Finland Top 4 Brands : 1956-59

Moskvitch 402. Cars have come a long way since then

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.

In the chart below, 'Moskv' stands for Moskvitch which basically means Moscovite. They were a solid car made for tough Russian roads and sold well back at this time, often with a waiting lists for their cars. GAZ was a Russian car named the M20, or as in Finland the Pobeda. Another unusual name is the 'Wartb' or Wartburg. They were a car made in East Germany in Eisenach where the Wartburg castle is situated.
Sales back then in Finland were about 20,000 per annum, with just under 15,000 in 1958.

Year	1st		2nd		3rd		4th
1956	Moskv	4,066	GAZ	2,835	Škoda	1,918	VW	1,873
1957	Moskv	4,803	Škoda	4,785	VW	1,636	Wartb	1,364
1958	VW	2,545	Ford	1,196	Fiat	1,155	Peug	1,100
1959	Moskv	3,570	Škoda	2,879	VW	1,998	Fiat	1,153

GAZ M20 or the Pobeda. Stylish for its day

Data source: Thanks to Autolan Tiedotuskeskus.

For other decades: 1960-69, 1970-79, 1980-89, 1990-99, 2000-09. and 2010-19.
Pobeda picture: Wiki/nailgun

Moskvitch picture: Wiki

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 1988 with 344,000 sales. Sweden had a financial boom during this time, causing the sales spike. A economic meltdown in the 1990's caused a slump in car sales, which you will see in the 1990's top 4 chart.

Year	1st		2nd		3rd		4th
1980	Volvo	50,547	Saab	27,619	VW	18,693	Opel	17,527
1981	Volvo	49,766	Saab	26,741	Ford	21,128	VW	20,002
1982	Volvo	57,522	Saab	30,562	Ford	22,407	Opel	22,184
1983	Volvo	62,012	Saab	29,270	Ford	21,556	Opel	20,847
1984	Volvo	62,495	Saab	29,610	Ford	25,539	Opel	21,957
1985	Volvo	71,135	Ford	28,571	Saab	27,352	Opel	26,770
1986	Volvo	64,630	Ford	29,944	Saab	29,590	Opel	24,317
1987	Volvo	72,492	Ford	34,299	Opel	31,077	Saab	30,202
1988	Volvo	74,626	Ford	35,921	Opel	28,940	Saab	27,083
1989	Volvo	66,576	Ford	28,629	Saab	25,800	Opel	24,775

1998 Opel Kadet

Thanks to BilSweden for the data.

For others in the series, please click on the years: 2010-19. 2000-09, 1990-99, 1970-79,
1960-69, and 1950-59.

Sweden Top 4 Brands : 1970-79

Julie Andrews discovers the Volvo 244

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 entered the market in 1971 and was the 6th best selling brand by 1979. Nissan also entered around the same year and were 12th by decade's end. Japanese brands were making inroads during the 1970s.

The Saab 900. More stylish than the Volvo I must say

Total sales started the decade at 203,300 and finished at 215,300. A peak of 312,900 sales came in 1976.

Year	1st		2nd		3rd		4th
1970	Volvo	53,842	Saab	34,750	Opel-V	23,781	VW	20,674
1971	Volvo	51,403	Saab	34,101	VW	23,688	Opel-V	21,461
1972	Volvo	55,959	Saab	36,142	VW	24,971	Opel-V	24,831
1973	Volvo	59,556	Saab	37,530	VW	22,086	Opel-V	22,025
1974	Volvo	56,917	Saab	41,733	VW	30,086	Opel-V	23,053
1975	Volvo	58,139	Saab	44,250	VW	31,930	Ford	25,330
1976	Volvo	75,425	Saab	39,520	Ford	31,894	Opel-V	31,149
1977	Volvo	55,681	Saab	29,667	Ford	26,060	VW	22,755
1978	Volvo	49,831	Saab	27,427	Ford	22,043	Opel-V	17,969
1979	Volvo	55,780	Saab	29,838	Ford	22,813	Opel-V	22,141

Thanks to BilSweden for the data.

For others in the series, please click on the years: 2010-19. 2000-09, 1990-99,
1980-89, 1960-69, and 1950-59.

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 consistent and Ford couldn't keep a top 4 place because of the emergence of Saab. The latter was clearly second by the end of the 60's.

...while Saab went for an aerodynamic look with its 96 model

Year	1st		2nd		3rd		4th
1960	Volvo	40,154	VW	30,791	Opel-V	26,562	Ford	16,381
1961	Volvo	45,329	VW	34,871	Opel-V	26,941	Saab	13,726
1962	Volvo	48,978	VW	37,016	Opel-V	27,211	Saab	20,580
1963	Volvo	53,665	VW	42,656	Opel-V	35,739	Ford	28,686
1964	Volvo	58,402	VW	45,886	Opel-V	42,170	Ford	32,974
1965	Volvo	59,204	VW	47,310	Opel-V	47,201	Ford	40,037
1966	Volvo	51,155	VW	36,315	Opel-V	31,668	Ford	23,496
1967	Volvo	45,348	Opel-V	24,461	Saab	24,303	VW	22,837
1968	Volvo	55,371	Saab	30,687	Opel-V	30,063	VW	24,632
1969	Volvo	59,088	Saab	35,015	Opel-V	29,238	VW	25,347

For others in the series, please click on the years: 2010-19. 2000-09, 1990-99,
1980-89, 1970-79, and 1950-59.

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 be in the top 4 for 2014. Either Renault and Peugeot are likely to replace GM. Ford is now slipping in Italy, but VW is now well established as number two.

The Lacia Ypsilon is to be the only model for the marque.

The extreme right column shows that the top 4 are down to about 40% of the total market. That is a long way from 1960, when they had 95%! Fiat will always be top, but by how much lead is the question.

	Yr	1st	Sales	%	2nd	Sales	%	3rd	Sales	%	4th	Sales	%	%
	2000	Fiat	626	26	GM	206	8	VW	184	8	Ford	181	7	49
	2001	Fiat	619	26	GM	212	9	Ford	186	8	VW	182	8	50
	2002	Fiat	512	22	GM	187	8	Ford	187	8	VW	170	7	46
	2003	Fiat	460	20	Ford	197	9	Ren	167	7	GM	165	7	44
	2004	Fiat	464	20	Ford	182	8	GM	167	7	Ren	158	7	43
	2005	Fiat	464	21	GM	169	8	Ford	165	7	VW	145	6	42
	2006	Fiat	544	23	Ford	179	8	GM	163	7	VW	151	6	45
	2007	Fiat	604	24	Ford	200	8	GM	177	7	VW	153	6	45
	2008	Fiat	542	25	Ford	170	8	GM	143	7	VW	138	6	46
	2009	Fiat	549	25	Ford	211	10	GM	127	6	VW	126	6	47
	2010	Fiat	450	23	Ford	182	9	VW	136	7	GM	127	6	46
	2011	Fiat	363	21	Ford	147	8	VW	139	8	GM	117	7	44
	2012	Fiat	293	21	VW	114	8	Ford	99	7	GM	79	6	42
	2013	Fiat	277	21	VW	105	8	Ford	87	7	GM	71	5	41

For other years, simply click on the year: 1960-69, 1970-79, 1980-89,
and 1990-1999,