The ranking of the brands that sold the most cars in the world in 2023. © Car Industry Analysis
If we are used to discovering a ranking of car sales by groups at the global level each year, automotive analyst Felipe Munoz (@carindustryanalysis) undertook the in-depth work of compiling the sales figures for 160 car brands. It was based on data communicated by manufacturers, those of JATO Dynamics, or even on estimates, to establish a sales ranking.
Unsurprisingly, Toyota remains by far the most important automobile brand in the world. It sold more than 9.4 million cars in 2023, while Volkswagen, the second most popular brand, only came close to 5.3 million units.
Here it is, the global ranking by brands for the year 2023.
– BYD hits top 10 sending Mercedes out of it. Growth driven by PHEV, BEV competitive models.
– Tesla climbed some positions, outselling big brands like Renault and Fiat.Source: OEMs, JATO, estimates pic.twitter.com/sdjpCmgH4o
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Toyota also remained the leading automobile group in the world, with more than 11 million sales in 2023 including those of its subsidiaries Lexus and Daihatsu, compared to just over 9.2 million sales for the Volkswagen group. On the other hand, the Japanese lost the title of best-selling car in 2023, since it was the Tesla Model Y which won last year.
Ford completes the podium of brands that sold the most cars in the world in 2023, with just over 4.2 million units, ahead of Hyundai (4th), Honda (5th), Nissan (6th), Kia (7th). ) or Suzuki (8th). Japanese and Korean manufacturers therefore remain among the most popular worldwide, thanks to their very complete coverage of different markets.
However, Chinese manufacturers are now also managing to cross the borders of their national market, already very important since it has become the first in the world. The first Chinese brand in the ranking is BYD, which managed to make its way into the top 10. Its nearly 2.9 million sales allowed it to reach ninth position. Remember that the manufacturer has also become the first seller of 100% electric cars in the world in 2023.
30% of Teslas produced since the brand’s existence have been sold in 2023
Tesla continues its breakthrough and obtains fifteenth position in the ranking, with just over 1.8 million units sold in 2023. The manufacturer has just announced that it has reached 6 million cars produced since its beginnings, this which would mean that last year alone would have accounted for around 30% of Tesla’s sales.
In 2023, at the global level, Tesla has therefore exceeded the sales of Fiat, the first brand of the Stellantis group, or those of the first French brand in the ranking, Renault, ranked sixteenth with just under 1.6 million cars sold. The entire Renault group, which also includes Dacia, Alpine and Mobilize, however remains ahead of Tesla, with more than 2.2 million cars sold in 2023.
Tesla comes very close to Audi’s sales, with less than 90,000 sales separating the two manufacturers globally. On the other hand, Tesla’s growth could calm down in the years to come. The manufacturer’s deliveries were down in the first quarter of 2024 and the highly anticipated $25,000 Tesla would have finally been abandoned, in favor of a Robotaxi version only, whose sales volumes are likely to be lower.
In any case, sales figures do not tell the whole story about the health of a manufacturer. The valuation of the Renault group, for example, is now higher than that of its ally Nissan, which nevertheless sells many more cars.