The best-selling car in every major car market

Some countries enjoyed considerable growth in new cars sales in 2019, while others endured small to large drops.

There were also some surprise entries as the number one sellers in a few countries, so here are the best-selling cars in the top 30 biggest markets. And who on earth knows what will happen in 2020 with current events?

The data comes from Jato Dynamics and we start with the largest seller and list them in descending order:

1: USA, Ford F Series – 896,526

The Ford F Series retains its number one status in the USA despite a drop in overall sales by 1.4% compared to 2018. While that fall in sales may come as a disappointment to Ford’s executives, they will be heartened by the F Series holding on to the tops sales slot for the 38th year in succession and its 43rd year in total as the best-seller in the US.

On top of this, Ford will also be happy that its F Series contributed to a strong overall year of sales for its large SUVs and pick-ups. The F Series may have been slightly down, but the Ranger was up by 36.5% and the Expedition enjoyed a growth of 58.1% in 2019 compared to the previous year. Pick-up sales are highly correlated to both the construction and shale oil sectors so with both affected by the current Covid situation, it will be interesting to see what happens this year.

2: China, Toyota Corolla – 573,357

More than 21 million new cars were sold in China in 2019 and the biggest seller of the lot was the Toyota Corolla. It enjoyed a boost in imported car sales across the board in China for its numbers to jump by a huge 19% in 2019 to 573,357. This was all the more impressive against a backdrop of rising sales for SUV-style vehicles.

The Corolla’s success in China has helped put Toyota into third place among the country’s favourite car brands. It has also aided the Corolla in its relentless march as the world’s best-selling model line in history as it closes in on 50 million Corollas of all generations produced.

3: Japan, Honda N-box – 253,500

The Toyota Prius may have unseated the Nissan Note as Japan’s best-selling car in 2019, but neither comes close to the Honda N-Box’s 253,500 sales in this year. The N-Box is classed as a kei car, so Japan doesn’t count it in the same way, but the reality is the 57bhp 658cc N-Box is a car like any other and accounted for around one in every 20 new vehicles sold in Japan in 2019.

The N-Box’s performance is all the more impressive for increasing its sales by 5% against a Japanese market that contracted by 1.5% to 5.2 million new vehicles in 2019. Unsurprisingly, all 20 places in the Japanese 2019 best-seller list were cars made in Japan by domestic manufacturers.

4: Brazil, Chevrolet Onix – 241,223

There are two noteworthy improvements for the Chevrolet Onix in 2019. First, it’s grown sales in Brazil by more than 30,000 to hold on to its dominant number one slot. Secondly, this has helped the Brazilian car market to move into fourth spot in this league, demoting India to fifth place. Accounting for one in-every-12 cars sold in Brazil, the Onix is all but a national institution.

Fortunately for Chevrolet, a recall for a potential fire risk with the Onix came right at the end of 2019 to leave sales unharmed for the year. One other bit of recognition for Brazil’s importance to the Onix and General Motors is the next generation of Onix will be developed and built in Brazil.

5: India, Suzuki Alto – 208,087

Suzuki has had to endure a tough year with the Alto in India even though it hung on to the number one spot in 2019. By the end of the year, the Alto was languishing fifth in monthly sales reports, though Suzuki will be relieved that all four cars ahead of the Alto in the chart were also Suzuki models.

The Alto’s downfall comes even after a facelift early in 2019 that should have seen a sales uptake. However, the Indian market is moving rapidly towards cars with more power and standard equipment as the economy continues to grow. Low-cost cars such as those championed by the Alto are beginning to be regarded as outdated and undesirable.

6: Germany, Volkswagen Golf – 173,784

VW bosses in Wolfsburg can rest easy as the Volkswagen Golf holds on to its number one spot in German new car sales. It’s almost a given this is the case, but VW had a fright in 2018 when sales dipped by some 17,000 units compared to 2017. That situation has been redeemed to a small extent by a 1% increase in Golf sales in 2019 over those of 2018. Add in all the different versions of Golf available and its sales totalled 204,550.

Volkswagen can also be happy the Tiguan provides a comfortable second place for its sales. However, the Mercedes C-Class drove a wedge into the Wolfsburg dominance of the top five by finishing the year in third place, relegating the Polo to fourth and the Passat to fifth position. A new eighth generation Golf is going on sale in 2020 so it looks like its dominance in its home market will continue.

7: Thailand, Toyota Hilux – 165,452

The Isuzu D-Max gave it a good run for its money, but the Toyota Hilux emerged as the winner overall in Thailand’s new car sales in 2019. The Toyota managed this by adding some 10% to its sales tally from 2018, going up from 149,336 the previous year to 165,452 in 2019.

It’s a measure of the Thai market that second place went to the Isuzu pick-up and third was taken by the Ford Ranger. However, the Mazda2 and Toyota Yaris both put in strong performances to come home in fourth and fifth spots respectively.

8: France, Renault Clio – 154,220

The Renault Clio pulled a bit of a flanker in France in 2019 to hang on to its best-selling status. As a single model line, the Peugeot 208 was the biggest seller, but the Clio name is applied to a wider range of cars and the arrival of a new model in 2019 boosted its sales by 2% compared to 2018.

With a mix of Clio IV and V generation model sales tallied together, the Renault comfortably outperforms its Peugeot rival. Taken individually, the previous generation Clio came in third place and the new model in ninth, but combined they are well ahead of the opposition by three cars sold to every two from Peugeot.

9: Italy, Fiat Panda – 142,784

The Italians still like to buy local when it comes to their cars and as a result the Fiat Panda continues as the country’s number one choice. Not only that, but the Panda increased its sales in 2019 by a healthy 10% over 2018’s 130,206 total.

Unlike many other European countries, Italy is not dominated by SUVs and crossovers. Instead, the main competition for the Panda’s title comes from the Lancia Ypsilon, Renault Clio and Citroën C3. The only exception to this is the Dacia Duster that scored a fourth place finish in 2019’s overall sales in Italy.

10: Russia, Lada Granta – 137,217

2019 was a very good year for the Lada Granta as it grew sales by 27% over its 2018 performance of 106,325 units. It put the Granta a long way ahead of the second best placed car in the Russian sales table, the Lada Vesta that notched up 111,459 sales.

All of this makes Lada a dominant force at the sharp end of the table, and the Largus VP model from the domestic manufacturer comes in at seventh. In total, Lada sold 362,356 cars in Russia in 2019 to increase sales by 1% in a market that contracted by 2%. Lada is owned by France’s Renault Group.

11: Canada, Ford F Series – 145.064

In a similar fashion to the USA, Canada is a market that loves its pick-ups, which is why the top two best sellers are both trucks rather than saloons or hatches. There’s no prize for guessing the Ford F Series tops the bill as it has occupied this position for the last 10 years in a row and it’s never been out of the top three for longer than the Ford Mustang has been in production.

To give an idea of how much Canadians love their Ford F Series pick-ups produced locally at the Oakville plant in Ontario, the Blue Oval accounts for more than twice as many as the number three seller, the Toyota RAV4, while the second placed Dodge Ram picked up 96,673 sales in 2019.

12: South Korea, Hyundai Grandeur – 103,349

The Hyundai Grandeur, or Azera as it’s known in some markets, remained South Korea’s best-selling car in 2019. However, this was with a reduced volume of 103,349 sales versus 113,101 in 2018. That’s a 9% drop for the model in a market that shrank by 2% overall in the same year.

Hyundai will be grateful to keep the Grandeur on the top step of the podium for the third year in a row, especially as the Grandeur had slipped as low as seventh in the rankings in the middle of the year. However, an all-new Grandeur launched late in the year rallied sales in December, which were up 13% on previous months, and it regained its place in the lead.

13: Mexico, Nissan Versa – 88,707

It’s no change for the Nissan Versa in Mexico. It holds on to the top spot, albeit with a reduced number of sales that are down 3% from 2018’s 91,320 units. This is the fourth year the Versa has enjoyed in this position and it’s the 19th year on the bounce for Nissan.

Nissan will be cheered by the Versa’s relatively modest drop in sales as the overall Mexican market was down by 7.6% in 2018. The introduction of a new generation of the Versa compact saloon helped boost sales in the last quarter of 2019, keeping it ahead of the second-placed Chevrolet Aveo that saw its sales fall by 13.5% during the whole of 2019.

14: Indonesia, Toyota Avanza – 86,379

The new car market in Indonesia plummeted by 11% in 2019, yet the Toyota Avanza bucked the trend to increase its overall sales by 5%. That saw the Avanza consolidate its overall lead in the sales chart to score 14 years without a break as the best-seller in the country.

Toyota will be breathing a sigh of relief over the Avanza’s performance as its sales had been in steady decline for the previous five years. 2019’s performance shows the slightly gawky looking Avanza still has what it takes to draw in buyers who need its SUV practicality and go-anywhere ability on many of the country’s unmade roads.

15: Malaysia, Perodua Axia – 86,379

The Malayian new car market broke through the 600,000 sales barrier for the first time in 2019 and it was all down to passenger car sales. A good slice of this was due to Proton’s rising prominence, but it wasn’t enough to unseat the Perodua Myvi as the number one car by the end of 2019. This makes it two years in a row for the Myvi.

The upturn in overall sales was mirrored by the Myvi, which enjoyed a 30% increase in registrations over 2018’s 78,425 cars. Perodua enjoys a 40% market share in its home country, but it will be looking warily as rival Proton, which jumped ahead of Toyota and Honda to take second place in the manufacturer league table for the first time since 2015 and grab a 16.6% market share.

16: UK, Ford Fiesta – 80,039

The UK new car market suffered its third year in a row of decline, though sales still remained well above 2 million at 2.3 million. At the top of the pile of new cars is the Ford Fiesta for the 11th straight year, which will give Ford some succour as the Fiesta’s sales were down by 17% compared to 2018’s. This decline was largely attributed to the new generation Fiesta being more expensive than the car it replaced and uncertainty in the market due to concerns over both Brexit-related political deadlock and the future of the diesel engines.

There was more bad news for Ford as the Focus was displaced by the Volkswagen Golf as the second best seller in the UK. Even so, VW managed this with sales that were down 9%, so it was more to do with haemorrhaging fewer sales than the Focus that lost 12% of its sales compared to 2018.

17: Algeria, Dacia Sandero – 58,256

Another year, another win in the best-selling rankings for Dacia in Algeria. This time the honours go to the Sandero with total sales of 58,256 in this North African country. The Logan held that position in 2018, but the Sandero resumes its leading role that it enjoyed in 2018.

Not only is the Sandero back in the top podium spot, it does so with an improved sale performance to achieve 58,256 sales in 2019. It helps that it’s presently the only Dacia model sold in Algeria, but is also testament to this car’s suitability to the rough roads that make up much of the country’s infrastructure. It also helps that Dacia builds cars locally in Algeria to keep the price lower than many imported rivals.

18: South Africa, Volkswagen Polo – 56,593

South Africa makes a surprise visit into the Top 30 of countries in this list, though it’s as much to do with other countries’ enduring declining sales. The South African market also shrank in 2019, but only by 2.8% to be the lowest drop since 2010. This bottoming out of dropping sales combined with the popularity of the Volkswagen Polo to see it take the best-selling gong with sales up by 7.8%.

In South Africa, the Polo is sold as the Polo Vivo and the Polo, with the former a more basic model based on the previous generation model. So, the reason the Polo takes top spot is by combined nameplate sales. Separate the Polo from the Polo Vivo and it’s the cheaper Vivo that is the better seller. However, if these two are taken individually, they are both beaten by the Toyota Hilux that sold 40,934 units in 2019.

19: Turkey, Fiat Egea – 55,432

The new car market in Turkey slumped by 23% in 2019, yet it was a bonanza year for the Fiat Egea as it added more than 50% to its sales tally from 2018. This saw sales of the Egea hit 55,432 compared to 36,649 in 2018, so it now leads Turkish new car sales for fourth year running.

Much of the Egea’s success is due to its commanding position in the country’s fleet sales, a good deal of which is centred around hire cars for Turkey’s large tourism industry. This one model now accounts for 11.6% of all new cars sold in Turkey in 2019 and shows little sign of relinquishing that dominance as the Renault Clio and Megane are distant contenders in second and third places respectively.

20: Australia, Toyota Hilux – 47,649

Australia saw new car sales drop every month throughout 2019 and this was compounded by the forest fires that swept across large swathes of the country towards the end of the year. It highlighted the Australian’s preference for rugged, reliable cars and the Toyota Hilux again emerged as the best-seller for the fourth on the trot. However, this was achieved with sales down by 7.8% compared to 2018 and the Hilux proving better resistant to decline than most of its rivals.

The Hilux retains its pole position by virtue of a wider range than some competitors, offering both two- and four-wheel drive versions. If only the most popular all-wheel drive models were counted, the Ford Ranger would beat the Hilux for sales volume. Luckily for Toyota, the rear-drive Hilux outsells its nearest competition from the Isuzu D-Max by 6000 units.

21: Spain, SEAT Leon – 35,848

The SEAT Leon bucked the trend in Spain to increase its sales, albeit by a relatively slender 3% over 2018’s figure. However, it was more than enough to ensure the Leon’s position as Spain’s number one seller, helped along by the country’s car buyers’ love of its domestic product.

Overall, the Spanish new car market was down by 2.4%, which is the first dip it has experienced since 2012. More of a concern for SEAT will be Peugeot edging it out as the overall best-selling brand, which the French company has achieved through steady sales of all its models rather than leading any particular market. Also worrying for SEAT is the Dacia Sandero sold only 2000 units less than the Leon to take a very solid second place in 2019’s sales chart.

22: Philippines, Toyota Vios – 30,055

The Toyota Vios, or Yaris as it’s known in most other markets, remains the favourite of Filipino car buyers. This is the fourth year in a row the Vios has topped the sales charts in the Philippines and it did this with an 8.1% share of the total new car market. It also topped the sales league for 11 out of the 12 months in 2019 to assert its dominance and enjoyed a 27% increase in sales year-on-year from 2018 to 2019.

Toyota is by far the biggest name in the Philippines and its Hilux, Innova and Fortuner took the following three places respectively in the top five. Only Mitsubishi managed to break in with a different brand in fifth with its Xpander.

23: Taiwan, Toyota Corolla – 30,672

It’s 15 consecutive years for the Toyota Corolla as the number one best-seller in Taiwan. It did this with a 10% boost in sales in 2019, keeping it ahead of the Toyota RAV4 in second spot that has been gaining sales with the launch of the latest generation in this year. In Taiwan, the Corolla is also referred to as the Altis, or Corolla Altis.

Toyota will be grateful for the upsurge in Corolla sales as 2018 proved to be a tough year for the car, with sales down by 30% on 2017’s numbers. The 10% increase for the Corolla also well ahead of the 1.1% rise in the overall Taiwanese new car market in 2019 – helped by the arrival of a new generation model.

24: Vietnam, Toyota Vios – 30,055

2019 marked six years in a row for the Toyota Vios, or Yaris as it’s also known, as the best-selling car in Vietnam. It managed this despite sales slipping by 0.1%, which may be worrying for Toyota as the Vietnamese new car market grew by 12.4% in 2019.

However, with a market share of 8.4%, the Vios is still a very strong leader in this market and well ahead of most of its rivals in the top five. Only the Mitsubishi Xpander comes close to giving the Vios a run for its money as its sales rocketed in 2019 after its launch and it took the top sales slot in November and December.

25: Netherlands, Tesla Model 3 – 29,922

To go from five cars sold in 2018 to just shy of 30,000 in 2019 is an amazing feat for Tesla with its Model 3 in the Netherlands. Partly this is due to Model 3 production ramping up in 2019, but the huge rise that puts the Model 3 into the number one best-seller slot is a little more complicated than pure consumer demand.

The Netherlands changed its vehicle tax system towards the end of 2019, doubling the amount of tax paid on new cars to 8% on the first €45,000 instead of 4% on the first €50,000 as before. This led to a rush of pre-registrations from car makers and Tesla was among the most prolific. Even so, it’s a great feat for the EV to take top spot when up against the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf.

26: Argentina, Toyota Hilux – 25,127

A major recession say new car sales in Argentina collapsing in 2019 from more than 800,000 in 2018 to 460,000 in 2019. Toyota proved the most adept at managing this decline with its Hilux, which still endured a 25% drop in sales in 2019 when compared to 2018’s figures. Even so, the Hilux was the most popular car in Argentina in ’19 to score its third league-topping win in four years.

No other pick-up made it into the top five best-sellers of 2019 in Argentina and the other four spots were taken by small cars. The locally-produced Volkswagen Amarok was the closest in sixth position.

27: Romania, Dacia Logan – 24,529

The Romanian new car market continued to go from strength to strength in 2019, with the Dacia Logan riding this wave to remain as the country’s best-selling car for the 15th year consecutively. It’s an impressive feat and the Logan managed this despite sales slipping by 2% over 2018’s volume.

Dacia’s hold on its domestic market is vice-like thanks to the Logan in pole position and the Duster and Sandero following up in second and third spots respectively. Both of these models posted increases in sales and market share in 2019, giving Dacia a total share of 31.1% of its home market.

28: Sweden, Volvo S/V60 – 23,178

It’s same brand but a new model that sweeps to overall honours in Sweden in 2019 as the Volvo S- and V60 head the sales chart. The popularity of these models as they came into full production availability saw them unseat Volvo’s S- and V90 from the pole position they enjoyed in 2018.

Further helping the S/V60 models was a change in Sweden’s car tax policy that is now based on WLTP emissions figures. This punishes larger cars registered from 1 January 2020, so there was a rush to register many cars by the end of 2019 to avoid the steeper charges. Even so, the S/V60 were unaffected and traditionally partisan Swedes flocked to the new models, keeping Volvo the country’s number one brand for the 19th year running.

29: Czech Republic, Skoda Octavia – 21,801

The Skoda Octavia holds on to its position as the Czech Republic’s best-seller in 2019, but only just. It’s enjoyed 11 uninterrupted years of lifting this title, but a sales drop of some 16% in 2019 compared to 2018 allowed the Skoda Fabia to close the gap to just 1400 cars in 2019.

Skoda will be looking to its all-new Octavia to reverse this decline of its most popular model in its homeland when it arrives in 2020. However, the company won’t be panicking too much as seven of its products featured in the top 10 best-selling list in 2019. This includes the Karoq that gained more than 50% in sales in 2019 over the previous year to take third place.

30: Poland, Skoda Octavia – 20,269

The overall new car market in Poland was up by a healthy 4% in 2019 over the previous year and the Skoda Octavia still topped the list at the year end. However, it did this with sales down by 4%, so the Octavia will have its work cut out to maintain that position at the end of 2020. This looks unlikely as the Toyota Corolla is proving to be a big hit with Polish buyers.

On the plus side for Skoda is it still maintains its number one brand position in Poland with a strong 11.1% overall share of the market. Toyota may be making in-roads but it’s still some way behind in overall sales in second position, while Volkswagen is a distant third.

If you enjoyed this story, sign up to Autocar’s newsletter for all the best car news, reviews and opinion direct to your inbox. Click here to subscribe.