Most popular car makers by country (with market share)

[Maciamo]

Travelling in different countries I couldn't help but notice that the brands of cars on the road can vary quite a bit. Obviously people tend to buy more cars from their own country, either for patriotic reasons or because the marketing is better, the cars are designed in accordance with the expectations of the local culture, or simply because their are more car dealers in rural areas, which makes it more convenient for the maintenance. Countries that do not have local car makers may therefore be more interesting to compare if one wants to get an idea of what kind of car people really like regardless of chauvinistic feelings and convenience.

Here are the top 10 brands in a few selected countries in 2017.

Top car makers in the USA


Ford : 14.3%
Toyota : 12.3%
Chevrolet : 12%
Honda : 8.6%
Nissan : 8.3%
Jeep : 4.8%
Hyundai : 3.9%
Subaru : 3.7%
Kia : 3.4%
GMC : 3.2%

Source (http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2018/01/u-s-auto-sales-brand-rankings-december-2017-ytd/#1)


Top car makers in Japan


Toyota : 30.3%
Honda : 13.8%
Suzuki : 12.7%
Daihatsu : 12%
Nissan : 11.3%
Mazda : 4%
Subaru : 3.3%
Mitsubishi : 1.7%
Isuzu : 1.5%
Mercedes-Benz : 1.3%

Source (https://www.best-selling-cars.com/japan/2017-full-year-japan-best-selling-car-manufacturers-brands/)


Top car makers in the UK


Ford : 11.3%
Volkswagen : 8.2%
Vauxhall (Opel) : 7.7%
Mercedes-Benz : 7.1%
BMW : 6.9%
Audi : 6.9%
Nissan : 5.9%
Toyota : 4%
Hyundai : 3.7%
Kia : 3.6%

Source (https://www.best-selling-cars.com/britain-uk/2017-full-year-britain-best-selling-car-brands/)


Top car makers in Ireland


Volkswagen : 10.5%
Toyota : 9.7%
Ford : 9.3%
Hyundai : 9.1%
Nissan : 7.9%
Skoda : 6.9%
Renault : 6.3%
Kia : 5.4%
Opel : 5%
Audi : 4.2%

Source (https://www.marklines.com/en/statistics/flash_sales/salesfig_ireland_2017)

Top car makers in France


Renault : 19.7%
Peugeot : 17.4%
Citroën : 9.5%
Volkswagen : 6.6%
Dacia : 5.6%
Toyota : 4.2%
Ford : 4%
Nissan : 3.4%
Fiat : 3.2%
Mercedes-Benz : 3.2%

Source (https://www.marklines.com/en/statistics/flash_sales/salesfig_france_2017)


Top car makers in Germany


Volkswagen : 18.4%
Mercedes-Benz : 9.5%
Audi : 8.2%
BMW : 7.6%
Ford : 7.2%
Opel : 7.1%
Skoda : 5.6%
Renault : 3.9%
Hyundai : 3.2%
Seat : 3.1%

Source (https://www.best-selling-cars.com/germany/2017-full-year-germany-best-selling-car-manufacturers-brands/)


Top car makers in Italy


Fiat : 20.4%
Volkswagen : 7.3%
Ford : 6.8%
Renault : 6.8%
Peugeot : 5.3%
Opel : 5%
Toyota : 4.3%
Citroën : 4.1%
Audi : 3.4%
Mercedes-Benz : 3.3%

Source (https://www.marklines.com/en/statistics/flash_sales/salesfig_italy_2017)


Top car makers in Spain


Renault : 8.2%
Seat : 7.6%
Volkswagen : 7.3%
Peugeot : 7.1%
Opel : 7%
Toyota : 5.4%
Citroën : 5.2%
Nissan : 5.1%
Ford : 5.1%
Kia : 4.8%

Source (https://www.marklines.com/en/statistics/flash_sales/salesfig_spain_2017)


Top car makers in Belgium


Volkswagen : 10.1%
Renault : 9.1%
BMW : 7.7%
Opel : 7.4%
Peugeot : 7.2%
Mercedes-Benz : 6.4%
Audi : 6.2%
Citroën : 4.8%
Ford : 4.8%
Hyundai : 3.7%

Source (http://www.lalibre.be/economie/auto/les-marques-de-voitures-les-plus-immatriculees-en-belgique-58923290cd70e747fb759f71)


Top car makers in the Netherlands


Volkswagen : 10.4%
Renault : 9.8%
Opel : 8.4%
Peugeot : 7.5%
Toyota : 5.8%
Ford : 5.7%
Kia : 5.6%
BMW : 4.5%
Skoda : 4%
Mercedes-Benz : 3.8%

Source (https://www.marklines.com/en/statistics/flash_sales/salesfig_netherlands_2017)


Top car makers in Switzerland


Volkswagen
Mercedes-Benz
BMW
Skoda
Audi
Opel
Renault
Ford
Seat
Toyota

Source (https://www.best-selling-cars.com/switzerland/2017-half-year-switzerland-best-selling-car-brands-models/)


Top car makers in Norway

Volkswagen : 14.6%
Toyota : 11.3%
BMW : 8.3%
Volvo : 7.4%
Mercedes-Benz : 6.7%
Skoda : 5.7%
Tesla : 5.3%
Audi : 4.8%
Ford : 4.3%
Nissan : 4%

Source (https://www.marklines.com/en/statistics/flash_sales/salesfig_norway_2017)

Top car makers in Sweden


Volvo : 19.9%
Volkswagen : 15.2%
Kia : 6.1%
Toyota : 6.1%
BMW : 5.6%
Audi : 5.4%
Mercedes-Benz : 5.2%
Skoda : 4.6%
Renault : 4.2%
Ford : 3.1%

Source (https://www.marklines.com/en/statistics/flash_sales/salesfig_sweden_2017)


Top car makers in Poland


Skoda : 11.6%
Toyota : 9.8%
Volkswagen : 9.6%
Opel : 7.1%
Ford : 6.7%
Renault : 6.6%
Kia : 4.7%
Dacia : 4.4%
Hyundai : 4.2%
Mercedes-Benz : 3.9%

Source (https://www.marklines.com/en/statistics/flash_sales/salesfig_poland_2017)


Top car makers in Australia


Toyota : 18.2%
Mazda : 9.8%
Hyundai : 8.2%
Holden : 7.6%
Mitsubishi : 6.8%
Ford : 6.6%
Volkswagen : 4.9%
Nissan : 4.8%
Kia : 4.6%
Subaru : 4.4%

Source (https://www.acaresearch.com.au/australian-market-research-blog/2017-australian-new-vehicles-sales-year-in-review)


Top car makers in Brazil


General Motors : 18.8%
Volkswagen : 11.7%
Ford : 10.2%
Hyundai : 9.7%
Fiat : 9.3%
Toyota : 8.4%
Renault : 8%
Honda : 7.1%
Jeep : 4.8%
Nissan : 4%

Source (https://www.marklines.com/en/statistics/flash_sales/salesfig_brazil_2017)

[Maciamo]

Here is where the two leading car manufacturers, Toyota and VW, hold the highest market share in major countries.

Toyota


Japan : 30.3%
Australia : 18.2%
Finland : 12.4%
USA : 12.3%
Norway : 11.3%
Canada : 9.8%
Poland : 9.8%
Ireland : 9.7%
Brazil : 8.4%
Denmark : 7.6%
Mexico : 6.9%
Sweden : 6.1%
Netherlands : 5.8%
Spain : 5.4%
Italy : 4.3%
France : 4.2%
UK : 4%
Portugal : 3.8%
Belgium : 3.3%
Austria : 2.5%


Volkswagen


Germany : 18.4%
Austria : 16.6%
Sweden : 15.2%
Norway : 14.6%
Denmark : 13.3%
Mexico : 12.6%
Brazil : 11.7%
Finland : 10.7%
Ireland : 10.4%
Netherlands : 10.4%
Belgium : 10.1%
Poland : 9.6%
UK : 8.2%
Portugal : 7.4%
Italy : 7.3%
Spain : 7.3%
France : 6.6%
Australia : 4.9%
USA : 1.9%
Japan : 0.9%




Here is where luxury German cars are the most popular.

Mercedes-Benz


Germany : 9.5%
UK : 7.1%
Norway : 6.7%
Finland : 5.4%
Sweden : 5.2%
Austria : 5.1%
Denmark : 4.5%
Spain : 4.2%
Poland : 3.9%
Belgium : 3.8%
Netherlands : 3.8%
Ireland : 3.7%
Italy : 3.3%
France : 3.2%
Canada : 2.5%
USA : 2.2%


BMW


Norway : 8.3%
Belgium : 7.7%
Germany : 7.6%
UK : 6.9%
Sweden : 5.6%
Finland : 4.2%
Austria : 5.3%
Netherlands : 4.5%
Ireland : 3.9%
Spain : 3.9%
Italy : 3.1%
France : 2.9%
Poland : 2.9%
Denmark : 2.7%
Canada : 1.9%
USA : 1.8%


Audi


Germany : 8.2%
UK : 6.9%
Belgium : 6.2%
Sweden : 5.4%
Norway : 4.8%
Austria : 4.8%
Finland : 4.7%
Spain : 4.4%
Ireland : 4.2%
Netherlands : 3.5%
Denmark : 3.5%
Italy : 3.4%
France : 3.1%
Poland : 2.4%
Canada : 1.8%
USA : 1.3%

[Maciamo]

I have created maps to help visualise the market share held by French, German, Japanese and American car makers in Europe. The following data is only for new cars sold in 2019 (not all cars in circulation).

French car manufacturers

This map includes Renault, Peugeot and Citroën. Dacia is owned by Renault but I did not include it as it is historically Romanian, still manufactured and headquartered there and the style is not French.

https://www.eupedia.com/images/maps/French_cars_market_share.png


German car manufacturers

This map comprises the market shares of the VW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW, Porsche and smart. I have also included Skoda and SEAT, which are not just owned by VW but their models are almost identical to VW models and share the same designers and parts suppliers. I excluded Mini Cooper, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Ducati, as, although German-owned, these are still considered completely foreign car makers.

https://www.eupedia.com/images/maps/German_cars_market_share.png


Japanese car manufacturers

The map includes the market shares of Toyota (+ Lexus), Honda, Nissan (+ Infiniti), Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Isuzu and Datsun.

https://www.eupedia.com/images/maps/Japanese_cars_market_share.png



American car manufacturers

The vast majority of American cars in Europe are Fords (most popular in the UK and Turkey). Jeep sales amount to 0 to 0.5% in most countries except for Italy (4.3%) due to the fact that Jeep is now part of the Fiat Chrysler Group. Tesla sale are usually under 1%, except in the Netherlands (6.9%) and Norway (13.2%), where EV are hugely popular. All other US car makers combined amount to less than 0.1% of the European market.

https://www.eupedia.com/images/maps/American_cars_market_share.png


Luxury car manufacturers

It is not easy to determine what exactly qualifies as a luxury car (as opposed to premium or just expensive). For example a Toyota Hilux pickup truck cost as much as a Porsche, but it is definitely not a luxury car. Volkswagen makes luxury cars (e.g. the Aerton and Touareg), but that's only a small part of all their models. Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW makes mostly premium or luxury vehicles, but also have smaller models. As the statistics I have are by car maker and not by model, I have decided to include Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Porsche, Maserati, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Tesla, Jeep, Lexus, Infiniti, and of course the truly luxury brands like Bentley, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and so on, although the latter only represent 0.1% of the market.

The high percentages in Norway and Sweden are explained by the high market share of Volvo (7.1% and 18.3% respectively) and in Norway's case also Tesla (13%). Portuguese people buy surprisingly lots of expensive cars compared to their GDP per capita (lower than Czechia).

For comparison's sake, the market share of these luxury car makers is 8.1% in the USA and 4.6% in Japan.

https://www.eupedia.com/images/maps/Luxury_cars_market_share.png