Liechtenstein Q1 2013: VW, Audi and Toyota improve

465 new vehicles found a buyer over the first Quarter of 2013, and as in 2012 Volkswagen and Audi are the two most popular brands, both even improving their market share year-on-year. VW sells 87 units for an outstanding 18.7% share vs. 17.3% in 2012 and Audi is at 54 sales and 11.6% vs. 9.9%. But the most impressive progression is without a doubt delivered by Toyota, going from 5.6% share in 2012 to 9% and 42 units over the period.

Other great performers include BMW (8.6%) and Mercedes (7.1%) both improving their shares even though their drop one spot, Suzuki going from 2.1% in 2012 to 4.1% and #8 now, Mitsubishi exactly doubling its share from 1.7% and #20 to 3.4% and #10 and Honda going from 1.3% to 2.2% at #12.

Libya: ZX Auto GrandTiger replaces Toyota Hilux as rebels’ choice

In 2011 the Arab Spring took Tunisia, Egypt and Libya by storm. But aside from overthrown governments, what really interests us car enthusiasts is to know how well Chinese manufacturers are doing in these countries. If you are a regular reader of BSCB you will know that Chery has been selling Speranza-branded, locally produced cars by the bucket in Egypt. The Libyan Civil War is giving us another piece of the puzzle in what could well be a significant event in the history of Chinese car manufacturing.

Lebanon February 2013: Kia Picanto and Cerato dominate

After Jordan, let’s explore another very rare country on TheBestSellingCarsBlog (as far as detailed data is concerned): Lebanon. 3,808 new cars were sold in the country in February, adding up to 7,226 year-to-date. And here too the Koreans have a tight grip on the sales charts. Leader in February with 350 sales and 9.2% share, the Kia Picanto also snaps the pole position year-to-date at 628 units and 8.7%. The Nissan Sunny is up 3 spots to #2 at 7.9% but is only #4 year-to-date, while the Kia Rio is up one to #3 both this month and year-to-date.

Latvia April 2013: Peugeot Bipper lands top spot

New car sales in Latvia are down 9% year-on-year to just under 1,000 registrations (993 to be precise), which brings the year-to-date total to 3,778 units, down 7% on 2012. Big surprise atop the Latvian models ranking this month: the Peugeot Bipper is up 6 spots on March to snap the pole position thanks to 55 sales and 5.5% share, it is now #8 year-to-date at 2.3%. Even though it is down to #5 this month, the Peugeot 3008 however keeps the lead year-to-date at 159 units and 4.2% share.

Two additional models also excel within the Top 10 this month: the Toyota RAV4 boosted by the new generation is also up 6 ranks to #2 at 42 units and the Dacia Duster is up 47 spots to land at a best-ever #4 with 35 sales. Further down, notice the Hyundai i40 remaining extremely solid at #8 with 26 units, the Kia Cee’d up 21 ranks to #11, the Lexus RX up 10 to a world-best #14, the Honda Civic up 18 to #19, Subaru Forester up 25 to #28 and the Dacia Dokker landing directly at #30.

Laos 2012 Update: Chinese models keep spreading

Thanks to Howee I can share with you more recent pictures of the streets of Laos. While the Toyota Hilux should still be leading the models ranking in the country with the Isuzu D-Max, Kia Cerato Forte, Hyundai Elantra and Kia Picanto also successful, the more interesting development in Laos is the steady spreading of Chinese models in the streets of the country.

Kyrgyzstan: Toyota Camry should lead sales

The Kyrgyz market is very similar to neighbour Kazahkstan, and should place the Toyota Camry on top on the sales ranking, ahead of the Toyota Prado and Land Cruiser. Old Ladas are still dominant in rural areas but should not appear in new car sales.

A few UzDaewoo Nexia (as police cars) can also be seen, as well as some new gen Toyota Corolla.

Kuwait February 2013: Toyota Prado at 16%, Nissan Patrol #2

The new car market in Kuwait is up a further 16% year-on-year in February to 12,602 registrations, bringing the year-to-date total to 25,167 units after two months, up 18% on 2012. Quite a lot of movement atop the models ranking this month in Kuwait. The Toyota Prado keeps its pole position by very far and manages to almost double its market share compared to January to reach a huge 15.8% thanks to 2,000 sales (which sounds like an estimate to me). The Nissan Patrol amazes its world by gaining 10 spots on last month to land in 2nd place at 609 units and 4.8%, ahead of the Toyota Hilux, Nissan D22 and Sunny. The other great performers this month are all American: the Chrysler 300C is up 26 ranks to #6, the Chevrolet Silverado up 21 to #15 and the Ford Edge up 60 to #22.

Kenya December 2012: Toyota Land Cruiser most popular

Thanks to the hard work of Rutger I am able to share with you some very rare data about the Kenyan new vehicle market, up a shy 1% year-on-year in 2012 to 12,798 units. This is the “the slowest growth since 2009 when reduced economic activity due to the post-election and global economic meltdown cut orders by 20%”, says local website Business Daily Africa. General Motors East Africa, mainly distributing Isuzu light and heavy commercial vehicles, maintains its lead over the Kenyan market with sales up a robust 9% to 3,421 units for a 26.7% market share. “We had a lot of orders for our Isuzu buses last year. We could not supply all the units in 2012 and the strong order book is keeping us busy in this first quarter,” says Rita Kavashe, GMEA’s managing director.

The saloon car market has come under serious attack from imported second hand vehicles over the past 5 years, increasing the pressure on Toyota, up just 3% at #2 with 3,099 sales and 24.2%, and CMC Motors, which deals in Land Rover, Volkswagen and Ford models, down to #5. Model-wise, in December the Toyota Land Cruiser takes the lead with 108 sales and almost 10% share, followed by the Mitsubishi Diesel 9-tonne truck and the Toyota Hilux Double Cab.

Kazakhstan Full Year 2012: Lada Priora and Samara on top

The Kazakh new car market is on fire in 2012: up an out-of-this-world 114% on 2011 to a record 95,313 registrations! Its previous best was 60,513 before the financial crisis in 2007, but experts see the market grow by a further 40% in 2013 with a long-term objective of 280,000 annual sales… Lada dominates the charts with 40.6% of the passenger car market vs. 35.4% in 2011 and 2013 should be even better for the Russian carmaker: its share was up to 44% over the last Quarter of 2012. The Lada Priora is king thanks to sales up 3-fold vs. 2011 to 11,994 and 12.6%.

Jordan February 2013: Hyundai Elantra in the lead so far

Jordanian data is very rare so let’s enjoy it this month! 5,113 new vehicles found a buyer in the country in February, bringing the year-to-date total to 9,390 units. As we found last time we had access to Jordanian data, the models ranking is totally dominated by Korean cars, with 9 in the Top 10 and 17 in the Top 20. The Hyundai Elantra is in the lead both in February with 793 sales and 15.5% share and year-to-date at 1,217 units and 13%. The Hyundai Accent takes the 2nd spot in February at 11% share but is #3 year-to-date at 10.1%, below the Kia Frontier at 10.9%. The Hyundai Tucson is up 9 ranks to #4 with 342 sales and 6.7%, ahead of the Kia Cerato at 5.7% and the Hyundai Santa Fe at 5.1%.