User:DeLarge/Bestselling

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bestselling automobiles are those passenger cars and light trucks which, since the introduction of the Benz Patent Motorwagen in 1886, can lay claim to being the highest selling vehicles in the markets they compete in.

While references to verify the manufacturers' claims have been included, there is always the possibility of inaccuracy or hyperbole. Also note that a single vehicle can be sold concurrently under several nameplates in different markets, as with for example the Nissan Sunny; in such circumstances manufacturers often provide only cumulative sales figures for all models. As a result, there is no definitive standard for measuring sales; Volkswagen has claimed its Beetle as the bestselling car in history as it did not substantially change throughout its production run.^[1] By contrast, Toyota has applied the Corolla nameplate to nine mechanically unrelated cars since 1966, but they have sold a combined 32 million.^[2][3]

Contents 1 World's bestsellers 2 National bestsellers 3 Marque bestsellers 4 Class bestsellers 5 See also 6 References

[edit] World's bestsellers

Three cars have been widely acknowledged as the "bestselling automobile in the world" since Ford built its millionth Model T on December 10, 1915. The Model T itself remained the highest seller until forty five years after production ceased in 1927. On February 17, 1972 Volkswagen claimed that the Ford had been superseded by the Beetle, when the 15,007,034th was manufactured.^[1] Although The Model T has subsequently been credited with 16.5 million sales, this anomaly is moot in light of the Beetle reaching 21 million.

The Beetle remained the bestselling vehicle until the end of 1997, when it was itself overtaken by the Toyota Corolla.^[4] This was an example of the modern practice of applying a brand name across a range of vehicles, and retaining it for marketing purposes even as the car changes.^[3] While the first Corolla in 1966 was rear wheel drive and rode on a 2286 mm wheelbase, the current front wheel drive versions share a 2600 mm wheelbase.

Image	Automobile	Production	Sales	Bestseller	Notes
	Ford Model T	1908–27	16,500,000[5]	1908–72	The first car to achieve one million, five million, ten million and fifteen million sales. By 1914, it was estimated that nine of every ten cars in the world were Fords.[5]
	Volkswagen Beetle	1938–2003	21,529,464[6]	1972–97	The first car to achieve twenty million sales.[1]
	Toyota Corolla	1966–present	32,000,000 to September 2006[3]	1997–present	The first car to achieve thirty million sales. The bestselling automobile in the world, with 1.36 million sales in 2005.[2]

[edit] National bestsellers

Country	Image	Automobile	Production	Sales
Australia		Ford Falcon	1960–present	Over 3,000,000[7]
Brazil		Volkswagen Gol	1980–present	Over 4,500,000[8]
France		Renault Clio	1991–present	8,535,280 up to 2005[9]
Germany		Volkswagen Golf	1974–present	Over 25,000,000 to 2006[10]
India		Hindustan Ambassador	1958–present	Almost 4,000,000[11]
Italy		Fiat Uno	1983–present	Approximately 8,800,000 worldwide to 2004[12]
Japan		Toyota Corolla	1966–present	31,600,000 to June 2006[2]
Sweden		Volvo 200 Series	1974–93	2,862,573[13]
United Kingdom		Mini	1959–2000	5,505,874[14]
United States		Ford F-Series	1948–present	Over 29,000,000 to May 2004[5]

[edit] Marque bestsellers

Marque	Image	Automobile	Production	Sales
Autobianchi		Autobianchi A112	1969–1986	1,254,178[15]
BMW		BMW 3 Series	1975–present	Over 9,500,000 to 2005[16]
Buick		Buick LeSabre	1959–2005	Over 6,000,000[17]
Chevrolet		Chevrolet Impala	1958–present	Over 13,000,000 to 1996[18]
Citroën		Citroën 2CV	1948–90	3,872,583; including commercial variants, the total figure is approximately nine million[19]
Ferrari		Ferrari 360	1999–2004	Over 17,000 coupés and convertibles.[20]
Fiat		Fiat Uno	1983–present	Approximately 8,800,000 worldwide to 2004. Sold over six million in Western Europe before being replaced by the Punto in 1995, while production continued in South Africa, Poland and Brazil.[12]
Ford		Ford F-Series	1948–present	Over 29,000,000 to May 2004.[5] America's bestselling vehicle for 23 consecutive years.[21]
Hindustan		Hindustan Ambassador	1958–present	Almost 4,000,000[11]
Holden		Holden Commodore	1978–present	2,400,000 to 2006[22]
Honda		Honda Civic	1972–present	Over 16,500,000 to May 2006[23]
Lada		Lada Riva	1980–present	13,500,000 until exports to Europe were discontinued in 1997; production continues in both Russia and Egypt.[24]
Lamborghini		Lamborghini Gallardo	2004–present	Over 5,000 to January 2007[25]
Mazda		Mazda Familia	1963–2003	Over 10,000,000 up to 1995[26]
Mercedes-Benz		Mercedes-Benz C-Class	1993–present	6,900,000 to November 2006[27]
Mitsubishi		Mitsubishi Lancer	1973–present	Over 6,000,000 to the end of 2006[28]
Nissan		Nissan Sunny/Sentra/Pulsar/Almera	1966–present	Over 15,900,000.[24] Ten generations, and four nameplates depending on marketplace.
Oldsmobile		Oldsmobile Cutlass	1961–99	11,900,000 across several platforms and generations[29]
Opel		Opel Corsa	1982–present	11,900,000 across several platforms and generations[30]
Peugeot		Peugeot 206	1982–present	Approximately 5,400,000 to 2006[31]
Pontiac		Pontiac Grand Am	1973–75, 1978–80, 1985–2006	Over 4,000,000[32]
Renault		Renault Clio	1991–present	8,535,280 up to 2005[9]
Saab		Volvo 200 Series	1978–93	908,810[33]
Simca		Volvo 200 Series	1967–1982	2,139,400, including a small numer of complete knock down (CKD) kits and commercial versions.[34]
Subaru		Subaru Legacy	1988–present	Over 3,000,000 to 2005[35]
Toyota		Toyota Corolla	1966–present	31,600,000 to June 2006[2]
Trabant		Trabant	1957–91	Over 3,000,000[36]
Volkswagen		Volkswagen Golf	1974–present	Over 25,000,000 to 2006.[10] Became Volkswagen's bestseller in 2002.
Volvo		Volvo 200 Series	1974–93	2,862,573[13]

[edit] Class bestsellers

[edit] See also

• Automakers
• List of automobiles by sales
• List of automotive superlatives

[edit] References