Kia leads the way here with the tiny Picanto model, which is shown above carrying a generous load of goods. Mazda comes in next with the CX-30 with the Toyota Corolla Cross breathing down its neck. The Chevrolet Tracker fell nine places so it needs some love, hence the picture at the bottom of the article.
Data source: ANDEMOS. Picture sources: Kia Colombia & Chevrolet Colombia.
Toyota as the leading brand has three of the top seven places. Škoda as the number two marque in the overall standings is likewise well represented. The Dacia Duster (picture above) is the sixth most popular model. Below is the Nissan Qashqai in tenth place.
As this is passenger cars only, it is unusual to have models like the Renault Trafic on the list but it also has more vehicles not shown here but counted as light commercials. That's not usual so perhaps they are vans with seats and sold as an MPV.
Data source: Auto Asociacija.
Brands within Stellantis are data shy, perhaps it's due to the fact that they aren't doing that well. Peugeot is perhaps the strongest brand within the company and the only one seemingly sharing data. Coincidence? Possibly.
Global sales were just under 1.1 million, down 2%. That is a good result, especially considering the Stellantis Group is badly in need of revitalising. They currently have an interim CEO while the search for a new one is underway.
Models: 14% don't make the cut in 2024, a shame. The other 86% are below, led by the compact 208 with 275,000 sales. The compact 2008 SUV comes in next with 214,000 units. The Partner van includes the Rifter passenger version and together they came in at 133,000.
Data source: Peugeot.
I used to get data for Škoda from the VW Group but this year I couldn't find it and assume they have ceased the practice. So I have gone to Škoda Auto and it has more detail too, although some of that won't be used here anyway.
Summary:
Twelve models were manufactured in 2024, up one from a year earlier. 925,000 units were made, up from 888,000 in 2023 and up 4%. Škoda take pride in the photography of their cars, not something that could be said of all car makers.
Model highlights:
The Octavia (picture above) is what I call a medium sized car available in liftback and combi (estate or wagon) configurations and it is the most popular with 214,000 produced. The small crossover Kamiq is next with 125,000 made.
The compact Fabia hatchback (bottom picture) was next with 121,000 assembled. The medium/large Kodiaq SUV accounted for 117,000 units followed by the medium sized Karoq SUV. The small crossover Enyaq reached 80,000 with two body styles, a hatchback and coupé.
The Kushaq small SUV was made in India but is being discontinued however the small Slavia saloon continues on but with falling volume.
Data & picture source: Škoda Auto.
The difference between total production by model and country is the latter includes cars made for SEAT which are classified as 'Others' below. They are manufactured in the Czechia.
Data & photo source: Audi Group & Bentley.
Regions: They are surprisingly even which is a good situation to be in. It means that Bentley isn't too reliant on one region. China even managed to increase its share of Bentley sales to 23%. The USA remains the main market.
Sales for the Audi brand were down 12% in 2024 after being up 17% in 2023. It appears that a decision was made to pull back on chasing volume as the reduction was consistent across the model range. Selling cars in China was very profitable and not so much anymore. That could have caused a rethink of prioritising profit which has been falling recently.
Regions: The reduction in deliveries is consistent in the four regions below. Europe (40%) and China - Hong Kong (39%) are the two main regions with less than a quarter elsewhere.
Data source: Audi Group.
Models: Again the reduction has been consistent across the model range. The Q5 remained the top selling model with nearly 300,000 sales and 18% of the total. The A6 (both pictures) is popular with 243,000 deliveries and took 15% of the share.
The TT model is at the end of its run out phase, as is the R8. The R8 has a successor model but at this stage not the TT it seems. The B4 L means before market launch models just in case you thought this was an oddly named new car.
Lamborghini has sold 10,000 cars over the past two years. I would imagine that is about where they want to be with the current range of three models, one SUV and two sports cars. Maybe they will go a little higher in 2025.
The SUV makes a huge difference even to marques associated with sports cars, provided they capture the essence of the brand. In the case of the Urus, that is the case.
Data & picture source: Audi / Lamborghini.
Regions: Europe and the USA take two thirds of the cars delivered. China isn't an important market which is just as well with its economic downturn. The Other is surprisingly strong with the Gulf States no doubt an important sub-region.
Retro models often fail or have a momentary spurt before fading away. The MINI did neither of those. In 2001, 25,000 were delivered and the popularity rose until it peaked in 2017 with 372.000 sold. Since then there has been a steady decline and for 2024 sales stood at 245,000.
A quarter of a million is still a goodly number and 2025 promises to lift from there with new models now available. Sales won't reach the 2027 peak again but the fact that it has been successful for so long is amazing.
Some may say the car isn't exactly MINI anymore but relative to how cars have grown in size generally it hasn't ballooned out excessively. It has also retained the fun to drive ethos which is essential.
The electric Aceman (picture above) has arrived but it is too early to have had any noticeable impact on sales figures. BEVs are not selling as was expected but still will be an important model within the range.
Data & photographs: BMW MINI.
Pick ups or bakkies as they are called here are popular here as seen below. Three models are particularly popular and although newer models have made some inroads they are still somewhat peripheral as is usually the case in this segment.
The Toyota Hilux is the top bakkie and while it has had some of its lead trimmed in recent years, it doesn't look like yielding its position anytime soon. The Ford Ranger is keeping in touch and the Isuzu D-Max is consistent if nothing else.
Nissan has ended its NP200 model and sales dwindled toward the end of the year. Mazda has pulled the plug on the slow selling BT-50 with none sold for much of the year. Mahindra does well with its Scorpio Pik-Up (picture above) and Peugeot Landtrek (picture below) is getting some traction with a new model Landtrek giving things an uplift. It's sourced from China in case you wondered.
Data source: Naamsa. Pictures: Manufacturers.
The Toyota brand has been gaining steadily in the UK, its hybrid technology winning over customers. The Yaris (GR version pictured below) and Yaris Cross are the most popular models with the electric bZ4X doing well too despite its odd name. In between them is the C-HR (picture above).
Total sales in the UK for 2024 were 101,465 which is close to the complete 2023 number of 109,415. The ProAce Verso and City Verso are vans with seating so people movers or MPVs. They have previously been included in commercial vehicle data provided by Toyota but this year moved to the passenger car category.
Data and pictures: Toyota UK.
Toyota light commercials are an important part of the range in Europe, an area that was somewhat neglected. The Hilux is the best selling although 2024 doesn't look like it will match 2023. In 2024 registrations reached 5,520, compared to a full 2023 figure of 10,887.
The Corolla Sportsvan commercial (picture below) is doing better albeit at a lower sales level, the 2,015 sales are well up on 2023. Taking a passenger car wagon and converting it into a van makes sense. Stylish, carlike handling and comfort yet also cost effective.
The ProAce range is sourced from Stellantis and which are already popular within that Group. An example is the ProAce City pictured above. The large Max van is about to join the range to add impetus to sales volume.
The ProAce Verso and City Verso are vans with seating so people movers or MPVs. They have previously been included in commercial vehicle data provided by Toyota but this year moved to the passenger car category. However, in the case of the ProAce Verso (included below under the ProAce), it seems that they are being double counted in 2024, but as only 142 sales are involved I presented the data as provided.
Total sales in the UK for 2024 are 15,136 which is down on the complete 2023 number of 19,764. The Hilux is the main reason so we shall have to see if that model will fare better in 2025 because a new generation is due sometime soon.
Data and pictures: Toyota UK.
Peugeot is the best selling brand in Portugal so is well represented at the top of the list. The 2008 is second, 208 fifth and the 308 seventh.
Tesla did well here for the year with the Model 3 third and Model Y sixteenth. The Nissan Juke's sales were 138% and that took the model up to tenth.
In case you're wondering what the Hyundai Kauai is, it's the Kona model that was renamed to avoid causing any offence.
Japan has an open car market without tariff protection, yet the entire Top 50 are Japanese models. The list below is coloured as follows: Toyota Group blue, Nissan-Mitsubishi green, Honda maroon, Suzuki gold, Subaru and Mazda yellow.
There are a few things I would have done differently had the source obliged. The Corolla and Yaris have the crossover combined with the car version as maybe the Crown. The Land Cruisers variants appear to be combined too. No matter, as the list otherwise is fine and hopefully informative.
The Honda N-Box yet again leads the sales although it did drop 11% on last year. The Suzuki Spacia had a good season. Scandal hit Toyota Group suffered accordingly as happens in Japan because it's important to save face or mentsu if that can be applied to a company.
Above is the Honda Freed, up 10%. Below is the Suzuki Solio. up 9%.
I've done a breakdown by model for many brands this year and now the summary chart I guess you could call it. The Ford F-Series took its customary place at the top with the Chevrolet Silverado was second for the third consecutive year. The RAM P/U range dropped to fifth, the last time it was lower was in 2012.
Japanese brands are well represented, including Lexus which had the distinction of being the only premium marque represented. Korea too has some models here but notice not one from Europe and of course nothing from China.
The top picture is of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, over 200,000 sold but down 12% as expected from a Stellantis model. Below the 'compact' Maverick pick-up with sales picking up nicely by 39% to 131,000.
Data source: Manufacturers & estimates.
