World 7 months 2012:

[far2000]

Full July 2012 Top 150 Ranking Table below.
World 7 months 2012:
Pos Model 7m 2012 Jul Jun 2011
1 Toyota Corolla 690,216 1 1 1
2 Ford Focus 575,281 2 2 2
3 Toyota Camry 458,080 9 9 11
4 VW Golf 454,041 6 4 3
5 Ford Fiesta 446,717 7 6 5
6 Chevrolet Cruze 433,297 11 8 8
7 Ford F-Series 431,570 5 7 9
8 VW Passat 429,939 8 10 10
9 Hyundai Elantra 429,187 4 12 6
10 Nissan Tiida/Versa/Sunny 426,170 12 5 15
11 VW Polo/Vento 416,210 10 11 4
12 VW Jetta 395,677 3 3 14
13 Hyundai Accent 365,723 14 16 18
14 Honda CR-V 354,817 16 14 19
15 Honda Civic 341,764 13 15 17
16 Toyota Hilux 325,921 15 13 21
17 Suzuki Swift/Dzire 320,230 32 21 31
18 Wuling Sunshine 319,789 24 31 7
19 Opel Astra/Buick Excelle XT/GT/Verano 306,529 20 17 26
20 Hyundai Sonata 301,242 19 24 20
21 Toyota Yaris/Vitz/Vios 296,229 22 19 16
22 Honda Accord 285,842 21 20 22
23 Honda Fit/Jazz 276,754 18 22 32
24 VW Gol/Voyage 267,947 17 23 23
25 Renault Clio/Thalia 264,152 36 25 25
26 Toyota RAV4 253,527 25 32 33
27 Chevrolet Silverado 252,181 30 28 24
28 VW Tiguan 251,501 26 29 53
29 Opel/Chevrolet Corsa 250,143 29 18 13
30 Suzuki Alto/A-Star/Celerio 242,613 58 35 30
31 Nissan Qashqai/Dualis 241,245 37 26 38
32 Kia Rio/Pride/K2 239,497 34 34 93
33 Toyota Prius 236,622 28 37 42
34 Saipa Pride 236,361 51 61 12
35 Wuling Rongguang/Xingwang 227,447 49 60 37
36 Renault/Dacia Logan 226,444 31 36 45
37 Ford Escape/Kuga 223,987 33 27 49
38 Hyundai Tucson/ix35 219,080 23 30 27
39 Skoda Octavia 214,911 47 39 34
40 Foton Forland 213,993 56 59 29
41 Dodge RAM 210,210 35 40 50
42 Nissan Altima 202,754 40 62 56
43 Kia Sportage 197,657 41 53 47
44 Suzuki Wagon R 196,717 44 47 51
45 Mazda3 192,773 52 48 39
46 Buick Excelle/Chevrolet Optra 192,114 48 51 35
47 BMW 3 Series 189,654 69 38 36
48 Kia Optima/K5 186,753 43 54 78
49 Suzuki Carry/Every 183,831 50 41 n/a
50 Chevrolet Malibu 181,411 85 33 72
51 Renault/Dacia Sandero 178,793 42 44 59
52 Ford Fusion (US) 177,388 46 55 61
53 Chevrolet Aveo II/Sonic 175,893 59 43 40
54 Kia Forte/Cerato 171,998 63 63 28
55 ChangAn Minibus 170,855 133 56 44
56 Fiat Palio/Siena 170,086 27 42 63
57 Wuling Hongguang 168,539 53 66 n/a
58 Nissan Sentra/Pulsar/Tsuru 165,701 88 87 76
59 BMW 5 Series 163,738 54 64 46
60 Mercedes C Class 162,222 55 45 41
61 Audi A4 160,182 57 58 48
62 Fiat Uno 159,194 39 57 54
63 Peugeot 207 155,888 111 113 57
64 Chevrolet Spark II/III/Beat 155,668 78 67 43
65 Daihatsu Cuore/Mira 155,457 64 69 n/a
66 Renault/Dacia Duster 152,955 45 52 99
67 Renault Megane 151,385 67 49 60
68 Audi A6 151,307 60 68 74
69 Toyota Prius c/Aqua 148,241 38 46 -
70 Chevrolet Equinox 143,553 62 71 80
71 Peugeot 405/Pars 142,337 68 84 52
72 Chevrolet Sail 139,606 86 86 87
73 VW Santana/Vista 132,052 71 50 n/a
74 Isuzu D-Max/KB 130,140 72 78 n/a
75 Citroen C4 129,289 87 97 55
76 VW Bora (China) 129,215 74 77 84
77 Ford Transit 127,246 75 81 64
78 Toyota Highlander/Kluger 126,720 66 73 81
79 Nissan March/Micra 126,263 73 91 65
80 Honda NBOX 125,678 61 70 n/a
81 Fiat 500 124,764 90 72 90
82 Toyota Avanza 121,076 76 88 101
83 VW Lavida 119,478 132 157 68
84 Skoda Fabia 119,299 118 111 62
85 Nissan Juke 119,003 96 96 79
86 Fiat Punto 118,448 102 94 58
87 Peugeot 308 118,058 112 105 84
88 Subaru Legacy/Liberty/Outback 117,893 83 83 n/a
89 Toyota Prius a/+/v 116,991 92 120 n/a
90 GMC Sierra 116,385 91 93 85
91 Mercedes E Class 114,464 98 79 69
92 Chevrolet Impala 113,387 n/a 85 98
93 Fiat Panda 113,097 113 90 89
94 Honda City/Ballade 112,269 77 75 73
95 Citroen C3 111,981 121 92 67
96 Dodge Grand Caravan 111,291 101 103 n/a
97 Hyundai Santa Fe 110,855 82 65 91
98 Chevrolet Celta/Prisma 110,216 70 99 77
99 Daihatsu Tanto 110,045 79 98 n/a
100 Nissan Frontier/Navara 109,356 109 89 n/a
101 Kia Sorento 108,712 80 95 75
102 Jeep Grand Cherokee 108,079 99 114 n/a
103 Renault Scenic 107,376 107 76 n/a
104 Renault Kangoo 106,989 115 101 94
105 Mazda2 106,309 104 125 n/a
106 VW Fox 105,211 65 82 n/a
107 Nissan Livina 105,075 124 74 104
108 Toyota Innova 104,384 n/a 104 n/a
109 Ford Explorer 104,062 106 102 n/a
110 Mini Cooper/Clubman 103,930 137 80 88
111 Nissan Teana/Maxima 103,004 141 110 70
112 Jeep Wrangler 102,655 93 100 n/a
113 Mitsubishi L200/Triton/Strada 101,121 150 108 n/a
114 Subaru Impreza/XV 100,763 110 127 n/a
115 Chevrolet Avalanche/Tahoe/Suburban 100,466 94 107 n/a
116 Daihatsu Move 100,171 108 117 n/a
117 Mazda6 99,759 129 138 102
118 Hyundai i30 99,371 120 116 86
119 Audi Q5 98,388 117 124 n/a
120 Kia Soul 97,369 119 131 96
121 Hyundai i20 96,575 100 112 97
122 Honda Odyssey 96,008 95 115 n/a
123 Ford Edge 95,897 114 121 n/a
124 Nissan Rogue 95,560 105 136 n/a
125 FAW Xiali N3/N5 94,291 n/a n/a 83
126 Kia Picanto/Morning 91,719 123 123 82
127 Hyundai i10 90,772 149 152 71
128 Chevrolet Colorado/S10 89,363 81 128 n/a
129 Honda Freed 89,292 126 132 n/a
130 Peugeot 206 89,198 n/a n/a 105
131 Tata Vista 88,592 89 n/a n/a
132 Ford Mondeo 88,293 140 130 100
133 Chery QQ 85,622 138 139 n/a
134 Dodge Journey/Fiat Freemont 85,170 97 119 n/a
135 Suzuki Alto (Japan) 84,870 128 141 n/a
136 VW Touran 84,343 127 118 n/a
137 Buick LaCrosse 83,648 147 133 n/a
138 Toyota Tacoma 83,626 125 135 n/a
139 Ford E-Series 82,758 n/a 129 n/a
140 Ford Ka 81,559 148 126 n/a
141 Toyota Sienna 80,084 122 137 n/a
142 Lada Kalina 79,493 135 134 n/a
143 BYD F3 77,068 n/a 153 92
144 Great Wall Voleex C30 76,527 n/a n/a n/a
145 Iran Khodro Samand/Soren 76,339 143 160 n/a
146 Toyota Alphard/Vellfire 76,218 n/a 150 n/a
147 Toyota Prado 74,660 130 162 n/a
148 Ford C-Max 73,411 n/a 145 n/a
149 Lada Priora 73,319 136 146 n/a
150 Emgrand EC7 72,675 139 122 n/a

 

[Gianclaudio]

Fiat is going to hell......

Edit: there must be something wrong with the list. Herein the Panda has 113k unitos sold vs the Europe's list in which has 117k

 

[K-A]

WTF. The A6 is outselling the E-Class that heavily throughout the world?! Such a contrast from the U.S where it's not selling even close to half what the E-Class sells for. Maybe Audi's lack of incentives is what's hurting them out here VS M-B and BMW who literally whore their cars out for under invoice to get them on the roads.

 

[Monster]

Wuling Sunshine at 18th.......and whatever happen to the Tata Nano? It is apparently the world's cheapest new car and it isn't even on the list?

 

[Cashmere]

Wuling Sunshine at 18th.......and whatever happen to the Tata Nano? It is apparently the world's cheapest new car and it isn't even on the list?

Im not entirely certain but IIRC, it's only being sold in India atm.

 

[EnI]

WTF. The A6 is outselling the E-Class that heavily throughout the world?!

China is the answer to your question!

Audi sells tons of cars there, and A6L outsells the 5er & E-class by quite a margin, thus the high total sales figure.

Also in Europe 5er & A6 are selling much better than E-class - and also mind fleet sales help E-class figures a lot (taxi drivers, company fleet cars, shuttle services etc). Not to mention the wagons, where once very popular T-Modell fell much behind 5er Touring & A6 Avant.

Think: Why is MB heavily revising the E-class with the LCI? The current car obviously isn't on par with its direct rivals from BMW & Audi ... I don't know why the car is so popular in US market, but especially in Europe it's design is considered to be too unrefined, especially when compared to other cars in the same segment (A6, 5er, XF etc). Not to mention the E-class private customers are way above the average customer age in this segment.

MB needs to cater more to the a bit younger crowds with its core models, and offer some special model & variants for the elderly. Especially since the rivals have started to offer some products to keep the aging customers (who want more comfort) with the brand, and not leaving for MB. So, to compensate the lower inflow of older customers, MB has to steal some "younger" (we are still talking 40+ crowd here!) from the rivals.

That's why MB is introducing some designs & models (incl. new entry models & "classes") that are more dynamic, more extravagant, more attractive to "younger" clientèle. And by doing so MB is "reviving" the brand image. It has to, otherwise BMW & Audi will gain to much advantage in this particular age segment.

MB is late, but ... better be late than never.

 

[K-A]

The W212 is insanely popular in the States, which is interesting considering how it does everywhere else in comparison to the rivals.

I don't think the "age thing" really exists over typical stereotyping. Most "studies" I've seen show that M-B buyers aren't much older than BMW buyers.

Also, as far as styling, M-B has the most extravagant, flamboyant designs of all 3 now, yet their market share is declining more than ever. They've expanded into cheaper markets, have had the B-Class with no BMW alternative, etc. etc. This thinking that "crazier styling will bring in younger buyers" is purely not true, case in point: AUDI. Audi has the young crowd, and is THE MOST CONSERVATIVE of all. Young people love simple-yet-fresh, Apple is case in point. Hyundai and the like make crazy designs that pander to younger crowds (due to price points obviously first and foremost), yet when they step up to premium segments, they seem to love carefully crafted designs. BMW is also very conservative, always has been, save for the "Bangle Gen", but young people seem to love them.

 

[EnI]

It's not all about the lines ... Audi is very extravagant & avantgarde with its huge trapezoid / hexagonal single-frame grille & prominent LED daylights, despite the conservative styling of body lines & panels. While the Audi interiors are - we all have to admit - very modern & avantgarde.

BMW cars have "angel-eyes" - which look really aggressive & still very modern. Not to mention the stealthy proportions which make the cars look sporty - despite the conservative lines.

MB have been trying hard with flamboyant lines to achieve the avantgarde look, and introducing the LED daylights "eyebrows" to give its cars more modern look.

Regarding the "average age" - the statistics show the "average" MB buyer in the particular segment is older than BMW & Audi buyer. There is even more discrepancy when the whole model-lines are taken into consideration.

Younger buyers ... it's all about the brand image. MB has the image of the brand that offers mostly "Opamobiles" ... So they are trying to fresh up the brand image - with more flamboyant designs, with tacky details, with sportier looking entry products (new A-class, upcoming CLA etc) etc.

Why E-class is so popular in US is beyond me, really. I still don't get it. It must be the "Americanized" boxy & rectangular look, I guess ... It makes the car looking more like an American car, since American designs are usually associated with boxiness & rectangularity.

 

[K-A]

It's not all about the lines ... Audi is very extravagant & avantgarde with its huge trapezoid / hexagonal single-frame grille & prominent LED daylights, despite the conservative styling of body lines & panels. While the Audi interiors are - we all have to admit - very modern & avantgarde.

BMW cars have "angel-eyes" - which look really aggressive & still very modern. Not to mention the stealthy proportions which make the cars look sporty - despite the conservative lines.

MB have been trying hard with flamboyant lines to achieve the avantgarde look, and introducing the LED daylights "eyebrows" to give its cars more modern look.

Regarding the "average age" - the statistics show the "average" MB buyer in the particular segment is older than BMW & Audi buyer. There is even more discrepancy when the whole model-lines are taken into consideration.

Younger buyers ... it's all about the brand image. MB has the image of the brand that offers mostly "Opamobiles" ... So they are trying to fresh up the brand image - with more flamboyant designs, with tacky details, with sportier looking entry products (new A-class, upcoming CLA etc) etc.

Why E-class is so popular in US is beyond me, really. I still don't get it. It must be the "Americanized" boxy & rectangular look, I guess ... It makes the car looking more like an American car, since American designs are usually associated with boxiness & rectangularity.

Regarding the U.S, I think it has to do with flamboyance. The E60 heavily outsold the W211 in the U.S, but if I'm not mistaken, the W211 outsold it in ROW? Totally a reversal of now.

I don't think that's really the case with young VS old. Fact is, M-B have been BENEFITTED by their "unattainable" image. More young Pop Stars, Celebrities, etc. talk about Mercedes, with nary a mention of BMW, and pretty much nothing of Audi. You have to remember, it's all about ACCESSIBILITY. M-B moving downmarket will get more young people to BUY their cars because of moving down in price and market, but it'll make them less inclined to WANT the cars.

For example, Rolls Royce is a Grandpa-mobile, much older clientele than M-B.... however, does that make them not desirable to youngins? Not at all!

M-B is afforded by older people because that's who can afford it. This is why they have such a high brand cachet. Yes, milking that cachet and moving downmarket will get more sales, but it'll ruin the "halo effect", and eventually could make M-B "just another car", thus even though being DRIVEN by more young people, it won't be as *REGARDED* by them.

IMO marketing departements time and time again fail to understand the "young VS old" dynamic. They think by making everything look like funky entry-level Hyundai, they'll get Hyundai's young crowd. They're forgetting price, and IMAGE, i.e Mercedes has an upmarket image because it's not supposed to look like a funky-goofy Hyundai that costs $20K, with goofy lines and "rice rocket bumpers" (new CLA).

 

[K-A]

Also, I think that Audi understands the "young" thing better than anyone. They keep their cars looking practically the same every generation, confidently conservative, yes with some fresh and avantgarde details, but not to the extent of BMW or M-B overall I think. They make their cars the "anti-flamboyant", the "anti-Mercedes", "anti-BMW", the "anti-look at me", and young people love that. It's stealthy, fresh, sophisticated, the "cool forward place to be". I'm not an Audi fan really, and I don't see that from them personally, but it's a marketing and focused tactic they have that's worked on a lot of people.

Also, look at a Porsche 911. No gimmicks, confidently iconic design that very subtly changes for half a century, and young people are basically born to adore it.

Young people love confidence. They don't like pandering, which is what M-B is doing right now. It'll win many over, but IMO it's too desperate to do what Audi did, which was effortlessly win over the youth by looking like they didn't even care to (hint: That psychology works very well with youngsters).

 

[EnI]

E-class flamboyant? Really? I don't find E-class flamboyant at all. Sure W212 is crispier & sharper than W211 but hardly flamboyant. It's a fairly conservative design with some sharp yet conventional lines. CLS is flamboyant. A-class is flamboyant. Swoopy lines are flamboyant. Eyebrows are flamboyant - at least they were when featured on "Bangled" BMWs. Zillion of LEDs are flamboyant etc. But the E-class design as a whole is still a conservative one IMO.

IMO MB went boxy to cater to American taste. GL is boxy, GLK is boxy, E-class is boxy, and they even made the new ML boxier ... and the SLK, and the SL ... and even CLS is boxier than the previous one.

Is boxy design a flamboyant design? Hardly. But swooshy lines definitely are. And the buggy headlights ...

Regarding the premium design ... yes, IMO it's all about easy-flowing & fluent sophistication. Without trying too much. It's a trend right now ... set by Apple ... influenced by Braun industrial design ... and earlier by who-knows-what. Functionalism is "in" right now. Again.

But I disagree with you on Audi's lack of "look-at-me" factor ... The huge single-frame grille screams for gazes ... OK, we got used to it ... but it's still a very extravagant feature. In some cases it still looks kind of vulgar ... just like eg. bubbly "Bangle-butt" did, or like swooshy lines & drag-queen-like eybrows do on some MB cars. But those are the extravagant, flamboyant & avantgarde details that attract some people. Obviously a lot of them.

Then it comes down to design engineering - which carmaker is the best when it comes to implementing the design ideas into production. And here Audi is definitely a leader. Perhaps because it uses simple lines & shapes ... not experimenting much. Therefore the production result is clean, flawless, sophisticated ... looking premium. Not to mention that Audi designs (actually all VAG designs are) are still the most cohesive: even the avantgarde & flamboyant details fit well the rather conservative lines ... resulting in a very holistic design. When sometimes in BMW & MB case I have a feeling they are not as good in combining the details (eg. head- & rear light graphics, air-intake designs etc) with the rest of the car body.

I can say the Audi designs are the best executed ones (in production form) ... albeit quite dull in general ... yet still fresh & modern! And that gives Audi a certain sophistication & confidence ... and so the premium felling ... MB & BMW designs sometimes lack.

Yet not sure what's the reason for that ... either MB & BMW do too much cost-cutting, and therefore not offering best possible production solutions (when it comes to designs)... or they can not get the optimal solutions for the price Audi is getting them ... or perhaps Audi has best design engineers after all.

Yes, brand confidence is also very important. Not just the heritage but also the present brand condition. Audi seems to do everything with such an ease ... While MB & BMW seem like they are trying very hard to get the same result ... And that makes (it's still much about perceptions!) Audi so desirable ... Just like Apple. They are just good at what they are doing ... without much effort. Perhaps due to VAG's "little help".

 

[Gianclaudio]

What a nice write up, EnI!

It's a trend right now ... set by Apple ... influenced by Braun industrial design ... and earlier by who-knows-what. Functionalism is "in" right now.

Bauhaus philosophy I guess

Also, where you ask yourself if Audi perhaps has the best designers in the industry, well, I think they do: Da Silva, and now VAG bought Italdesign Giugiaro. And I think you get what you pay for. Top notch designers, top notch designs.

There also a good point for Audis strong sales: the strong family look; so when you buy an entry level Audi you get a car that has the look of the more expensive cars. Is not the case with BMW and much less with Mercedes.
Great for the owners of the expensive models, bad for the owners of the mass production cars, which, are the ones that bring the "good stuff" to the pockets.

Regards!