Automotive
The Best-Selling Vehicles in the World By Country
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The Best-Selling Vehicles in the World By Country
Each country has different preferences for goods, and vehicles are no different.
Consumers in a dense country might prefer smaller cars, while countries with wide expanses (and parking spots) open the way for larger trucks. Likewise, rugged terrain might call for vehicles that can adapt and scale quickly.
And it’s also a question of which manufacturer invested in the country. As the world’s largest automakers have raced to attract consumers in every corner of the globe, they built factories, renamed models, and even built specific cars to fit the tastes of individual countries.
This infographic from Budget Direct Car Insurance highlights the best-selling vehicles in the world, using 2019 year-end sales data.
What is the Most Popular Vehicle in Each Country?
Though the map might vary across the board, one thing is certain: Toyota’s dominance.
The Japanese automaker—which was also the most valuable automaker in the world for many years before being overtaken by Tesla—had the best-selling vehicle in 41 countries of the 104 countries tallied.
It also had the world’s best-selling vehicle in 2019, the Toyota Corolla, though the sedan only took the top spot itself in five countries.
Country | Best-Selling Vehicle | Type |
---|---|---|
Algeria | Dacia Sandero | Subcompact |
American Samoa | Toyota Tacoma | Truck |
Angola | Toyota Land Cruiser J70 | SUV |
Argentina | Toyota Hilux | Truck |
Australia | Toyota Hilux | Truck |
Austria | Skoda Octavia | Sedan |
Azerbaijan | Khazar SD/LD | Sedan |
Bahrain | Toyota Land Cruiser | SUV |
Belarus | Lada Vesta | Sedan |
Belgium | VW Golf | Hatchback |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Skoda Octavia | Sedan |
Botswana | Toyota Hilux | Truck |
Brazil | Chevrolet Onix | Subcompact |
Canada | Ford F-Series | Truck |
Chile | Mitsubishi L-200 | Truck |
China | VW Lavida | Sedan |
Colombia | Renault Sandero | Subcompact |
Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) | Toyota Hilux | Truck |
Croatia | Skoda Octavia | Sedan |
Cyprus | Toyota Yaris | Subcompact |
Czech Republic | Skoda Octavia | Sedan |
Denmark | Nissan Qashqai | SUV |
Ecuador | Chevrolet Spark | Subcompact |
Egypt | Chevrolet T-Series | Truck |
Estonia | Toyota Rav4 | SUV |
Fiji | Toyota Hilux | Truck |
Finland | Skoda Octavia | Sedan |
France | Peugeot 208 I | Subcompact |
Georgia | Renault/Dacia Duster | SUV |
Germany | VW Golf | Hatchback |
Greece | Toyota Yaris | Subcompact |
Hungary | Suzuki Vitara | SUV |
Iceland | Toyota Rav4 | SUV |
India | Maruti Alto | Hatchback |
Indonesia | Toyota Avanza | Van |
Iran | Saipa Pride | Sedan |
Iraq | Kia Frontier | Truck |
Ireland | Toyota Corolla | Sedan |
Israel | Toyota Corolla | Sedan |
Italy | Fiat Panda | Subcompact |
Japan | Honda N-BOX | Subcompact |
Jordan | Hyundai Tucson | SUV |
Kazakhstan | Toyota Camry | Sedan |
Kenya | Toyota Hilux | Truck |
Kosovo | Dacia Sandero | Subcompact |
Kuwait | Toyota Land Cruiser | SUV |
Latvia | Toyota Corolla | Sedan |
Lebanon | Toyota Land Cruiser | SUV |
Lesotho | Toyota Hilux | Truck |
Liechtenstein | VW Golf | Hatchback |
Lithuania | Fiat 500 | Subcompact |
Luxembourg | VW Golf | Hatchback |
Macedonia | Kia Sportage | SUV |
Malawi | Toyota Hilux | Truck |
Malaysia | Perodua Myvi | Hatchback |
Mexico | Nissan Versa | Sedan |
Moldova | Dacia Logan | Sedan |
Monaco | Smart Fortwo | Subcompact |
Morocco | Dacia Dokker | Van |
Namibia | Toyota Hilux | Truck |
Netherlands | Tesla Model 3 | Sedan |
New Zealand | Ford Ranger | Truck |
Norway | Tesla Model 3 | Sedan |
Oman | Toyota Land Cruiser | SUV |
Pakistan | Toyota Corolla | Sedan |
Panama | Toyota Hilux | Truck |
Papua New Guinea | Toyota Land Cruiser J70 | SUV |
Paraguay | Chevrolet Onix | Subcompact |
Peru | Toyota Hilux | Truck |
Philippines | Toyota Vios | Subcompact |
Poland | Skoda Octavia | Sedan |
Portugal | Renault Clio | Hatchback |
Qatar | Toyota Land Cruiser | SUV |
Romania | Dacia Logan | Sedan |
Russia | Lada Granta | Subcompact |
Samoa | Toyota Hiace | Van |
Saudi Arabia | Hyundai Accent | Subcompact |
Senegal | Mitsubishi L200 | Truck |
Serbia | Skoda Octavia | Sedan |
Singapore | Honda Vezel/HR-V | SUV |
Slovakia | Skoda Fabia | Subcompact |
Slovenia | Renault Clio | Hatchback |
Solomon Islands | Toyota Hilux | Truck |
South Africa | Toyota Hilux | Truck |
South Korea | Hyundai Grandeur | Sedan |
Spain | SEAT Leon | Hatchback |
Sri Lanka | Suzuki Alto | Hatchback |
Swaziland (Eswatini) | Toyota Hilux | Truck |
Sweden | Volvo S/V60 | Sedan/Wagon |
Switzerland | Skoda Octavia | Sedan |
Syria | Hyundai Tucson | SUV |
Taiwan | Toyota Corolla | Sedan |
Thailand | Toyota Hilux | Truck |
Tonga | Toyota Hilux | Truck |
Tunisia | Renault Clio | Hatchback |
Turkey | Fiat Egea | Sedan |
Ukraine | Kia Sportage | SUV |
United Arab Emirates | Toyota Land Cruiser | SUV |
United Kingdom | Ford Fiesta | Subcompact |
United States | Ford F-150 | Truck |
Uruguay | Renault Kwid | Hatchback |
Venezuela | Toyota Fortuner | SUV |
Vietnam | Toyota Vios | Subcompact |
Yemen | Toyota Land Cruiser | SUV |
As the best-seller in 16 countries, the Toyota Hilux truck (also known as the Toyota Pickup in North America) was the top vehicle in the most countries. It has a noticeably strong market share in the Southern Hemisphere, including in Argentina, South Africa, and Australia.
The other consistent factor was the strength of local manufacturers. Many countries with large automakers had local models as the best-selling vehicles, especially in Europe.
Country with Local Best-Seller | Vehicle |
---|---|
Czech Republic | Škoda Octavia |
France | Peugeot 208 I |
Germany | VW Golf |
India | Maruti Alto |
Iran | SAIPA Pride |
Italy | Fiat Panda |
Japan | Honda N-BOX |
Malaysia | Perodua Myvi |
Romania | Dacia Logan |
Russia | Lada Granta |
South Korea | Hyundai Grandeur |
Spain | SEAT León |
Sweden | Volvo S/V60 |
U.S. | Ford F-150 |
Cars are the Best-Selling Vehicles in the World
So what do car consumers currently prefer? Currently, cars have a slight edge over trucks as the best-selling vehicles in the world.
Of the 104 countries with sales tallied for the study, smaller cars often classified as “passenger vehicles” (including sedans, hatchbacks, and subcompacts) made up the majority of best-sellers, with 57 of the best-selling vehicles by country.
Meanwhile, “light trucks” or “light commercial vehicles,” which include trucks, SUVs, and vans, were best-sellers in 47 countries.
Best-Selling Vehicles by Type
- Hatchback: 12
- Sedan: 25
- Sedan/Wagon: 1
- Subcompact: 19
- SUV: 20
- Truck: 24
- Van: 3
But changing car consumption preferences are already making their mark. The electric vehicle (EV) Tesla Model 3 was already the best-selling vehicle in both the Netherlands and Norway, and other countries like China are increasing incentives for consumers to purchase EVs.
That’s not even factoring in the slowdown of travel during the COVID pandemic, more workers going remote, and the semiconductor strain on automakers. A truly post-COVID world will likely transform the map even further.
Automotive
Global EV Production: BYD Surpasses Tesla
This graphic explores the latest EV production data for 2022, which shows BYD taking a massive step forward to surpass Tesla.

Global EV Production: BYD Surpasses Tesla
This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on natural resource megatrends in your email every week.
2022 was another historic year for EVs, with annual production surpassing 10 million cars for the first time ever. This represents a sizeable bump up from 2021’s figure of 6.7 million.
In this infographic, we’ve used data from EV Volumes to visualize the top 15 brands by output. The color of each brand’s bubble represents their growth from 2021, with the darker shades depicting a larger percentage increase.
Data Overview and Key Takeaways
The raw data we used to create this infographic is listed below. Volume figures for 2021 were included for convenience.
Rank | Company | 2022 | 2021 | Growth from 2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 🇨🇳 BYD | 1,858,364 | 598,019 | 211% |
2 | 🇺🇸 Tesla | 1,314,319 | 936,247 | 40% |
3 | 🇩🇪 VW Group | 839,207 | 763,851 | 10% |
4 | 🇺🇸 GM (incl. Wuling Motors) | 584,602 | 516,631 | 13% |
5 | 🇺🇸 🇮🇹 🇫🇷 Stellantis | 512,276 | 381,843 | 34% |
6 | 🇰🇷 Hyundai Motors (incl. Kia) | 497,816 | 348,660 | 43% |
7 | 🇩🇪 BMW Group | 433,164 | 329,182 | 32% |
8 | 🇨🇳 Geely Auto Group | 351,356 | 99,980 | 251% |
9 | 🇩🇪 Mercedes-Benz Group | 337,364 | 281,929 | 20% |
10 | 🇫🇷 🇯🇵 Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance | 335,964 | 289,473 | 16% |
11 | 🇨🇳 GAC Group | 287,977 | 125,384 | 130% |
12 | 🇨🇳 SAIC Motor Corp. | 256,341 | 237,043 | 8% |
13 | 🇸🇪 Volvo Cars | 253,266 | 220,576 | 15% |
14 | 🇨🇳 Chery Auto Co. | 253,141 | 107,482 | 136% |
15 | 🇨🇳 Changan Auto Co. | 245,555 | 105,072 | 134% |
16 | 🌎 Other (41 companies) | 1,927,211 | 1,326,262 | 45% |
Includes BEVs and PHEVs
BYD Auto
BYD Auto has leaped past Tesla to become the new EV king, boosting its output by a massive 211% in 2022. Given this trajectory, the company will likely become the world’s first automaker to produce over 2 million EVs in a single year.
BYD has a limited presence in non-domestic markets, but this could change rather quickly. The company is planning a major push into Europe, where it expects to build factories in order to avoid EU tariffs on Chinese car imports.
The company is also building a factory in Thailand, to produce right-hand drive models for markets like Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.
Tesla
Tesla increased its output by a respectable 40% in 2022, staying ahead of Western brands like Volkswagen (+10%) and GM (+13%), but falling behind its Chinese rivals such as Geely (+251%).
Whether these Chinese brands can maintain their triple digit growth figures is uncertain, but one thing is clear: Tesla is facing more competition than ever before.
The company is targeting annual production of 20 million cars by 2030, meaning it will need to keep yearly growth rates in the high double digits for the rest of the decade. To support this initiative, Tesla is planning a multi-billion dollar factory in Mexico capable of producing 1 million cars a year.
Hyundai
Hyundai Motor Company, which also owns Kia, posted a similar growth rate to Tesla. The South Korean automaker was a relatively early player in the EV space, revealing the first Hyundai Ioniq in 2016.
In late 2022, several countries including South Korea expressed their disapproval of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, which withdrew tax credits on EVs not produced within the United States.
Hyundai is currently building a $5.5 billion EV factory in the state of Georgia, but this facility will not become operational until 2025. In the meantime, South Korea has revised its own EV subsidy program to favor domestic brands.
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