After Afghanistan, Norway and Haiti, I will continue to surprise you and get us all to Mongolia for our next stop. Yes Mongolia, and why not? Some of you have already expressed strong interest in that particular country so I didn’t feel I could wait any longer to let you know all about the best selling cars there…

Now let’s be honest, hands up who has been to Mongolia?

Thought so. So get yourself over the jump and discover all about yak-replacements… Now if you live there (serious. if you do, please say hi!) or you are yaked out, there’s always my blog where 155 more countries are covered…

So.

Landlocked between Russia and China, you would assume the Mongolian car landscape would be a mix of…

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In June, we made a projection of who will be where on the podium of the world’s largest automakers by the end of 2011. Now that half year results of most majors are in, we can have another look. Suddenly, the race gets tighter, and it could remain interesting till the end.
First, let’s see where we stand at halftime. Read More >

OICA, the international umbrella organization for all automakers, has finally published its 2010 ranking of the world’s largest automakers. TTAC readers are not surprised by the results. They had known the outcome (at least for the top ten) half a year ago.

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After Afghanistan and Norway, we fly over the Atlantic to land in Haiti so I can share with you where the car market is, 18 months after the devastating earthquake of February 2010.

If you were a tourist in Haiti or part of the emergency personnel flown to the island for the earthquake, then you may already know which cars are popular there (although it would have been the least of your worries!) so I suggest you go directly to my blog where I cover 154 other countries all around the planet. You will love it, I promise!

Right so the huge reconstruction effort the country has to go through means pick-ups, or work horses as they are sometimes called, are the favorite choice for anyone who has enough money to purchase a new vehicle. But which ones are the most successful?

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Soon you’ll read all over Google that China has 217 million cars. Don’t believe it. It’s not true. Read More >

Yes I am back! And after Saudi Arabia, we are staying in the (Greater) Middle East to go to Afghanistan.

Now if you have been to Afghanistan already to fight the war or something, you would already know by now what cars are most popular there so I suggest you check out my blog where I cover 154 more countries. Enjoy!

Alright so there are no official car sales figures for Afghanistan, but the country is famous for one thing… Read More >

After Libya, Yemen, Iran, Syria and Egypt, we are back in the Middle-East this weekend to visit Saudi Arabia. A (very dangerous) Saudi specialty is drifting a la ‘Fast and Furious’ in traffic-filled streets, as you can see in the video above. Do not try this at home please!

Now if you’re not interested in knowing more about car sales in Saudi Arabia, then I am very disappointed in you. But there are two things you can do: check out the 19 countries we have already explored each weekend by clicking here, or explore the 154 other countries available in my blog.

One thing I bet you didn’t know is that Saudi Arabia’s tastes for cars are very similar to America’s…

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After Libya, Ivory Coast and Egypt, we are back in Africa this weekend to explore Nigeria.

The first thing you need to know about Nigeria is that it produces more films than Hollywood: around 200 movies every month! – most of them straight to video. So as an appetizer I couldn’t resist giving you a scene from ‘The Power of a Kiss’ (see above video). Notice the very posh Toyota FJ Runner and Honda Element towards the end…(the private US-to-Nigeria-car-import business is doing very well, thank you.)

Now if you don’t like waiting for hours in traffic, then Lagos, Nigeria is not for you, so I humbly suggest you explore one of 154 other countries I cover in my blog. I trust there will be one to suit your taste.

Nigeria is by far the most populous country in Africa at 155 million inhabitants but only 45,000 new cars changed hands in 2010. That’s the same amount sold in China in one day, but a slow, lazy, middle-of-the-week day, not a super-charged Saturday…

If I only had one word to summarize Nigeria it would be, wait for it, Toyota! But happily I have been allowed more than one word to describe this country. Thanks TTAC!

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Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota, Daihatsu, and Hino) is expected to land with a thud on place 3 in the global ranking of automakers in 2011. I came to this conclusion after several telephone calls and a flurry of emails. In the end, Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco gave it to me (as requested) in writing:

“When it comes to the current CALENDAR YEAR, on a consolidated basis (TMC, Daihatsu and Hino combined), TMC is now (as of June 10) forecasting production of 6.8 million units.”

The avalanche of telephone calls and emails was triggered by an article in The Nikkei [sub] today, that had left the opposite impression.  We’ll get to that article in a minute. First, the table: Read More >

We have been to Africa already in our Round the World whirlwind adventure, in Libya, Yemen and Ivory Coast, but this weekend it is time to visit Egypt, where the ‘middle-eastern revolution’ movement has started.

Alas. the data revolution is delayed. In Egypt, we are again faced with the now familiar issue of having no official sales data. By now you would all know that this was not going to discourage me, however, this time I didn’t even need the help of my old mate YouTube because I have actually BEEN to Egypt, lucky me!

Now if you have been to Egypt too and already know all there is to know about which cars the pharaohs drive everyday, that’s ok, there are 154 more countries to explore in my blog, so either run to your mummy, or go, check out the blog. OK and now I will stop with random Egypt/pyramid/Cleopatra-related wordplays. I promise.

And as usual I will cut to the chase and tell you that if you were to remember just 3 words about the Egyptian car market they would be:

Chevrolet, Hyundai and Speranza.

Speran-what? I know.

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After Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, we are back in the Americas this weekend, but we’ll go off at sea into the Caribbean islands to visit embargoed Cuba. Yes, I know you were waiting with trepidation to know which cars our Cuban friends are most fond of… Read More >

After Libya, Yemen and Iran, we are back in the Middle-East this weekend in Syria because let’s face it, this is where world news happens at the moment and the car expert that you are has to be aware of which cars are the best-sellers in the region so you can show off while watching the news: “That’s a Kia Cerrato Forte, right behind that cloud of teargas.” Read More >

Great Britain two weeks ago. Albania last week, enough of Europe. Pakistan has been in the center of world news for a little while now, so it is time to explore what are the best selling cars in that country.

Now if you don’t want to hear one more word about the (spoiler alert!) Toyota Corolla and would like to know about the best selling models in 154 other countries, you’ve come to the right place: you can explore these countries in my blog. Very enjoyable! Yes, I promise!

The Pakistan Automobile Manufacturers Association has been compiling sales of models produced locally since 1998. Not that long ago, I grant you, but it’s better than nothing! And given the tough restrictions imposed on all imported car, really, the locally produced models are the only ones that count so we’ll be staying pretty close to the truth…

If I only had 30 seconds to summarize the Pakistani car market structure it would still be ok because I’d only have to say Toyota Corolla and Suzuki Mehran…

But I have a bit more time so I can dwell on the details. Read More >

After Iran last weekend and Russia two weekends ago, we continue on our whirlwind round the world adventure, and stop in India.

Car sales in India grew a massive 31 percent in 2010 to reach 1.87 million units. Itis expected to rise a further 20 percent in 2011. The Indian market is fascinating because:

1. Market growth is not synonymous with increased fragmentation and therefore a lot of models beat their volume records month after month
2. The car landscape is totally unique and mostly composed of cars designed specifically for that country, like the Tata Nano and Toyota Etios …
3. They mostly speak (a kind of) English, so we understand them (if they speak slowly.)

Now if the thought of crazy Indian traffic is too much for you to bear, that’s ok because there are 153 more countries to explore in my blog. You will enjoy it as much as a long, happy, dancy Bollywood song, like this one.

But before we start, a must-see, the best (Indian) action movie ever? You be the judge.

Alright then, the Indian market since 1950 can be summarized in 3 models: Read More >

After Yemen last weekend, it is now Official Sales Data Week, where we explore a country that has the great idea to give us access to actual sales data, and therefore saves me from looking on YouTube for hours on end in the hope of figuring out a rough sales ranking…

This week we are going to freezing Russia to find out whether Lada models still have the stranglehold over the market they enjoyed in the time of the USSR.

Now if Russian cars scare you (yes, they do that to some people, especially those who saw the Moscow car chase in The Bourne Supremacy) but you are keen to find out which cars are the best sellers in 153 other countries around the planet, simply go here. It’s my blog and comrade, I swear you will love it. Read More >