28 June 2014

Finland Top 4 Brands : 1956-59

Moskvitch 402. Cars have come a long way since then

I have car sales for the land of lakes that go back to 1956, thanks to Autoalan Tiedotuskeskus. Things were fluid back then, with brands up and down quite dramatically. There were also some different brands around too.

In the chart below, 'Moskv' stands for Moskvitch which basically means Moscovite. They were a solid car made for tough Russian roads and sold well back at this time, often with a waiting lists for their cars. GAZ was a Russian car named the M20, or as in Finland the Pobeda. Another unusual name is the 'Wartb' or Wartburg. They were a car made in East Germany in Eisenach where the Wartburg castle is situated.
Sales back then in Finland were about 20,000 per annum, with just under 15,000 in 1958.

Year 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
1956 Moskv 4,066 GAZ 2,835 Škoda 1,918 VW 1,873
1957 Moskv 4,803 Škoda 4,785 VW 1,636 Wartb 1,364
1958 VW 2,545 Ford 1,196 Fiat 1,155 Peug 1,100
1959 Moskv 3,570 Škoda 2,879 VW 1,998 Fiat 1,153

GAZ M20 or the Pobeda. Stylish for its day

Data source: Thanks to Autolan Tiedotuskeskus.
For other decades: 1960-69, 1970-79, 1980-89, 1990-99, 2000-09. and 2010-19.
Pobeda picture: Wiki/nailgun
Moskvitch picture: Wiki

27 June 2014

Sweden Top 4 Brands : 1980-89

1982 Volvo 345.  The 300 series ran from 1976-91

While Volvo remained the most popular choice for Swedish car buyers in the 1980's, Saab was starting to struggle holding second place. Ford came back with a vengeance, and Opel remained a strong seller. VW fell from grace in this period.

The low point of this period was 1981 when there were 188,500 sales for the total market. It then peaked in 1988 with 344,000 sales. Sweden had a financial boom during this time, causing the sales spike. A economic meltdown in the 1990's caused a slump in car sales, which you will see in the 1990's top 4 chart.

Year 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
1980 Volvo 50,547 Saab 27,619 VW 18,693 Opel 17,527
1981 Volvo 49,766 Saab 26,741 Ford 21,128 VW 20,002
1982 Volvo 57,522 Saab 30,562 Ford 22,407 Opel 22,184
1983 Volvo 62,012 Saab 29,270 Ford 21,556 Opel 20,847
1984 Volvo 62,495 Saab 29,610 Ford 25,539 Opel 21,957
1985 Volvo 71,135 Ford 28,571 Saab 27,352 Opel 26,770
1986 Volvo 64,630 Ford 29,944 Saab 29,590 Opel 24,317
1987 Volvo 72,492 Ford 34,299 Opel 31,077 Saab 30,202
1988 Volvo 74,626 Ford 35,921 Opel 28,940 Saab 27,083
1989 Volvo 66,576 Ford 28,629 Saab 25,800 Opel 24,775

1998 Opel Kadet

Thanks to BilSweden for the data.

For others in the series, please click on the years: 2010-19. 2000-09, 1990-99, 1970-79,
1960-69, and 1950-59.

23 June 2014

Sweden Top 4 Brands : 1970-79

Julie Andrews discovers the Volvo 244

The 1979s was a steady time for the top 4. The two local makes took charge, taking about 40% of the total sales. Ford, GM and VW were left fighting it out for the other two spots. The top 4's share of the total is shown at the extreme right of the chart, which remained stable.

A success story at this time in Sweden was Mazda. They entered the market in 1971 and was the 6th best selling brand by 1979. Nissan also entered around the same year and were 12th by decade's end. Japanese brands were making inroads during the 1970s.

The Saab 900. More stylish than the Volvo I must say

Total sales started the decade at 203,300 and finished at 215,300. A peak of 312,900 sales came in 1976.

Year 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
1970 Volvo 53,842 Saab 34,750 Opel-V 23,781 VW 20,674
1971 Volvo 51,403 Saab 34,101 VW 23,688 Opel-V 21,461
1972 Volvo 55,959 Saab 36,142 VW 24,971 Opel-V 24,831
1973 Volvo 59,556 Saab 37,530 VW 22,086 Opel-V 22,025
1974 Volvo 56,917 Saab 41,733 VW 30,086 Opel-V 23,053
1975 Volvo 58,139 Saab 44,250 VW 31,930 Ford 25,330
1976 Volvo 75,425 Saab 39,520 Ford 31,894 Opel-V 31,149
1977 Volvo 55,681 Saab 29,667 Ford 26,060 VW 22,755
1978 Volvo 49,831 Saab 27,427 Ford 22,043 Opel-V 17,969
1979 Volvo 55,780 Saab 29,838 Ford 22,813 Opel-V 22,141

Thanks to BilSweden for the data.
For others in the series, please click on the years: 2010-19. 2000-09, 1990-99,
1980-89, 1960-69, and 1950-59.

17 June 2014

Sweden Top 4 Brands : 1960-69

The Volvo 145 with the company's squared off styling...

The 1960's saw sales grow strongly in Sweden as it did across Europe. Sales in 1960 were 160,000 and 255,000 by 1969. A 275,000 peak was made in 1965.

Volvo no longer was fighting for top spot as it had a sizable cushion between it and second. VW was strong for the early part of the decade but fell away toward the end of it. Opel was consistent and Ford couldn't keep a top 4 place because of the emergence of Saab. The latter was clearly second by the end of the 60's.

...while Saab went for an aerodynamic look with its 96 model

Year 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
1960 Volvo 40,154 VW 30,791 Opel-V 26,562 Ford 16,381
1961 Volvo 45,329 VW 34,871 Opel-V 26,941 Saab 13,726
1962 Volvo 48,978 VW 37,016 Opel-V 27,211 Saab 20,580
1963 Volvo 53,665 VW 42,656 Opel-V 35,739 Ford 28,686
1964 Volvo 58,402 VW 45,886 Opel-V 42,170 Ford 32,974
1965 Volvo 59,204 VW 47,310 Opel-V 47,201 Ford 40,037
1966 Volvo 51,155 VW 36,315 Opel-V 31,668 Ford 23,496
1967 Volvo 45,348 Opel-V 24,461 Saab 24,303 VW 22,837
1968 Volvo 55,371 Saab 30,687 Opel-V 30,063 VW 24,632
1969 Volvo 59,088 Saab 35,015 Opel-V 29,238 VW 25,347

For others in the series, please click on the years: 2010-19. 2000-09, 1990-99,
1980-89, 1970-79, and 1950-59.

13 June 2014

Italy Top 4 Brands : 2000-13

The Fiat 500L is selling well

In the final in this series going back to 1960, we have seen the massive lead of Fiat fall to more reasonable levels. It still is the main brand in its home nation. Fiat had over 76% in 1960, with 291,000 sales. The sales are not that different but the market share is very different.

Of the others, GM has gradually slipped in this decade and a bit, and may not be in the top 4 for 2014. Either Renault and Peugeot are likely to replace GM. Ford is now slipping in Italy, but VW is now well established as number two.

The Lacia Ypsilon is to be the only model for the marque.

The extreme right column shows that the top 4 are down to about 40% of the total market. That is a long way from 1960, when they had 95%! Fiat will always be top, but by how much lead is the question.


Yr 1st Sales % 2nd Sales % 3rd Sales % 4th Sales % %

2000 Fiat 626 26 GM 206 8 VW 184 8 Ford 181 7 49

2001 Fiat 619 26 GM 212 9 Ford 186 8 VW 182 8 50

2002 Fiat 512 22 GM 187 8 Ford 187 8 VW 170 7 46

2003 Fiat 460 20 Ford 197 9 Ren 167 7 GM 165 7 44

2004 Fiat 464 20 Ford 182 8 GM 167 7 Ren 158 7 43

2005 Fiat 464 21 GM 169 8 Ford 165 7 VW 145 6 42

2006 Fiat 544 23 Ford 179 8 GM 163 7 VW 151 6 45

2007 Fiat 604 24 Ford 200 8 GM 177 7 VW 153 6 45

2008 Fiat 542 25 Ford 170 8 GM 143 7 VW 138 6 46

2009 Fiat 549 25 Ford 211 10 GM 127 6 VW 126 6 47

2010 Fiat 450 23 Ford 182 9 VW 136 7 GM 127 6 46

2011 Fiat 363 21 Ford 147 8 VW 139 8 GM 117 7 44

2012 Fiat 293 21 VW 114 8 Ford 99 7 GM 79 6 42

2013 Fiat 277 21 VW 105 8 Ford 87 7 GM 71 5 41

For other years, simply click on the year: 1960-69, 1970-79, 1980-89,
and 1990-1999,