Car Sales Around the World - What Countries Are Buying Which Cars?

What's the world's bestselling car? According to focus2move.com, using data from January 2015, the bestselling cars worldwide were the Toyota Corolla and the Volkswagen Golf. That is no surprise, since these cars are readily available in many areas around the world and have a great reputation for reliability.

However, in individual countries, the bestsellers list can be dramatically different due to availability, price, and local preferences. Here are some of the regional top sellers according to focus2move.com and Best-selling-cars.com.

Japan – Five automakers topped the 100,000 mark in sales during the first quarter of 2015. Toyota came in first with 416,404; Honda was second with 238,662; Nissan was third with 206,401; Daihatsu was fourth with 203,590; and Suzuki was fifth with 188,638. The next highest sales total was 82,059 for Mazda.
France – Vive la France! Homegrown brands dominate the French market, with the PSA Group (Peugeot, Citroën and DS) and the Renault Group (Renault and Dacia) far and away the leaders in sales. Volkswagen comes in a distant third.
Germany – It should be no great surprise that Volkswagen tops the list, with Q1 2015 sales over two and a half times greater than Mercedes-Benz and Audi (owned by VW), who finished in a virtual tie for second place. BMW and Opel lag slightly behind.
Canada – No surprises here, with models from Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet, Hyundai and Honda claiming the top sales spots through April 2015.
United Kingdom – Ford tops the UK list with the Ford Fiesta as the most popular model. Opel comes in second with the Corsa, and Volkswagen, BMW, and Nissan round out the top five.
China – The native Wuling Hong Guang topped sales so far in 2015, with the Volkswagen Lavida and the Buick Excelle not far behind. That's not to be confused with the Buick Envision, the smaller model that is currently targeted for export from China for sale in the U.S.
Sweden – Volvos and Volkswagens dominate the Swedish list. Four Volvo models are in the top six best sellers in the first half of 2015, including the best-selling V70. The Volkswagen Golf and Passat are second and third, respectively. Toyota, Kia, Škoda, and Audi lag far behind.
Greece – In June 2015, Greeks showed a preference for Toyotas, Volkswagens and Opels. Nissan and Peugeot came in fourth and fifth in sales, respectively.
India – Data from April 2015 shows five of the top-ten selling cars come from the Indian Suzuki subsidiary Maruti Suzuki, including four of the top five. Hyundai, Mahindra, and Honda fill the remaining top spots. Toyota and Tata round out the top six companies in terms of sales.
Russia – The homegrown Lada fell from the top sales spot for the first time in almost fifty years, replaced first by the Kia Rio and then the Hyundai Solaris. However, Lada soon regained it and still maintains a strong position in Russia and through a fair amount of Eastern Europe.
Brazil – Fiat holds most of the top positions with the Palio, the Strada, the Uno, and the Siena among the top ten sellers. Volkswagen has two of the top-ten selling models, while Ford, Chevrolet, Hyundai and Renault models have one model each.
South Africa – Africa's largest car market is headed up by Volkswagen, who holds the top two spots with the Polo and Polo Vivo, and Toyota, with the Corolla, Quest, Auris, and Etios models.

These sales figures were all complied before the recent Volkswagen scandal broke. What about the US, you ask? We love our trucks, just as the ads say we do. The Ford F-Series tops the sales list for the first half of 2015, followed by the Chevy Silverado and the Toyota Camry.