Sweden Premium Sales Comparison : 2016-18

Wow, talk about supporting your own! In Sweden they take it to a whole new level. Half of all premium cars are Volvos, a rate consistently maintained over the past three years. Even with the total falling 6.7% in 2018, its share was protected. BMW and Mercedes are solid but unable to seriously challenge the local hero.

Audi meanwhile has been falling consistently. Further down, JLR has fallen

Czech R / Poland / Sweden JLR Comparison : 2010-16

Three averaged sized European nations, one north, another central and the third one east. 280,000 to 310,000 covers the average sales so not too dissimilar. The Czech numbers include light commercials. Sweden is a big market for premium brands, far more than the others. On that basis, Sweden should be the winner in the JLR comparison.

Czech Rep: The 0.26% for LR isn't flash but not a disaster

Sweden Premium Comparison : 2010-16

Premium cars are proving popular in many nations. They are often outselling cheaper mainstream brand while at the same time making more profit. More recently the most aggressive attack on this segment have been the BAM marques, BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz. However other car makers are striking back and the competition is heating up. So a look at sales in this decade would be interesting.

First

Sweden Car Sales - Brand / 2016

A third straight year of increase including 2016's +7.9% puts Sweden into record sales territory. Volvo has been number one since 1958, when it passed GM's Opel brand. However, VW has been relentlessly closing the gap, unperturbed by scandal. It will only be a matter of time before VW takes over but as to when I wouldn't speculate.

In the chart below, pale yellow represents a reduction in

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

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

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

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

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

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