SEAT Brand Car/LCV Production By Model : 1990-99

The nicely styled Toledo from 1998. Still looks sharp even today


SEAT is a Spanish car maker with an interesting history. It is now part of the VW Group and not one that has shone. Back in the 1990's things were looking OK, with an expanding range of models and production increasing. It is mainly sold in Europe with some in Latin America too. I remember seeing a few around the year 2000 in

VW Brand LCV Production By Model : 1990-1999

The light commercial division of VW is quite a successful part of the business. Not many models but some popular ones nevertheless.

1) Transporter/Kombi/Caravelle. The Transporter van in currently in its 5th generation, going back to 1950. The 1990's was series four. The Kombi is either a van or private transport and the Caravelle is a plusher people mover. All very popular.



The Caravelle

Audi Brand Car Production By Model : 2000-09

In typical Germanic fashion, this decade was about an expansion of models. The Q range of SUVs arrived as did the A5. production fell in 2009, during the economic downturn, but rebounded thereafter.

A4: The compact executive model remained the most popular throughout.

A3: It clawed its way to the second most popular model through the decade, although not that convincingly.

A6: This medium

Škoda Car Production By Model : 1990-2009

When VW took on Škoda in 1991, it was a small brand with a poor reputation. Things have changed. It's taken twenty years to see a very different car brand. Once people trust the brand, and the price is right, things start to happen. They seemed to have more freedom that SEAT, and they have a niche that everyone understands. I cannot say the range of cars they have is completely balanced yet, but

VW Brand Car Production By Model : 2000-09

VW advanced strongly from the year 2000 to 2009, thanks in a major way to having got in early in China and reaped the rewards as the market soared. A very solid look about the production numbers over several models is seen below.



The 2009 Golf. They just keep selling.


1) Golf. It remains the leading model, although not by the same margin. I added the Eos convertible as it was introduced as a

Audi Car Production By Model : 1990-99

Back in the 1990's, Audi didn't have anything like the range of cars it has now. It was less complicated time, with the range based a round cars, wagons and sports cars. The data below is from the VW Group who are very open with basic production figures. So on to the range:

A4/80/90: It is a compact executive car. The 80 model came as saloon car, a wagon, coupe and convertible. The Audi 90 was

Car Production France By Brand : 2013

The Toyota Yaris is made in France


In France car making has needed to rationalise to survive. To prop up a business with discounting in order to keep up volume looks good on paper. However, when the bottom line is being eroded or into red ink territory then something has to be done. That means building cars people want, then sticking to a price that makes money.

In France due to all sorts of

Volvo V40 CC D4 vs Mercedes GLA 200 CDi

Premium compact SUVs are catching on. Many want the versatility that they offer combined with a little class, at the expense of value for money. Still the prestige of the badge is worth it, they tell me. These two were put head to head in the NZ Autocar magazine, so what did they find. First to summarise the combatants.

V40 Cross Country D4. NZ$63,000. 2L 4 cyl diesel, 6 speed auto.

GLA 200 CDi

VW Brand Car Production By Model : 1990-99

Going back to the 1990's shows how much brands can change in not that many years. They can also have regional differences that we are not aware of. Both of these scenarios apply to the VW brand of car sales. We will go through the models one by one with some explanation.

1) Golf. This model has been around since 1974, now up to the 7th generation. It replaced the original Beetle but the latter

Scotland Top 20 Models : 2000-13

The Vauxhall Corsa has been top in Scotland every year since 2007


Scotland has its own car society, and the accompanying chart below is available from the Scottish Government website. It show sales for the top 20 models. So what has taken place north of the border in the 21st century?

French models seem to be the major, consistent losers. Renault gave up discounting too much and went more

West European Car Production By Nation: 1990-2013

Since 1990, global car making has grown but not in Western Europe. Car sales for the region are fairly flat these days, so that doesn't help. Some production has moved to lower wage Central and Eastern Europe too. The massive uptake of car ownership in places such as China, India and Brazil has been met by local production. So Western Europe, the birthplace of cars and long a major car making

Greece Top 4 Brands : 2000-13

Toyota Yaris 

While Greece grew quite strongly economically from 2000 to 2007, car sales remained between 260-290,000 sales per annum. When the crisis hit in 2008 that all changed. Problems with government debt and weakness with the economy hit the nation hard as we all know. Now car sales were in free fall, only levelling off in 2012 and 2013 just under the 60,000 mark. That is a slump of

Ecuador Vehicle Sales By Brand : 2013

The capital city Quito


Ecuador means equator in Spanish which is where it is located and it has around 15 million people. It seems to be doing well economically, so car sales are quite robust, although down over the past few years. Petroleum is a major source of revenue and export earner. Bananas, flowers and cocoa among other produce is exported.



The Chevrolet Aveo

Like many Latin

Greece Top 4 Brands : 1990-99

Toyota had a great decade in Greece


The unpredictable sales continued in Greece through the 1990's, with only Toyota and Fiat represented every year. The top four occasionally had less than a third of the sales at times, not common in car markets. Despite all the movement, only three brands held the top spot in this decade.

In 1990, 115,300 cars were sold, but in two years it was up to

Lancia Production By Model 1994-2013

The Ypsilon model needs broad shoulders


If Alfa Romeo have had problems, spare a thought for Lancia. The once proud marque has also suffered from lack of investment. This year it was decided that the brand would only be sold in Italy and rebadging Chrysler models as Lancias would cease. Only the Ypsilon will continue and one has to wonder about what happens when the exisiting model reaches

Car Ideas That Inexplicably Never Made It

Even the best of ideas can fail. Below are some classic examples of failures in the automotive world that cannot easily be explained.



For the extrovert. Be seen arriving.




Minimalist. Not sure mad scientist look works though.




I think used to get to an island at low tide in the UK. Huge potential




Excellent visibility. Just avoid gravel roads.




Weigh anchor me hearty. Fantastic.

Alfa Romeo Production By Model 1994-2013

This data is not available anywhere else in its scope that I know of. It covers 19 years (20 when I can get 2013 data). I have not got into Italian production history before but have been going through data to put it together. All AR cars below were made in Italy. Now for a brief description.

Giulietta/147/146/145/33: This small car range for AR starts in the chart below with the 33 which ended

Jaguar XE Coming Soon

There are already articles out there about the car, the likely engines, it's lightness etc. I am sure it will be a nice drive. The thing is many car journalists will take it for a spin around a test track when it is available early next year for evaluation. They will then tell you if it is as good as the opposition.

I hate to say this but that shows you how you shouldn't take any note of them.

Greece Top 4 Brands : 1980-89

The 1980 Datsun Sunny. The brand was dominant in 1980 Greece.


Total sales were up and down in the 1980's. From 35,700 in 1990 it went to 80,000 in 1982. Another low was 1987 with 50,500 but 1989 was up to 85,600. Brands changed places with a regularity rarely seen. Nissan was the only solid performer through the decade. Fiat started on second, fell away to 15th in '84 and back to 3rd by

Volvo Worldwide Sales By Model : 2000-13

Volvo have put much into making their cars as safe as possible. They were also known as making boxy looking cars. They have kept with the safety and moved toward more rounded, stylish vehicles. Has it worked? Sales over this period have not moved much while the German competition has.

A major reason for this is Volvo didn't get much penetration in China. It is now fixing that quickly with new

Hyundai Worldwide Car Sales By Model : 1994-2013

This is a lot of data, but I decided to put it into one blog. Here are the brief descriptions below. The chart shows sales in hundreds.

Avante/Elantra/Stellar: These compact car models make up the best selling of the brand over these years.



Hyundai have come a long way since the Stellar


Verna/Accent/Excel: Another important model for Hyundai, a subcompact sized vehicle.

i40/Sonata/Marcia: 

Belgium Top 4 Brands : 2000-2013

The Renault Captur. The brand was 2nd in 2013


By now, it was European brands dominating. Then once GM Opel went, VW and three French marques battled it out. The year with the most sales was 2011 with 572,200 and the lowest was 2003 with 458,800.
2013 finished with 486,100 so that was 86,000 units down in two years. 2014 should see things improving economically and car sales up.

The extreme

Peugeot Worldwide Car Sales By Model : 1998-2013

Looking through statistics like this gives a feel for a brand. It's recent history is an important part where it is today. So let's look at the chart below by model. I had to knock a zero off the model numbers to fit the chart in. The model sales figures are in hundreds, the total figure thousands.

200: This super-mini series was made up of the 205 and 206 models in 1998. The 207 arrived in 2006

Belgium Top 4 Brands : 1990-99

The 1999 VW Polo 


The 1990's were very settled for the major car brands, with only four logos sharing the top 4 places, with the exception of 1999. The decade started strongly with sales well over 450,000 per annum, but then hit a bump mid-decade and fell away to as low as 358,900 in 1995. Belguim went through it's worst recession since WWII. Things then improved and by 1989 489,600 cars were

Hyundai Worldwide SUV/MPV Sales By Model : 1994-2013

Hyundai is more the car making brand within the group compared to Kia. Yet a couple of models sell well within the SUV range. The MPV side has withered though, probably not a bad thing as Kia do a few of those anyway. The percentage of SUV/MPVs is shown to the right of the chart below. Now a breakdown of the models.



The Tucson (ix35) a top seller


ix35: Better known to many as the Tucson, it

Belgium Top 4 Brands : 1980-89

The Ford Escort was popular in Belgium


Sales data for Belgium is hard to find, so I have cobbled together data as best I can. FEBIAC is the source for such, and they are cautious about letting too much out.

Belgians like their cars. For a small nation, they buy them in large numbers. Over 399,200 new cars were bought in 1980. In 1983 it slipped to 338,900 but bounced back to 439,800 by 1989.

BMW Global SUV Sales By Model : 2000-2013

In the year that BMW sold Land Rover to Ford, it released it's first SUV. BMW has since spread itself across the SUV range with new models. Now just over a quarter of BMW brand sales are from these four models. I have to say I didn't like the X6 when it came out and still don't. I wouldn't call its sales strong either, so maybe others feel the same way. All the others seem to have been worth the

Finland Top 4 Brands : 2000-13

VW Golf a top seller in Finland...


From  the year 2000 when 134,600 cars were sold, to a peak of 148,200 in 2005 to the economic slump that took sales down to 89,100 in 2009. That was all in one decade! The only note to make was that camper vans were excluded in the last figure, not that it made much difference. It would have been 90,600 if included. Sales climbed back to 124,500 in 2011 and

BMW Global Car Sales By Model : 1997-2013

A 2009 BMW M3 


BMW car sales (excluding SUVs) is shown below in the chart. Resent success in China has really boosted sales. The exteme column to the right shows how sedan car sales have slipped as SUV models have arrived. Still, over 70% of sales are for cars as of 2013.









Yr
3 Sr
5 Sr
1 Sr
7 Sr
6 Sr
4 Sr
Z Sr
8 Sr
Cars
Tot
%


97
337.8
228.8
-

Finland Top 4 Brands : 1990-99

The decade started off with this fine model Corolla...


The decade started with 139,000 sales, but fell away to a mere 55,800 by 1993. Apparently had an economic crisis during this time where GDP dropped about 14% and unemployment leaped from 3 to 20%. You can see the effect from 1990 to 1993 on the chart, where Toyota maintained market share but sales plunged.

Things then improved and sales

Chinese Brands Struggling?

From what I understand about the Chinese car market, it is divided into two. There is the joint venture between a foreign car maker and a local company with the overseas side not able to own more than 50% of the company. They manufacture cars together almost exclusively for the local market, in more affluent areas. Then there are local companies who have gone it alone making cars, selling in the

Kia Global SUV/MPV Sales By Model : 1994-2013

Having gone through Kia car sales previously, we now look at SUVs and MPVs. The percentage figure to the right is for SUV/MPVs as compared to total Kia sales including cars. Considering the number of models shown below, the percentage of all Kia sales isn't that high.

Sportage: This compact SUV started in 1993 and is still going with the same name! The first model amazingly shared a platform

Kia Global Car Sales By Model : 1994-2013

Trying to collect sales by model over such a period is difficult. Putting SUVs and MPVs in the list as well would have been too much, so cars alone come first. The percentage figure to the right is for cars as compared to the total. Understandably the figure dropped quickly as cars became the less obvious choice, but then China came along and they like the more traditional vehicle configuration.

Doing Automotive Business In China

The culture of China is very different to the West. They may be building modern cities, driving cars in ever greater numbers and using modern technologies. In other ways things are not the same. How an antitrust probe is being conducted is proof positive of that.

You would think market forces would bring car prices to a fair level but it seems not. Brand spare parts can be heavily overpriced

Hyundai Sales By Model : 2010-13

As things got better for the world economy, Hyundai took full advantage. Sales raced away with some startling results for some models.


The Avante/Elantra benefited over the period 10-13 by it's US facility ramping up production. Second placed Verna/Accent was especially helped by production in Russia from 2011 and Brazil 12/13. The i35/Tuscon was helped by gains in China and Czech Republic

Finland Top 4 Brands : 1980-89

The popular Nissan Cherry


Finland became more settled with the top 4 brands in the 1980's. Sales rose consistently through the decade, starting from 103,100 in 198 to 176,800 in 1989. There was an increase in every year except a slight drop in 1983.

Two Japanese brands took turns at the top, no doubt reliability a major factor in a harsh climate. GM Opel took over from Ford as the US

Top 10 Models/Brands Belgium: 2003

Distinctive rear end I must say. Like Beyonce.

In 2003, this was a French car paradise. With a strong French speaking community I assume playing a part, six of the top eight models were from that nation. The Megane II was European car of the year in 2003.

Second placed 206 was five years old by this time but still selling strongly. The 2002 car of the year - the 307 - came in third.



The

Hyundai Sales By Model : 2006-09

The i30 was made in Korea, China and the Czech Rep at this time


Hyundai continued its march up world sales charts despite the world's economic woes. More models was a big reason with the i10 and i20. A push into China with the Elantra saw production for that model go from 120,700 in 2007 to 411,100 by 2009. It's total share of Hyundai car/SUV sales went from 18 to 26%. The figures below are

Finland Top 4 Brands : 1970-79

The Fiat 127 was popular in Europe


Without a home brand, things are often more fluid. This is certainly he case with Finland with four top brands in the ten years considered here. Fiat was never below second over this decade, but otherwise it was in constant flux.

In 1973, 118,000 cars were bought which was the best year. Way back then Nissan was Datsun and that marque was top by 1979.

Hyundai Sales By Model : 2001-05

The Elantra (Avante) from 2004


When I first saw Hyundai's sales data, I didn't even try to decipher it. It made me wonder why put such historical data out in some detail, then present it awkwardly. Did they not want people to analyse it? Eventually I gave in and simplified it. At time though, I wondered why I had started, but finally got there. The next thing was to present it here. I decided

Trade Deals vs Protected Markets

There are some car producing nations that allow imports in with low or no restrictions. There are others that protect their domestic industry with high tariffs. Which is better? Well it depends on the size of the country but let's look at a few examples.

Australia: For years it had duty to protect a car industry based around large cars. Relatively low volumes and high manufacturing costs were

Vehicle Production USA By Make : 2013

Car production rose strongly in the USA for the year of 2013. Honda did especially well with the Civic while Hyundai had a sizable increase in Elantra production. Mazda and Mitsubishi dropped out of car making in the States and Tesla arrived with a bang.

Utility vehicles were the better performing, especially if you take out large trucks which seemed not to do well. Ram did well for Chrysler and

Sweden Top 4 Brands : 2000-13

The Volvo S/V60 was the 3rd best selling car in 2013


Generally, the top 4 share of the market has dropped in most nations in recent years. It hasn't in Sweden and it seems maybe VW's closing in on Volvo has been the reason. Will VW ever be the top brand in this country? It's hard to say but the home make will have to fight hard to fend them off.

Audi has effectively replaced the virtually

Vehicle Production Brazil By Make : 2013

The Gol sells well in Brazil...




Brazil is viewed as a land of promise for car makers. Car production increased a modest 5%, while commercial vehicles jumped 23%. As there are tariffs on imported vehicles from most nations, local car plants are essential to have any meaningful sales penetration. Because most of the production is for the domestic market, volumes by maker are quite uniform.

Diluting Exclusivity

Is Mercedes taking the wrong road with such models as the CLA?


Why do people buy premium marques? Because they represent value for money? No, because they not. Are they more reliable? Lexus and Jaguar are, but for most part they are not really any better than some mass market brands. The reason is they represent prestige, they are something to be aspired to. They let others know you are

New Nissan Qashqai Arrives In NZ

The Qashqai with some typical NZ scenery behind. 


Why is this important? Well, the vehicle in question is a popular type of model for this country. It also reflects a company that looks at the global picture in making decisions. The fact that a car made the other side of the world is sent here, when a not too dissimilar X-Trail already is available shows Nissan wants a sizable slice of the

Car Production UK By Model : 2013

The 2014 Qashqai. In US parlance it's a home run


Car production in the UK flies under the radar for many even in it's home nation. With few local brand names to identify with, and most British too apathetic to bother finding out about it, many are unaware of it's success. That reality of that is shown in production figures, where exports account for about 80% of the total and penetration of

TATA Production History By Segment

The Nexon looks fun and an ideal city car


Tata started making commercial vehicles in 1954, utility vehicles in 1991 and cars in 1998. It enjoyed strong growth in a booming vehicle market as can be seem by the green in the chart below, denoting increase in production over the previous year. However, as the domestic market faltered and competition increased, production has fallen away badly.

Vehicle Production Turkey By Make : 2013

The Renault Fluence made in Turkey mainly for emerging markets


Turkish vehicle manufacturing went up in 2013, thanks to the car side of things. With lower wage costs, you would think that production will continue to improve. Oyak-Renault is by far the largest car maker with over half of all cars made from that company.

Utility vehicles didn't fare quite so well. Ford-Otosan (sounds Japanese)

JD Power APEAL Survey 2014

Dodge Dart was the most appealing Compact Car

The APEAL survey shows how happy people are with their car, scoring in 77 categories. I like this kind of insight more than reliability ones, which never seem to differentiate between minor and major faults. It also is about what a car company wants, happy customers who more likely to come back when they want to buy again.

The top 12 marques are

Brand Profits In Europe

This sort of car is getting sales up, but unit profit is down


I don't understand why car makers discount at the expense of profit. I know factories running below capacity is an issue, but in the end, discounting benefits no one. It is so much better to get costs down, especially with cost savings through co-operation with other car makers. So what are some car makers saying about their

Finland Top 4 Brands : 1960-69

The Escort was a runaway success for Ford Europe


There were some big movements of sales in the 60's in Finland. Only 23,500 cars were sold in 1960, which climbed to 99,900 in 1965. The fell back to 48,300 in 1968, before rebounding nearly 75% to 84,500 in '69. Moskvich started the decade on top, but was not able to quite maintain it although always comfortably in the top 10 during the decade.

Vehicle Production Canada By Make : 2013

Chrysler's Winsdor plant celebrates 30 years of the minivan in 2013

North American car production is rising, in Mexico and the USA that is. Not so north of the 49th parallel. The cost of making cars is high there, especially compared to Mexico. For that reason, Mexico is gaining more car plants, while Canada isn't. The US is also doing well attracting vehicle assembly investment.

It seems the

Honda Civic & Toyota Auris Tourers

The Honda Civic and Toyota Auris Tourers are made for the European market. Hopefully they to be are exported beyond that. If I bought a new car, I would like a Auris Tourer (Corolla wagon) of Civic
Tourer. Neither are currently sold in NZ and maybe too pricey if they were.
Anyway, I asked each importer via email if they are likely to be.

Toyota NZ's reply came within a day:

Thank you for your

Sweden Top 4 Brands : 1990-99

The Volvo 960. More like a barge than a car


The downturn Sweden experienced hit car sales hard. It seemed to hit Volvo less as its market share climbed, then fell back again as things improved. VW consolidated its position as the decade passed and Saab got to a comfortable third.

The economic slump of the 90's was the worst since the 30's. Restructuring of the economy steadied the ship and

Car Production Italy By Make 2013

The Renegade. Bold styling.


The last time vehicle production went up in Italy was in 2009 (a 6% increase) but in 2013 it was a -2% drop. A corner has been turned it and will start climbing again. Fiat has been going through period of change, which will now show some improvement.




The new Jeep Renegade (see pics) will be built in Italy, along with the Fiat 500X which will be a crossover

Car Production Germany By Make 2013

Yes I know, black shows everything. Pain to clean too


German car making has been stable for a few years now, as growth is overseas production facilities, such as China. The premium brands are up but the mass car makers all reduced volumes to some degree. VW is embarking on a cost cutting exercise to try improve profit, as wages are high for VW Germany. Over half of all cars made here are

USA Protecting Car Dealers

Tesla make electric cars. They don't want to put their cars into dealers that also sell fossil fuel powered cars because they realise the dealer may just talk the customer in to what they know best. New technology takes time to learn and understand, something most car dealers do poorly in.

So Tesla want to distribute the cars directly to the customer. In most states in the USA they cannot.

Pakistan Local Sales : 2013/14

29,500 sold in the year just ended


In Pakistan, the sales year goes from July to June, so the figures below are from July 2013 to June 2014. It is also only for cars assembled in the country as well. So Land Rover sales are only for the Defender model, not the others that are imported. However, not many cars are imported due to high tariffs so the data is indicative of what really happens

The Driverless Car - A Layman's View

The driverless - or automated - car is considered a future reality. I have asked people about it and everyone has said "No way. I want to be in control". It may in fact show that people enjoy driving anyway, and they prefer that independence. They also may lack confidence in technology to deliver them safely to their destination.

Some benefits: 1) Fewer traffic accidents in basic driving

The True Global Car Maker

A truly global car


Once it was always GM that was the biggest car maker. You didn't have to think about it. Now Toyota and VW Group are up there battling it out to be the biggest, with Toyota currently on top. So who is the true global car maker?

It is safe to say that GM will end up third in this fight. It just isn't run to the standard required to be the biggest. So that leaves Toyota and

Land Rover Discovery Sales By Nation : 2013

Doing what it does best. Doing it like no other


I have held back releasing the Discovery sales as I had so many estimate figures. All are based on some data, not wild speculation but even so, it is better to have certain figures. Seeing as this list was compiled without any help from Land Rover, not a bad achievement even if I do say so myself. With data becoming harder to come by, maybe the

Nissan Sunderland's New Infiniti Models

Nissan in Sunderland is in an area of the UK which is less prosperous than average. Imagine how important the Nissan plant is there. It produces the Nissan Note, Juke, Qashqai and Leaf models.











Now an additional 60,000 capacity is being added for the Q30 and QX30 models. They will both be made for the global markets. I know nothing much about Infiniti as they do not grace the roads of

5-Door MINI Starts Production

Cowley, UK production is underway


The 5-Door mini doesn't go on sale until October 2014, but it is starting to roll down the Cowley production line. It is seen as becoming a bigger seller than the 3-door hatch model. I have always liked the MINI but the lack of rear portals was a put off. Now it has them it is the sort of car that would appeal. The Clubman was stylish but not well packaged

Renault/Nissan Daimler

An existing plant in the same area as the new one

One cooperation deal that has flown under the radar for me is this one. Since 2010, Renault Nissan and Daimler Benz have been working together in various ways, especially with smaller cars. Now they will share a plant in Mexico, building compact vehicles about 500 km above Mexico City at Aguascalientes.

This makes sense as smaller vehicles are

Finland Top 4 Brands : 1956-59

I have car sales for the land of lakes that go back to 1956, thanks to Autoalan Tiedotuskeskus. Things were fluid back then, with brands up and down quite dramatically. There were also some different brands around too. For the different ones:

In the chart below, 'Mosk' stands for Moskvitch which basically means Moscovite. They were a solid car made for tough Russian roads and sold well back at

Sweden Top 4 Brands : 1980-89

1982 Volvo 345.  The 300 series ran from 1976-91


While Volvo remained the most popular choice for Swedish car buyers in the 1980's, Saab was starting to struggle holding second place. Ford came back with a vengeance, and Opel remained a strong seller. VW fell from grace in this period.

The low point of this period was 1981 when there were 188,500 sales for the total market. It then peaked in

Hydrogen Power A Step Closer

Aggressive styling and detailing


I mentioned in an article recently about future fuel options hydrogen or fuel-cell powered cars (FCVs) that can be seen by clicking here. Well, it just got a little closer with the Japanese government getting behind helping set up the FC dispensing infrastructure and subsidies for the cars themselves.

The benefits of FCVs is they emit water from the exhaust

Nissan Leaf Price Slashed In NZ

So quiet and clean even the wildlife didn't hear or get a whiff of it


You would think that 'clean, green' New Zealand would be promoting cars that were environmentally friendly such as electric. Most power here is hydroelectric which is ideal for such cars. Unfortunately no, but as a free market economy, cars with electric propulsion have to go it alone. The price has been prohibitive and

Britain's Biggest Private Car Collection For Sale

 Britain's biggest private car collection is for sale for £100m.

James Hull has filled a number of warehouses with cars from the past 80 years. Due to health issues the owner James Hull has decided to move them on. It seems he would like to keep the collection intact if possible. I would imagine he would get more individually but for sentiment I can see why he wants it that way.

The 450 car

BMW Cutting Costs

BMW is quite profitable, as are premium brands generally. There are differing reports on the amount that is wished to be saved, however it seems they they do want to cut costs. If you are making solid profits, why the need to do so? I can think of a few reasons that are behind the move.

Main reason: It seems to me to be tied to the bragging rights of being the biggest premium brand by unit

Sweden Top 4 Brands : 1970-79

Julie Andrews discovers the Volvo 244. Quite an ugly car


The 1979s was a steady time for the top 4. The two local makes took charge, taking about 40% of the total sales. Ford, GM and VW were left fighting it out for the other two spots. The top 4's share of the total is shown at the extreme right of the chart, which remained stable.

A success story at this time in Sweden was Mazda. They

Nissan e-NV200 Van

The e-van in the usual Nissan aqua blue


Vans in Europe are generally diesel fuelled, an engine that is robust and economical. However, Nissan is lobbing into the market a Spanish built Nissan electric van. The maker claims lower running costs, better handling and reduced emissions. Lower costs are the fuel, but mainly through less maintenance expense. The battery is placed low and centrally

Subaru WRX vs VW Golf GTi Performance

Google Blogger playing up again, like happened this time last year. If I cannot post, it will be another time of few articles coming through. This from the company that wants to bring us driverless cars. Scary. 




The WRX looks like it means business...


I was reading the NZ Autocar magazine for May 2014. In it was a head to head comparison between the above mentioned vehicles. As I will never

Honda Europe's In A Hole

The first generation Civic was cute and fun


It's hard to know what the top brass in Honda are thinking. Once a brand known for small, fun little cars to one that now does conservative. For car buyers in Asia and North America, conservative is obviously good as sales are solid there. In Europe and Australasia it is not a good thing, as sales flounder.

Honda's European market share for January

Sweden Top 4 Brands : 1960-69

The Volvo 145 with the company's squared off styling...


The 1960's saw sales grow strongly in Sweden as it did across Europe. Sales in 1960 were 160,000 and 255,000 by 1969. A 275,000 peak was made in 1965.

Volvo no longer was fighting for top spot as it had a sizable cushion between it and second. VW was strong for the early part of the decade but fell away toward the end of it. Opel was

Getting Electric Cars Out There

The Tesla S is selling well, but can't afford to hit a wall


One of the problems of electric cars is enough charging stations. Another one is economies of scale; making enough battery packs and cars to make them profitable, yet affordable to consumers. So how do you assist electric cars to become cheaper to buy, more user friendly, and as a consequence, more accepted?

The usual way in the car

Italy Top 4 Brands : 2000-13

The Fiat 500L is selling well


In the final in this series going back to 1960, we have seen the massive lead of Fiat fall to more reasonable levels. It still is the main brand in its home nation. Fiat had over 76% in 1960, with 291,000 sales. The sales are not that different but the market share is very different.

Of the others, GM has gradually slipped in this decade and a bit, and may not

Sweden Top 4 Brands : 1950-59

1959 Volvo Amazon. A nice looking car for its day


Thanks to the good folk of BilSweden, we can have an insight into the Swedish car market back in the 1950s. Sweden didn't have a dominant local brand such as VW in Germany and Fiat in Italy. Therefore, the changes in positions in the top 4 are greater, especially that coveted top spot.

Ford (Germany and UK combined) started out top but fell

Italy Top 4 Brands : 1990-99

Opel Corsa a strong seller in Italy

Moving into the 1990s with a new data supplier, we see that Fiat is alone as the only local brand now in the top 4. The big winner was GM's Opel brand as it came from nowhere to be the second largest brand. Ford and VW had their moments but GM finished ahead for the decade.

The extreme right column shows the top 4 market share and one has to say the trend

GM Ellesmere Port, UK 50 Years

Canal boats passed through this port many years ago and it now houses the National Waterways Museum with the largest collection of canal boats in the world. I have a connection to the town of Ellesmere Port I won't bore you with here, bu it caught my eye when I found out that the GM car plant located there is 50 years old. I wrote about the plant back in 2005, found by clicking here.






The

Renault/Nissan Want In On Top Three Spot

The Nissan Juke & Renault Captur 


The top three car makers, Toyota, GM and VW Group are a clear top three in car making numbers. They are all about or close to 10 million vehicles made in 2013. Back some way is the Renault/Nissan Alliance at just over 8 million.

When the Alliance was formed in 1999, it was Renault that was the stronger. Nissan then became the more successful of the two and

Italy Top Four Brands : 1980-89

The Lancia Prisma


Sales history of cars can be patchy. It can also vary if different sources are used to put a timeline of sales together. The sales I found changed dramatically form 1989 to 1990, as you will see when that is released in due course. It is put together with due diligence and the highest accuracy possible. Bearing that in mind....

The 1980's in Italy had a more settled feel to

Mitsubishi Model To Become A Fiat?

The L200 heading Fiat's way?


Hot on the heels of a recent article I wrote suggesting more co-operation between manufacturers regarding model sharing comes this. Fiat is likely to take the L200 pick-up truck (also named Triton) and sell it in Europe and Latin America. It wouldn't go to North America because the US slaps import duty on trucks such as this one made in Thailand.

Some may say

The RR Evoque 'Knock Off'

 It is generally known that Chinese car makers want western car making technology. While other nations are just happy to have manufacturers set up factories and run them themselves, it is not so in China. Car firms are told if they want to sell cars in China, they have to not only make them there, but also form a 50/50 joint venture partnership with a local company.



The reason was surely so

The Cost Of Motoring Should Be Lower

Nissan Sunderland Juke assembly. Robots help keep costs down. 


When comparing the price of appliances today with twenty years ago, you find they have more features yet are cheaper. The reason is because they are made in larger factories with mechanised production lines or cheap labour. Often one factory makes items for many companies, and a different brand name is stuck on the same product as

Selling On Value - Mitsubishi ASX In NZ

The ASX out for a coffee somewhere. Now better value.


Selling with a sharp price is fraught with danger. If you don't sell enough to justify the low price, and all you do is hurt the bottom line. If sales skyrocket, you can make up for the lower price with volume. Of course the opposition will move if it does work. The problem with that is the competitive edge is lost and everyone sells more

Italy Top Four Brands : 1970-79

The Fiat 132 replaced the fine 125, but not quite as good a car.


Moving on from the 60's, things became more fluid as brands passed and were in turn overtaken again. Fiat's Autobianchi fell away through the decade, replaced by French brands and Ford. The top share share fell from 72 to 67% as Fiat lost its total dominance of the market. Renault supplanted Alfa Romeo in second while fourth

A Tale Of Three Sectors: UK Vehicle Manufacturing

The new Qashqai being made in Sunderland, UK.


The UK car industry has more twists in it than an intricate whodunit. The latest trends have been identified at this blog before, but April 2014 confirms it. The car making industry is going well, engine production is flat and commercial vehicle manufacturing is on life support. We can see that in the charts below, thanks to the SMMT for making

Ford Vignale

Would you pay much more than a regular Mondeo? 


Ford is to introduce it's upmarket Vignale sub-brand in 2015. Why are they going to the bother? Let's see if we can find out what it is all about.

Rationale: There is little money to be made in the mass car market. Going upmarket even a little makes a difference to profitability, if you get some reasonable volume of sales.

Execution: Taking

Italy Top Four Brands : 1960-69

The Fiat 500, named after its engine size. Called the Bambina in NZ.


Back in the 1960s, Italy was getting over World War II and starting to prosper. Car sales were rising and just about everyone was buying a Fiat car. I assume import duties made sure that the home brands were the value option.

Below in the chart we see that Fiat had about 3 in every 4 sales for much of the decade. The top

UK Top Four Brands : 2001-2013

The Ford Fiesta shines in the UK, unlike the weather


In the late 90's, Peugeot and Renault got into the top four UK brands. However, it wasn't long before German makes elbowed them out. First VW came in, then BMW. BMW has now given way to Audi. Both Ford and GM Vauxhall has lost market share over the decades and that continued here. The extreme right column is the percentage share the top

Bentley Car Sales By Nation : 2013

New Flying Spur looks amazing


Bentley sales were an impressive 10,120 in 2013. With the arrival of an SUV in 2016, that will mean a larger Bentley company. 140 staff are now being sought already for the new model, which I believe will be an electric hybrid. The increase for 2013 was 19%.



Certainly a class act


The US is the biggest market by some way, especially with a downturn in luxury

Jaguar XK Sales By Nation : 2013

The XKR S looks mean alright.


The XK is coming to its end soon and with no replacement for now at least, then you had better get in now if you want one. Sales are going well in 2014, which suggests some are doing just that.

Several countries missing such as Japan (8th last year) and those in the Middle East. Still, it gives an idea of how this exclusive sports car sells around the world. The

Jaguar XJ Sales By Nation : 2013

The classy XJ. 


The big Jag sells best in Asia, the Middle East and North America. Most areas outside Europe then. I have left Japan at the bottom to show it was 6th best seller in 2012.

The XJ model was up 32% in 2013, a very strong improvement. With 3,000 plus others I'm picking I have underestimated China, but without hard facts I decided to be cautious. Korea is a market missing that

Jaguar F-Type Sales By Nation : 2013

A new model hits the showrooms for Jaguar and makes quite a splash for a convertible. The hardtop has now arrived which will really be the big seller. For those who want to feel the sensations more, a soft top cannot be beaten though.

So sales were not for a full year, were only for the open topped version and are limited with manufacturing restraints as to how many can ultimately be made. About

Range Rover Sales By Nation : 2013

The Range Rover has presence, like no other SUV.


As mentioned elsewhere, the Range Rover is sometimes combined with the Sport model. Below there are two charts, one the Range Rover and the other RR and Sport models combined. Sometimes nations jump from one list to the other, depending on how the sales data was released from year to year.

Of the markets that have 'est' next to them are based

Range Rover Sport Sales By Nation : 2013

Big, Bold and imposing. No not me, the car.


The 'Others' are quite high here because some countries count the Range Rover and Sport models together. They are quite different apart from the name. The new RR Sport model came late in the year so it is 2014 sales that have really taken off.



It like corners too.


The USA is the market for the model, with over a quarter of all sales. It is also

Jaguar XF Sales By Nation : 2013

The Jaguar XFR-S. I like the blue and, of course, its style.


The XF has continued to sell strongly well into it's model cycle, with a 37% increase. I guess that is testament to the quality of design in the first place. With China being such an important market, I included it, not as a wild guess but it is more of an estimate than any other 'est' listed here. Of the others, Australia had a

Land Rover Freelander Sales By Nation : 2013

The Freelander as it looks now...


The Freelander (LR2) is coming to its conclusion. It will be reborn as the Discovery Sport in 2015. Until then it soldiers on as a very capable vehicle, selling in quite good numbers. It looks smart, drives well and goes off road with the usual LR aplomb.



...and how it will look as the Discovery Sport.


Below are sales figures by nation that I have been

Top 16 Models/Brands Belgium: 1990

It may have sold well but I cannot say I am taken by it.


Sixteen is an unusual number but that is how many models exceeded 10,000 sales. Some model names remain but many have been superseded.



The Vectra was quite a good car.

As far as brand sales go, in 2013 VW is still top, Renault 2nd, Peugeot 3rd and Citroen 4th. Premium brands do better now with BMW 5th, Audi 7th and Mercedes 9th.

UK Top Four Brands : 1985-2000

The British loved the Escort.


Having considered the top four makes from 1965-84, we move on to the mid eighties. Ford took over from BL in 1977 and has stayed there since. BL became the Rover Group in 1986 as it tried to regroup. GM's Vauxhall had mixed results but settled down in the late eighties. Nissan enjoyed nine years at fourth until Peugeot - using the Rootes (Hillman) factory to make

Lotus Sales By Country : 2013

The new CEO with the Exige S


The Malaysian owners DRB-Hicom have much potential with this iconic sports car maker, but how to realise that will be the challenge. The Lotus car company just got a new CEO, Jean-Marc Gales (originally from Luxembourg). He was recently CEO of PSA but has worked for other car makers too. Hopefully he has some good ideas to take things forward.

Japan has been the

Aston Martin Sales By Country: 2013

The Aston Martin Vanquish - which means utterly defeat. 


The Aston Martin company is an independant one, not owned by a major car maker like other exclusive marques. Recently it agreed to a component and power plant deal with Mercedes Benz. You just cannot go it alone unless you have a special niche such as Morgan cars does.

Below is a list of countries that I have been able to compile. They

Future Fuel

The way of the future?


Early cars used various fuels but those motivated by petroleum products took control. Once fuel stations were set up cost, convenience and abundant reserves meant no other fuel type could compete. The negatives are inefficiency and pollution. The only thing petroleum still offers is convenience, so where next?

Electric is being pushed in some places as a cost effective

UK Total Car Sales By Region : 2013

My final installment on regional car sales for the UK (I might do Northern Ireland when it become available) simply looks at total figures. I apologise to any Scots who may wonder why only a part of the country appears on the map. That is how it came, and at least you can see where it is.

The regions as discussed already are below, with 2011 census populations next to them. Finally comes the

South England Sales By Brand : 2013

We finally look across the south of England, from Land's End to Dover and the North Sea.

South West: Not an area for large cities but a sizable population nevertheless. Bristol and Plymouth are the largest and Swindon is home to a Honda car factory.

9.5% of all cars sold in England are purchased here, up on recent years. This is the most popular region for Hyundai, Honda and Mitsubishi. Seat

Mid England Sales By Brand : 2013

Across the middle of England, there is diversity in car buying habits as you will see. The area of Middle England goes from the Welsh border in the west to the North Sea in the East.

West Midlands: The main city of this region is Birmingham, England's second biggest city, itself part of a larger conurbation. Coventry is a well known city within this area as well. This region too is famous with

North England Sales By Brand : 2013

Ay up, we're in the North of England now. A more working class part of England known for people being direct and forthright in speech. It is broken down into three regions as shown in the picture, North West, North East and Yorkshire & Humberside.

North West: This area goes from Cumbria in the north down to Cheshire in the south. The two main cities are Manchester and Liverpool. Both Vauxhall

Wales Sales By Brand : 2013

The Ford Fiesta Popular in Wales. 


Wales had a new car sales increase of 17% in 2013, very strong indeed. I have data back to 2009 and total sales were easily the best for that period. Ford had it's best share since 2009, while Vauxhall had it's best including 2009. Both brands increased faster than the buoyant market did.

Now looking at the car makes listed below. The only brand that is

Scotland Sales By Brand : 2013

Vauxhall Corsa is a top seller in Scotland.


"By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes, Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond..." Whether you take the high or low road, you will get to Scotland as long as you head north.

Car sales for Scotland are usually part of UK figures (although maybe for not much longer) and had 9.2% of the total UK share, up from 9.1 in 2012 and 8.8% in 2011.

UK Net Car Importer Again In 2013

The Nissan Leaf, this one many go across the North Sea to Norway.


For many years now the UK have been a net importer of cars. Despite recent gains in local production, it cannot get near an even import/export balance by volume. If it was based on value, it would look much better, but the chart below is for numbers of cars.

How I work it out is find out how many cars were made by manufacturer

Land Rover Discovery Sport : 2015

LR are creating a Discovery range of vehicles, just like Range Rover. The first of these has been revealed and will replace the Freelander (LR2). It is called the Sport model, initially being a 5 seater but later spawning a 7 seater version. Then will come a Discovery (LR4) replacement, which will be upmarket from the Sport model. Then comes a rugged SUV to take on Land Cruiser.

As always with

UK Top Four Brands : 1965-84

Considering it came out in 1962, a stylish car in its day.


The only benefit of history is if you can learn something from it. That's my philosophy, although history teachers may say there is more to the subject than that. Anyway, the figures below reveal much about an important part of UK car sales.

After World War II, the UK quickly built up it's peacetime industries such as vehicle

F-Type Pics. Sometimes You Just Have To

Coming to a Jaguar dealer near you, the Jaguar F-Type coupé. I love beauty of form and this car has it. Too many people settle for a badge with status, or high quality engineering, yet fail to see that what they bought is less than aesthetically pleasing. The new F-Type is a fine vehicle, and it looks stunning too.

Mazda Sales By Model : 2013

The new CX-5 is selling well. It needs to.


Sales for the independent Japanese brand were slightly down for 2013. This surprised me as the new CX-5 came along and proved to be a big hit, already the second best seller in the range. The CX-7 ceased production in 2012 and that was part of the reason for the sales slip. Only one car/MPV model increased, while the BT-50 pick-up did well also.

Subaru Sales By Model & Region : 2013

The Subaru XV, part of the Impreza range.


Subaru is a small fish struggling to survive in a big pond with some big fish. Recently Toyota took a modest share in the brand to help it. Japanese companies have a balance of competition and assistance.

The Subaru line up is unusual. It is based around just three models, assisted by Kei cars listed it seems under 'Mini'. The term OEM I believe

Green JLR Engine Plant

JLR has completed the largest solar rooftop panel installation at it's new engine plant in the midlands of England. It is hoped to generate over 30% of the plant's power requirement, the equivalent of the electricity consumed by over 1,600 homes. This will reduce the plant's CO2 footprint by over 2,400 tonnes per year. There will also be monitoring of power use to maximise efficiency, plus other

PSA LCV's Sales By Model : 2013

The Partner/Berlingo (Peugeot shown).


Light commercial vehicles are an interesting area of vehicle making. Some are purchased for private use, though fashion and modern style are secondary to practicality. Often manufacturers share them to save on cost, and because of that they are reasonably profitable. Both Peugeot and Citroën do the same model under their own name.

PSA's biggest selling

Toyota UK Sales By Model : 2013

The Avensis. They really are a sound car (sold in NZ too).


From 2002 to 2009 inclusive, Toyota exceeded 100,000 sales in the UK. From 2010 onward, that number hasn't been reached. The difference is that Toyota was getting up around 5% share but is now in the 4% region. Why is that?

For a start the Corolla (now Auris) is tracking about 7,000 short of back then, and the Avensis is only a

Citroën Worldwide Car Sales By Model : 2013

100k C4 Picassos were sold in 2013. 


Citroën managed a slight increase in 2013, after an 11.4% drop in 2012. By combining both Citroën and Peugeot car sales, you find Citroën's share has increased from 40% in 2011, 42.5% in '12 and now 45%.

I think years ago when Peugeot acquired Citroën, one of the brands should have been a mass market brand and the other gone more upmarket. That didn't

Peugeot Worldwide Car Sales By Model : 2013

208 GTi. You need the excitement in the range...


Everyone knows that Peugeot is doing it tough at the moment. Under-utilised factories in France and a product line up that is confusing to anyone not familiar to the brand. Keeping older models running once replaced doesn't help the perception of clutter. In summary, it seems to be a company falling behind.

That said, the recent injection of

VW LCV Production : 2013

The Transporter/Caravelle.


VW also make light commercial vehicles as well as trucks. I won't go as far as HCVs, but LCVs are part of many people's lives. Some even are used as private transport. So what was 2013 like for production of such vehicles?







The Caddy.

The Transporter is a multi purpose medium sized van that includes the Caravelle MPV. It amounts to just over a third of

Bentley/Lamborghini Production : 2013

The new Flying Spur flying out of showrooms.


These are two of the halo marques that VW own, both have greatly increased sales in the time that they have been part of the VW Group. Bentley is being produced in record numbers, and Lamborghini one of it's better years.

Firstly, Bentley. Three models make up the range and two variants with the Continental GT. The Flying Spur was updated for 2013

Porsche Production by Model: 2013

The Cayenne. Sales are not to be sneezed at.


Porsche has joined the VW stable and production numbers are coming through. I may have been able to go back into Porsche figures as a stand alone marque, but they were April to March I seem to remember so wouldn't align with VW calendar ones.

The unthinkable has happened and half of Porsche production is for an SUV. When the smaller Macan gets

SEAT Production By Model : 2013

The Ibiza looks sharp and sporty. Production was down in 2013


SEAT went rather well in 2013, production up nearly 10% was strong. To understanding the make is difficult for me as they are not sold in NZ. They seem to have a slightly sporty, youthful image but it hasn't worked that well. VW hopes for 500,000 SEAT sales by 2018. From what I can gather:

The Ibiza is a hatchback/estate car which

Škoda Production By Model : 2013

The Rapid is actually a hatch. Very roomy, value priced but lacks refinement.


Škoda has been slowly improving its image and sales over the years. That said, I have to say that it isn't as successful as I thought it may be by now. There are many areas of the world that the brand is not sold in. It relies mainly on Europe and China. For some reason Škoda didn't grow in China despite sales going

Audi Production By Model : 2013

The A4. It sounds like copy paper, I know.


VW has worked hard with Audi to overtake BMW and Mercedes in sales volume. That is still yet to happen but one suspects it is only a matter of time. What difference will that make? Bragging rights it seems, as such things are important to some people. The BMW brand should retain it's top spot for 2014 by about 100,000  units over Audi, who in turn

BMW Group Regional Sales : 2009-13

I can't say I find German styling good looking. 


Things are shifting in car sales. Europe has slipped of late and Asia has more than filled the shortfall. Premium makes have not suffered the same but the trends are there to see, even over the few years shown here. The marques included here are BMW, MINI and Rolls Royce. 761.9 equals 761,900.

Since 2009, BMW Group sales in Europe have

VW Brand Production By Model : 2013

The Magotan isn't a Latin dance, but a Passat variant. Now you know.


I would rather show sales but this is how VW shares the data. It would be very similar to sales anyway. The VW brand managed a 2.6% increase in production for 2013. The green shading shows models that went up and yellow for the downside.

The problem with any such list is presenting it with allowance for what is essentially

Rolls Royce Worldwide Sales By Model: 2013

The Phantom saloon model, the Series II came out in 2012.


The designers who work at Rolls Royce must surely enjoy the relative freedom of working on cars with emphasis on quality rather than cost. Despite the upmarket price they also sell well, showing that there is strong demand for premium products in whatever field they exist.



Phantom Drophead Coupé. Nice summer's evening, top down....

MINI Brand Worldwide Sales By Model: 2013

MINI owners do love their cars..apparently


BMW's MINI brand had a year that little actually happened. True, the Paceman arrived, but didn't cause too much of a splash. However, the new MINI is arriving in dealers and that will buoy things along for 2014. It could be said that MINI held up well with reduced deliveries late in 2013 as the new model was prepared for.

The Oxford plant in the UK

BMW Brand Worldwide Sales By Model: 2013

3-Series the brand's big hitter


BMW had a good 2013, with a 7.5% increase. The chart below shows cars with green shading and SUVs with yellow. The only models to do poorly were the ill-conceived X6 and aging Z4, both suffering a double digit fall. The 3/4 Series did the best and is the mainstay of the marque. If you take SUVs away, the '3' represents 43.2% of BMW brand car sales.

The i3 is

Latvia Car/LCV Sales By Model Top 50 : 2013

The Ford Focus moves up into 2nd ...


When a nation has car models that are local brands, they dominate lists like this. Latvia imports its cars, so the variety stands out. Models that are German owned are the most popular in the top 50, while US ones are noticeable by their scarcity. As the list includes LCVs, the odd model pops up reflecting that.



... while the Toyota Auris doubles it

Latvia Car/LCV Sales By Brand : 2013

Riga the capital city


Latvia most recently got its independence in 1991, with the end of the Soviet era. It lies between Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south, the three nations making up the Baltic States.

It's car and Light Commercial sales were down slightly at just under 1% but 2014 is already showing signs of strong growth. Green highlights brand that increased.

RR Evoque Sales By Nation : 2013

An amazing stance


If this subject seems familiar, it's because I did it a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't that happy with how I presented it, so here it is in improved form. I have for one thing changed the colour coding to regions rather than increase/decrease. I also put China here, which is the biggest guess, along with the biggest market.

I have tried to put together a picture of how the

A Site I Recommend For Car Sales Data

I am not one to promote websites unless they offer something of high quality and accuracy. They also need to offer a goodly amount of free data. It also helps if they are open, friendly and quick to respond to enquiries. In all of those things, I find Focus2Move ticks the boxes. It was founded by Carlo Simongini, who is still a managing partner there.

The difference with what I do is apparent

UK CV Production : 1950 - 2013

Commercial vehicles are a section of the car industry that is overlooked by most. Understandable as we drive cars. So trucks and buses are simply large road users that block our view ahead and go slower than we would like. Basically they are necessary nuisances. However, they are an essential part of society in shipping both goods and people around.

After the Second World War, UK industry

Renault In Asia Top 12 Nations: 2007-13

Samsung SM5. This young lady seems to have 
misplaced her key. Embarassing.


Renault / Samsung are the two brands that sell in Asia for the Renault Group. It is not a strong area for them, with growth in most markets. The area where sales have suffered is the Samsung brand in Korea, nearly halving since 2007. The belated entry into China has gone well, while still a long way to go. Australia

Renault In Middle East / 14 Nations: 2007-13

Renault in Iran stopped trading there due to international embargo


The Renault / Dacia presence in the Middle East for cars/LCVs is broad but not that deep. Iran has been the main market but it is now suffering there due to political issues. Israel is going the right way and Saudi Arabia is increasing very well. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are both part of the UAE, but listed separate here. Syria's

BMW's MINI Lunacy To Be Checked

The MINI Coupe. Interesting but too extreme to be a large seller


BMW chases niches in the car market like greyhounds pursue rabbits. Like that speedy canine, it just cannot help itself. Well, sanity prevails with regard to future MINI models. Perhaps it was a case of the accountants finally getting their way.

To understand the issue, notice the sales chart below (2013 figures not released

Renault In Africa Top 19 Nations: 2007-13

Renault & Dacia popular in Morocco ...


Renault/Dacia sales by car / LCV appear below for the continent of Africa. What is amazing about this is that Africa is a place you do not get car sales data except for the odd nation. Unfortunately because other car makers do not play ball on this one, we have no brands to compare with Renault within a country, but at least we have the continent as a

Openness & Efficiency / Summary : 2014

This the fifth and final instalment on this subject. (for West Europe click here, for East Europe click here, for Americas click here, for Rest of the World click here). So why was it raised? Well because there seems a trend to less openness and that is the main point of the list below (the efficiency was just part of the points awarded). Why should something that is popular among people be

The Jaguar XK Has Run It's Course

The XKR with that 'outta my way' look.


Some cars are successful, others not. Nevertheless, they all have a shelf life. The Jaguar XK has been successful in the segment it sells in, but it is now coming to the end of it's use by date and other priorities mean the replacement is ready yet. So how many were made? My estimates by year are:











1996
7,125



1997
14,925

Belarus Sales By Make & Model : 2013

Capital Minsk. If you visit in winter, don't forget your woolies


Belarus is a young country, independent from the Soviet Union since 1991. They have about 9.5 million people, so car sales are modest for its size. They did have a 33% increase in car sales though.

European brands are the most successful, although, Japanese, Korean and Chinese brands are very active here. The US has a modest

Renault In America Top 13 Nations: 2007-13

The Renault Logan


Renault in the Americas has two striking features. One is that it has no presence in the USA or Canada. Second, the profound effect of the Dacia range in Latin America. Thanks to Renault's openness, we can see how this is so.

Firstly, the USA. I have a record of Renault selling 2,425 cars in 1956. I believe 90,500 were sold in the peak of 1959. After that, sales ebbed and

Openness & Efficiency / The Rest Of : 2014

How about trumpeting car sales data in China? 
Imports too would be nice


The fourth instalment of how to judge openness and efficiency covers all areas outside of Europe and the Americas. The result is rather sad. So what do we make of the nations in this vast region of humanity?

There are some notable omissions here. China is the biggest market and while you can sniff around and find

Openness & Efficiency / Americas : 2014

Sao Paulo Traffic


With West Europe averaging 16.8 and East Europe a miserable 6.2, it was America's turn. I didn't add the Caribbean Islands as there is no data from there that I know of, so I stuck to the mainland.

To give an insight into the region, written contact with the US or Canada usually produces a reply, but anything south of that and you enter an email black hole. Writing in

Renault In Europe Top 20 Nations: 2007-13

Renault hope they have struck gold with the 2014 Megane


When it comes to releasing sales data, Renault win my award for being the most open car maker in the world. As to why others are not so forthcoming, I assume they either have a deluded notion that their competitors have much to gain from such a revelation (they already know, duh) or that the public simply have no right to know. The

Import Car Sales In Korea: Europe vs Japan vs USA

The BMW 520d was top import in 2013


Imports have always had a tough time penetrating a market protected by tariffs. Luxury marques are not too badly affected, but run of the mill brands often struggle or even give up. This situation favours European makes, as they have the most premium brands.

Going back twenty years, only Europe and the USA sold cars in Korea. Up until the year 2000, Europe