Mercedes-Benz Vans Global Deliveries : 2023-2025

It seems an odd fit for the premium marque M-B to also have a van range but they do and it is successful. Their brief foray into pick up trucks was a spectacular flop so they retreated back to what does work for them. 

M-B actually made the first working van in 1896. The modern day van range started with the L 319 in 1956. So vans are part of M-B's DNA.

On to recent history. In 2023, wholesale deliveries were up 10 to 447,790. 2024 reached 405,610 units but that represented a drop of 9%. 2025 recorded an 11% reduction in deliveries. 

Regions: Europe (without Germany) is down 13% and Asia (without China) is up 12%. North America (-28%) and China (-25%) have pulled things down. When combined, 70% of sales are Europe/Germany.  

Van classed as commercial vehicles account for 83% of the volume and passenger vans 17%. The Sprinter contributed 189,000 sales to the total, the Vito/V-Class 140,600 and the Titan/T-Class 29,700.  M-B is to end the Titan/T-Class range in 2026 and focus on the more profitable larger vans. 

Electric van sales came to 27,488 units in 2025, up 46%. That is still just 7.7% of total van deliveries but at least they are improving. 

Conclusion: M-B has a strong brand image and the van range does that no harm at all. Moving away from small vans is a smart move, something the company is also doing with its car range.  

Data & photos: M-B. For passenger cars, simply click here.

Mercedes-Benz PC Global Deliveries : 2023-25

M-B has two divisions, Car and Van. Here we consider the former and the van article comes next. How is M-B managing in a somewhat volatile environment?

To the right, there is a chart showing quarterly wholesale delivery figures. Quarterly volumes don't vary much at all. 

In 2023, it was the same as 2022 with slowish start and moderately successful second half. In 2024, a similar pattern but this time a -3% total.

For 2025, a different trend, one reflected in many car companies. That is an acceleration of fewer deliveries. This led to a -9% end of year result. Time to break it down further.

M-B divides model deliveries into three main categories, Entry, The Top End is holding up best and it's the most profitable segment, therefore not so bad.

The Entry and Core models were both down 10%. Mercedes is moving away from lower priced models to focus on its higher margin cars to increase profitability. I never understood why they ever went to the lower end of the premium market.

Region: Only the 'Rest' is up, 17%. Germany is too but still registered a zero. Europe (less Germany) is down ever so slightly at -2%,. 

Asia (less China) -6%. North America is down 12% but the real negative is China (-19%). No surprise with the latter and maybe a good thing too.

Moving on to electric and hybrid cars. The chart to the right shows the last thee years. They were up 9% in 2023, down 9% in 2024 and the same in 2025.  

Planning ahead for this area of the market has not been easy. Their adoption hasn't been as great as expected and incentives come and go.

For 2025, hybrids were up 9% to 199,877 but cars that are fully electric are down 9% to 168,823. 

Many car companies have pulled back on how much they commit to this area, both in model development and production levels. Financial returns are not good enough in this area to justify it. 

In conclusion, M-B is in the same situation as many other car makers. Volumes are down and there is a trend to move more up market. Chinese competition has arrived and even premium car makers are cautiously watching developments. 

Data & photos: Mercedes-Benz. 

Renault Alpine Sales : 2017-2025

The origional Renault Alpine A106 came out in 1955 and the Alpine name has been used at various times for sporty models. The 2017 Alpine A110 is the most recent iteration, a lightweight, mid-engined sports car as a performance sub brand for Renault.

The A110 has now been joined by the A290, a performance focused electric hatch based on the Renault 5 E-Tech. 

A290 deliveries started at the end of 2024 so the 2025 year is where the A290's impact was felt. It certainly gave the niche brand a lift in volume. 

The A106 and A290 between them have run up 34,549 sales up until the end of 2025. There isn't a model breakdown but one might assume the 2025 split was 60/40 in favour of the A290.

For now it relies on Europe for its sales with plans to expand from there. For instance, the US market could be a new one for the marque in 2027. 

In 2026, the A390 electric crossover using the Scenic E-Tech / Nissan Ariya platform arrives to make it three in the Alpine range. 

 Data source: Renault Group. Photos: A110 (above) & A290 (below)

Dacia PC/LCV Sales : 2019-2025

The Dacia brand seems to have hit a ceiling at around the 700,000 units. Some Dacia models are sold under the Renault brand though. 

It was in 2022 that Renault last provided model breakdowns allowing us to see how many Dacias were sold as Renaults. It was 14.1% of Renault sales with Dacia based models.

That was 199,466 units in total and that number added to the 2022 figure brings it up to 773,539. 

That's a quarter of Dacia vehicles sold as Renaults for the year. 

Dacia's contribution to the Renault Group sales is substantial, more than the figures above would suggest. 

Full credit to Renault for exploiting that opportunity in certain regions of the world. Creating the modern day Dacia brand was a bold and astute move by Carlos Ghosn. 

Data source: Renault Group. Models: Duster (top) & Spring (above).

Renault PC/LCV Sales : 2019-2025

To the right is passenger car and light commercial sales. There was a steep decline and now it seems a recovery is underway.

Renault used to give a model breakdown so we could get a better understanding of what was happening but they don't anymore. I think that's a shame.

They gave more than other car manufacturers but giving out detailed data is a bold thing to do and eventually they pulled the plug. I still have the data but it's no longer current.

Data source: Renault Group.

Pictures: The new Twingo E-Tech (above) & the Kwid (left).

Moldova Top 25 Car Sales : 2025

Looking at the list, we see though colour the variety of regions the cars are associated with. 

Here green is Japan with seven represented. Toyota and Suzuki the main contributors.

Blue is Europe with eight models. Dacia and Škoda are the most common with four different brands in total.

China may surprise with eight models, although they are for now at least, not the top selling ones. Four different brands are in the top 25, so they are coming in force. 

Korea has two models, both well placed near the top but a little short on depth. 

Photo sources: Toyota (Rav4) & Dacia (Logan) Moldova.

Moldova Car Sales : 2025

Registrations were up a most impressive 27% in 2025. Comparing that with the average over the previous ten years and 2025 was up 100%! 

The list below has a 'Share +/-' column that rates market share variance. Many brands in the yellow did have sales increases but the 27% increase meant they didn't quite keep pace. 

Dacia overtook Lada in 2010 and held the lead until 2021, when Toyota intervened. It held top spot for three years. Dacia came back for a cameo appearance in 2024 returned to #1 Toyota and decisively so.

BYD did little for a few years but suddenly surged to third place. Jetour is a newer entrant but is already up to eighth. Dacia fell back to fourth and BMW went from fifth to tenth. 

Pictures: Jetour Dashing (above) & BAIC X55 (below). 

Daihatsu Historical Sales : 2007-2025

The brand is ideal as reliable city transport. Daihatsu has historically been sold around the world but now is in Asia only.  

The chart shows the past 19 years of sales. Their retreat back to Asia can be seen in how the total has dropped. A recent scandal didn't help either.

In 2025, exports accounted for just 20.5% of the total. In Malaysia, the Perodua models are basically Daihatsu cars and in 2025, 360,000 were sold in that country. They are obviously not included here.    

Daihatsu specialises in small vehicles which have tighter profit margins. I can see why shipping them too far would test margins even more. It's a shame as they are good vehicles.

Data source: Toyota. 

Here I am singing the brand's praises but it was rocked by a scadal in 2024. It led to the suspension of all domestic shipments and production after it was revealed it rigged safety tests. 

Leadership resignations followed, with Toyota taking over the certification process. Sales slumped in 2024 but are returning.  

Summary: A company that has three quarters of its deliveries in the domestic market. Most are Kei cars and they at least have a solid sales base domestically. 

Pics: Move, Taft & Hijet models.

Toyota Group Global Production : 2024-25

If you read the sales version of this, then the format is the same. Production is divided into five regions and further broken down into countries. Worldwide production was 9.95 million and was up 4.5% after a drop of 5.1% the year before. 

Asia: It made up 64.5% of global output. In turn, Japan was half of that. Overall a third of all Toyota's made were done so in the home country. 

North America: Just under a quarter of production was from this region and 62% in the USA. It was up 9.4% in 2025. 

Europe: 809,900 units were made here, down 2%. Just over a third were made in France, which may surprise some. 

Latin America: With regional sales down, it was understandable that production would be too. It was down 7% to 346,000. Argentina passed Brazil to be the largest producer, if only fractionally. 

Africa: It's all about South Africa with some limited assembly in three other countries. With the RSA having a 16.5% increase, that pushed the region up to 132,700 units.

Summary: A broad range of manufacturing, which one might expect from such a global player. 

Data source: Toyota.

Pictures: Lexus NX above & Toyota Harrier below.

Italy Production : 2023-24

The data from the source comes a bit slowly and I forgot about it. It is useful to know which vehicles are produced here. Few countries allow us this insight.

PCs: 2024 wasn't a stellar year by any means. Production was down 43% with all the main companies affected. Stellantis has been doing it tough and most of what is below is theirs. Without a model breakdown, it's hard to pinpoint why.

2025 data has little reason to offer more promise. 

CVs: They were also out of sorts, with a 15% drop in volume. Peugeot was an exception and the arrival of Toyota may help if it improves from here. 

Combine the both and production was at 591,000, down 32%. Production volumes can be more volatile than sales as models can be transferred in or out of plants. 

Data source: ANFIA. 

Lexus Regional Sales : 2024-25

I last did Lexus' regional sales for 2021-23 and it can be viewed by clicking here. I thought it time to update for the most recent two years.

The cars are designed with North America in mind and it is the largest region for the marque. If Asia was combined, it would be 36.9% compared to the 46.3% of NA. The gap between the two widened in 2025.

Europe continues to be a work in progress for Lexus, with limited penetration for what is a large premium market. For its size, the Middle East is a successful region. 

Summary: A 4% increase is a strong result with increased competition and a segment that was overall up just 2%. 

Data source: Lexus. Pics: RX (above) & LBX (below).

Toyota Group Global Sales : 2024-25

With all the pressures on car manufacturers - especially with increasing competition - Toyota still managed a +3.7% result. We can break it down regionally.

Asia: 45.4% of the company's sales come from here. It had a 2.8% increase after a 6.7% drop in 2024. 37.2% of the sales in Asia are in China and Japan 31.4%. India is increasingly becoming an important market, with sales up 17%.

North America: 27.8% of Toyota's global deliveries were here in 2025. It was also up 7.3%. 86% of the region's total went to the USA.

Europe: It lost ground to most other regions with an almost flat 1.4% upturn. Spain did well, but the largest market (Germany) continued to underachieve for Toyota.

Oc / ME / Af: The region's deliveries were up 4.2%, the Gulf States accounting for 41.4% of that total. South Africa (RSA) was up 15.5%.

Latin America: Just 4.5% of the company's total was here.It was also the only region that was down in sales (-3.2%). Brazil's -13.7% was the reason for the poorer showing.

Summary: A good result, all things considered.

Data source: Toyota. 

Pics: Toyota Fortuner above & Lexus TX (a North American only model) below.

Suzuki Sales/Production : 2020-26

Suzuki has a unique positioning of product. They manufacture only small cars and commercial vehicles, which are notoriously difficult to make money on. Yet it is profitable. Its success is based on just two markets, India and Japan. That could leave them exposed if one faltered, but it hasn't. 

We will look at production and sales to see how the car division is doing globally. The data below is as detailed as it is provided by Suzuki.

Production: From 2020 to 2025, it has risen by 844,000 units. Japan is steady and the 'Rest' is down. India has grown by 904,000 to two thirds of the total production.

Sales: With India being a directly protected market and Japan indirectly, that gives Suzuki a solid platform to work off. Those two markets account for 78% of all vehicle sales. 

Of course, there has been much discussion about the impact of Chinese car makers aggressively expanding sales. Neither Japan nor India have been affected the same way. 

It will be interesting to see if that remains so but for now Suzuki cars are going along nicely. 3.3 million sales and 3.4 million vehicles produced in 2025 is impressive. There is consistent growth as well, a testament to how well the company is currently placed. 

Mexico Japan Car Production : 2025

Four Japanese firms have over the years invested in Mexican production. In 2025, that included six brands. In total, they produced 1,138,000 vehicles.

                                  *************

Honda: 225,000 units in total are made here. 80% of Honda cars made in Mexico go to the US so it has been badly exposed by the introduction of tariffs. The next generation Civic hybrid is now not going to be made here.  

Mazda: They made 175,000 cars in 2025. Due to low US content, they are more greatly affected by tariffs. It is reducing exports to the US and sending cars to other markets. 

Nissan: An impressive 660,000 units were manufactured. A wide range of  vehicles is made here, including two for Infiniti. As for Infiniti, production ceased in November as the joint venture plant with Mercedes-Benz is ceasing. 

Nissan is the biggest selling brand in Mexico, so less dependent on exports that some other car makers. That said, globally Nissan is struggling any extra costs will hurt. 

Toyota: It has two plants making the Tacoma mid size pick up. Over 300,000 went through those establishments in 2025. It is able to leverage its US supply chain to minimise tariffs, so not too badly affected. 

Summary: Mexico is a vibrant car manufacturing location for Japanese firms and that will continue. 

Data source: INEGI.