescuenav, all rights reserved.

Croatian car sales are up for the third month in a row, an encouraging +12% in March at 3,836 units. Once again the Skoda Octavia takes the lead with 255 sales and 6.5% share. Local website Slobodna Dalmacija explains part of this sales surge by the high volume of Police fleet deliveries of the model over the period!

In #2 comes the Opel Astra at 5.8%, followed by the Renault Megane (3.6%), Renault Clio (3.5%) and VW Polo (3.3%). Dacia places two models in the Top 10: the Sandero in 8th position (2.7%) and the Duster in 10th (2.5%), breaking into the Top 10 for the very first time in Croatia.

Full Top 10 Ranking Table below.

Argentina March 2011: VW Gol leads, Peugeot 408 lands

* See the Top 50 best selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ at the end of the post *

New car sales in Argentina are up for the 17th month in a row at +16% in March with 66,608 registrations. ACARA changes its methodology and doesn’t split models by version anymore, which has a significant impact on the ranking.

The VW Gol takes the first place, with its Trend and Power versions combined selling a total of 4,870 units and 7.3% share, ahead of the Chevrolet Corsa/Classic at 4,062 sales and 6.1%. The Peugeot 207 rounds up the podium at 2,971 sales and 4.5%.

The Ford Ecosport and Renault Sandero are solid at over 3% share, just above the VW Bora in 6th place. Renault has a good month with the Logan up 7 spots on February at #15 and the Fluence up 18 spots at #27 with 815 units.

For its first month of sales, the Peugeot 408 lands directly within the Top 50 at #45 with 420 sales and 0.6% share.

Full Top 50 Ranking Table below.