The top 10 bestselling vehicles in the world
In 2015, the world’s top-selling car set a record for most units delivered
When it comes to the global auto industry, it really is a small world after all. Taking a look at the world’s bestselling new cars and trucks from 2015, you won’t find any exotic brands or nameplates. And, showing the importance of selling vehicles in the North American market, nine out of the 10 bestselling new vehicles in the world* can be found in Canadian showrooms, according to sales data from Focus2Move.com (all prices are base 2016 MSRP): 10th
Place: Toyota RAV4 (664,382 sold)
The first of three vehicles from Japan’s Toyota on this list, the RAV4 is yet more proof that compact crossovers are taking over the world. With global sales in 2015 up 5.5 per cent, the five-passenger, four-door RAV4 jumped two spots, compared to 2014. Even more popular here, the $24,900 Toyota was the second-most popular SUV last year, where more than 42,000 were sold in Canada.
9th Place: Chevrolet Silverado (669,683 sold)
Like its overall position on newvehicle sales charts for Canada (where it sold almost 50,000 units in 2015), the U.S.-based General Motors’ Chevrolet Silverado took the ninth spot in the world sales rankings last year. The first of two American full-size pickup trucks to make this list, the $31,150 Silverado saw a global sales increase of 12.9 per cent. About 90 per cent of those sales were in the U.S., and the increase pushed the Chevy truck up seven spots in the world rankings compared to 2014. 8th
Place: Honda CR-V (696,594 sold)
The $26,190 Honda CR-V was the third-best-selling new crossover/ SUV in Canada in 2015, behind the RAV4 and Ford Escape; worldwide, the five-passenger, compact crossover remains the Japanese automaker’s bestselling new vehicle and the bestselling utility vehicle on the planet. CR-V sales were down worldwide last year by 2.5 per cent, resulting in just over 696,000 CR-Vs sold globally.
7th Place: Volkswagen Polo (698,182 sold)
With global sales up 2.2 per cent, the subcompact Volkswagen Polo family jumped three spots from its 10th-place ranking in 2014. The five-passenger VW Polo stands out for two reasons: The Polo is the first passenger car listed, and the only vehicle not sold in North America.
6th Place: Hyundai Elantra (746,924 sold)
Just as it did in Canada in 2015 — where the $15,799 Hyundai compact finished in sixth place overall, with more than 47,000 sold — the five-passenger Elantra finished in the same position when it came to its worldwide ranking. Even with almost 747,000 sold in 2015, global Elantra sales were down by 9.1 per cent. With an all-new model being rolled out in global markets throughout 2016, we expect sales of the Korean compact to rise this year.
5th Place: Toyota Camry (754,154 sold)
As shoppers continue to migrate to crossovers and SUVs, the only mid-size sedan to appear on this list is the $24,655 Toyota Camry. Although global sales were down 1.9 per cent, Toyota sold more than 754,000 Camrys. The U.S. remains the five-passenger four-door’s biggest market, with more than 429,000 examples sold last year; more than 24,000 Camrys were sold in Canada. 4th
Place: Ford Focus (826,221 sold)
Last year’s sales numbers of Ford’s compact Focus are a great example of how influential the Chinese market — the world’s largest — can be. Ford sold more than 214,000 of its new low-priced Ford Escorts in China, which lowered Focus sales in that country by 150,000 from the 2014 total (the Escort is not available in Canada). Still, the compact $17,199 Focus family topped 826,000 copies sold worldwide.
3rd Place: Ford F-Series (920,172 sold)
Don’t shed a tear for Ford’s Focus woes; the U.S. automaker’s perennially bestselling F-Series full-size pickups more than made up the dif- ference. With sales up 1.6 per cent, the F- Series was the bestselling truck in the world, and the thirdbest-selling vehicle on the planet. With more than 780,000 sold in the U.S., and more than 118,000 in Canada, the majority of the Ford truck’s customers are in North America, as are most of those who bought Chevy’s Silverado.
2nd Place: Volkswagen Golf (1,041,279 sold)
We may have to wait another year to see the impact of parent Volkswagen Group’s Dieselgate problems on vehicle sales, but for 2015, sales of the Volkswagen brand’s compact $18,995 Golf family of vehicles were stronger than ever, moving it into second place globally for the first time. With worldwide sales up by 8.4 per cent, more than a million Golfs were sold last year, with Germany (270,000) and China (195,000) being the car’s strongest markets.
1st Place: Toyota Corolla (1,339,024 sold)
For the first time, a new vehicle sold more than 1.3 million units worldwide in a calendar year: the Toyota Corolla. Just as in 2014, the Japanese automaker’s compact was the bestselling new vehicle on the planet last year. Sales were up 4.7 per cent, with the U.S. being the Corolla’s top market, selling more than 363,000 units. Next was China, with over 300,000 sold, then Japan with 109,027 sold. In Canada, the $15,995 Corolla took seventh place overall, with 48,881 sold in 2015.