The world’s best-selling cars

The list of top 20 best-selling cars in the world tells us a great deal about the overall market.

For starters, the top two are the only ones to break the 1 million mark, while the rise and fall of others demonstrates that SUVs and crossovers are not the all-conquering sales force you might think the world over.

There are also a few names in there that will be strangers to most Western ears, but they show how large and important the markets are in China and Russia. We’ve ranked the top 20 global sellers in ascending order and the numbers come from Global Auto Database that collates figures from more than 300 official sources:

20: Nissan Sylphy – 476,306 sales

The Nissan Sylphy may be unfamiliar to those in Europe and the USA, but it’s Nissan’s second best-selling passenger car after the Qashqai/Rogue Sport. This is thanks to its popularity in China, Russia and Asian countries like Taiwan and Thailand. Despite the current model being introduced in 2012, the third generation Sylphy increased its sales in 2018 compared to 2017 with a 15.5% rise.

Much of the appeal of the Sylphy is in its simplicity and rugged build. It’s well suited to some of the more uneven roads in the countries where it sells strongly and most come with climate control as standard to deal with hot and humid weather.

19: Wuling Hongguang – 480,455 sales

The Wuling Hongguang may well have overtaken the Kia Sportage in 2018’s figures, but a new model arrived in showrooms during the year, which interrupted sales for a short period. This resulted in a 9.9% drop in total numbers of the SAIC-made MPV versus 2017. Had those number held up, the Hongguang would have been propelled up to 15th spot.

A helping hand is offered to this Chinese favourite’s sales figures by the earlier first-generation model continuing in production and sales alongside the new model. However, Wuling did remove the very basic version from the catalogue during 2018, which was also reflected in the lower sales number.

18: Kia Sportage – 482,623 sales

The Sportage is an ongoing sales success story for Kia and its numbers were up in 2018 over the previous 12-month period. It recorded the second biggest increase among the top 20 best sellers of 12.1% behind the Nissan Sylphy’s 15.5% rise.

As well as being sold in more than 120 countries worldwide, the Sportage is assisted in its strong showing by being assembled in six different plants. They include dedicated factories in China, Russia and Malaysia, as well as South Korean, Slovakian and Algerian facilities.

17: Nissan Qashqai – 513,192 sales

The Qashqai has been nothing but good news for Nissan ever since the first rolled off the line in 2006. While it doesn’t top the charts as best-seller in any country, it routinely features highly. For instance, it took fourth place overall for 2018 sales in the UK, so those figures add up and helped towards a modest 2.4% increase in numbers over 2017’s. It’s known as the Rogue Sport in the US.

Nissan is another company that helps itself by assembling the Qashqai close to its key markets, so there are factories turning them out in Japan, the UK, China and Russia.

16: Volkswagen Lavida – 513,371 sales

Think of a big-selling Volkswagen saloon and you could be forgiven for naming the Passat, yet it’s the Lavida that ticks this box for the German firm. The Passat comes in at 28th spot, while the Lavida earns its higher ranking thanks to its massive popularity in China. This is despite a slight drop in sales in 2018 of 0.8%, though some of that was down the changeover from the previous model to the new third-generation Lavida.

Based on the same platform as the Golf, the Lavida has a 78mm longer wheelbase to free up more rear legroom, which is a key consideration for Chinese buyers. It comes with either a 1.5-litre or 1.4 turbo motors and sales should increase in 2019 as it’s made available in other countries that China has trade deals with.

15: Honda Accord – 513,653 sales

The Accord is a staple among best-sellers and is the first of three Hondas to appear in this top 20. Sales were down by 3.4% in 2018 compared to 2017, though this was mostly due to the gap in sales mid-year when the new 10th generation and slightly more expensive model was introduced.

Since then, sales have carried on in a similar steady manner to before and it was the USA’s 11th most popular vehicle in 2018 that contributed 218,071 sales to the overall total.

14: Toyota Hilux – 560,872 sales

The Toyota Hilux has jumped from 20th place in 2017 to 14th overall in 2018 due to an 11.0% rise in sales. The current car arrived in 2015, so the increased sales during 2018 are largely down to Toyota’s appeal in emerging markets where it’s strength and durability make it the go-to 4x4 when reliability can make the difference between life and death.

Toyota also keeps Hilux numbers high by selling it in several different guises around the world. This means you can buy a very luxurious pick-up in the USA with the Hilux badge or a very basic ‘ute’ in Australia for working in the Outback.

13: Hyundai Tuscon – 574,054 sales

Now into its third generation and with 2018 representing the third year of sales for this Hyundai Tuscon, it’s done well to hold steady in the same 13th place as the previous year. This is despite sales slipping 8.7% year on year between 2017 and 2018, though this mirrors the general slowdown in sales in key markets in Europe, China and the USA.

If the Tuscon had not endured that drop in sales, it would easily have put itself ahead of Hyundai’s others top 20 global seller, the Elantra that resides in 11th place for 2018.

12: RAM 1500/2500/3500 – 624,846 sales

Out of this considerable yearly sales total, it’s telling that 536,980 of them were in the USA alone. The bulk of the remainder came from Canadian customers, with the majority of the rest going to South American countries. It’s enough to put the RAM range in 12th overall, up from 14th in 2017 thanks to a 3.9% lift in sales.

That will be welcome news at FCA headquarters, but it’s still a very long way off the sales of the Ford F Series that dominates the US pick-up truck market with sales of more than 1 million.

11: Hyundai Elantra – 650,803 sales

The Hyundai Elantra is made in now less than seven different factories around the world, which explains to some extent its popularity. Those assembly plants are in all of the major sales regions for the car, though notably there isn’t one in Europe as this is not a strong market for the Elantra.

That didn’t stop this Hyundai from picking up a further 3.3% in sales during 2018 compared to 2017.

Like a number of its key rivals, such as the Honda Accord and Volkswagen Passat, the Elantra isn’t an overall best-seller in any single country. Instead, it scores well here for its dependable popularity in a great many countries across the world.

10: Chevrolet Silverado – 651,090 sales

The Chevrolet Silverado stays in the top 10, but only just as it’s slipped from eighth position in 2017. Most of this is down to reduced sales in its home market of the USA, which means it’s down 1.4% overall for 2018 when comparing the figures to 2017’s.

However, the Silverado is bolstered by its popularity outside of the USA in markets such as Canada and Mexico, where it’s managed to avoid the much larger drop in sales that its key rival, RAM, has suffered. As an example, Silverado sales were down 2% in Canada but 16% for the RAM.

9: Toyota Camry – 661,383 sales

The Toyota Camry is a car that hovers in the middle of the Top 20 pack year in, year out. For 2018, it’s moved up two spots to ninth overall thanks to a 3.8% hike in sales year on year. This is despite a drop in US sales, though it still ranks as the number one sedan car there.

Globally, the Camry is enjoying rejuvenated interest and sales with its reintroduction to markets such as the UK. It’s helped here with a new hybrid powertrain that puts it ahead of many of its major rivals that have yet to adopt this technology.

8: Volkswagen Polo – 725,463 sales

Volkswagen timed the launch of its latest sixth generation Polo to perfection to get the most from annual sales figures. Arriving in showrooms at the beginning of 2018, it benefited from a new model bounce and recorded a 11.3% rise in sales compared to 2017. That’s enough to push it up from 10th to eighth in the overall score.

Those numbers also mean the Polo is now within touching distance of its Golf big sister, which has suffered a 10.3% drop in sales in the same period that puts it in sixth place this year, down from third in 2017.

7: Honda CR-V – 747,646 sales

The Honda CR-V is a real trooper when it comes to sales and it finished up 2018 in seventh place, one rung down from 2017’s sixth. That was due to a small 1.5% drop in global sales, though this was much less than many of its rivals and was helped by the launch of a new model.

The USA and Canada remain the CR-V’s biggest markets, accounting for 423,000 sales combined in 2018. With the arrival of the new RCR-V Hybrid model, Honda says it’s confident this mid-size SUV will move back up the leader board in 2019.

6: Volkswagen Golf – 789,519 sales

For a car with an instantly recognisable name and profile, and one that has notched more sales in its lifetime than most, you’d expect the Volkswagen Golf to be further up the Top 20. However, the Golf has suffered a 10.3% drop in yearly sales from 2017 to 2018. That’s the biggest slump of any car in the Top 20.

Some of this is down to the problems VW has continued to face in the wake of the diesel scandal as many consumers remain shy. There’s also the rise in popularity of compact SUVs to dent the Golf’s numbers, so the arrival of the next Golf in 2019 cannot come soon enough to improve its standing in this ranking.

5: Volkswagen Tiguan – 791,275 sales

The Tiguan is the quiet man of the Volkswagen range, often overlooked in favour of the Golf or Polo, yet it outsells both of its hatch siblings. Not only that, Tiguan sales were up 8.6% in 2018 compared to 2017, which is a jump of 63,000 while the Golf has endured a loss of 90,000.

The addition of the Tiguan Allspace has also helped bolster the model’s sales around the world by offering a seven-seat compact SUV in the VW line-up. It’s known as just “Tiguan” in the USA, as the smaller car isn’t sold in that market; it notched up a useful 89,476 sales in the US in 2018. Together, this lifts the Tiguan into fifth position overall, up from seventh in 2017, and second only in the small SUV stakes to the ToyotaRAV4.

4: Honda Civic – 823,169 sales

The Honda Civic holds on to its fourth place in overall global sales in 2018 in spite of a very small 0.7% drop in sales compared to 2017. That’s a difference of less than 4500 cars, so Honda won’t be losing too much sleep over that and especially when sales in the important US and Japanese markets have held up.

The introduction of the Civic saloon, or fastback as it’s referred to in some markets, in 2018 also helped to keep the Civic on an even keel. A new hybrid powertrain is due in 2019 and should see the Civic retain its high ranking.

3: Toyota RAV4 - 837,624 sales

Toyota’s RAV4 is one of the longest-running compact SUV lines going and that familiarity works in its favour when it comes to sales success. For 2018, the RAV4 moves up to third from its previous fifth place with an improvement in year on year sales of 3.6%.

The RAV4 is one of two Toyotas in the top three of global best-sellers and among four from the Japanese firm to make into this Top 20. With an all-new RAV4 launched at the end of 2018, its place in the upper reaches of this table should be secure in 2019.

2: Ford F Series - 1,080,757 sales

The Ford F Series is often regarded as the single best-selling light vehicle in the world, yet it’s in second place. Even with a very modest 0.4% sales in crease in 2018 over the previous year’s it’s not enough to elevate the big Ford pick-up range to top spot.

However, the F Series is one of only two cars in this table to sell more than 1 million vehicles in 2018 and it also heads US sales by an enormous 372,000 sales over the RAM that comes in second. Even with the launch of a new RAM, which will sell alongside the older model that’s now renamed Classic, it’s unlikely to trouble its Ford rival’s large sales lead.

1: Toyota Corolla – 1,181,445 sales

The Toyota Corolla may be one of the most humble cars on the road, but it can boast that it heads the global sales rankings, and by some margin. With more than 100,000 more sales to its name than the Ford F Series, the Corolla extends its lead as the world’s best-selling four-wheeled badge during its lengthy history that goes back to 1966. All this despite suffering a 1.7% drop in sales in 2018 compared to 2017.

An all-new Corolla has just gone in sales, replacing the Auris name in some markets, and that will surely help the Toyota hatch in its bid to hang on to the number one spot in 2019.