Global cars sales continue rise

In Q1 2016, 558,700 more units (LCVs and passenger cars) were sold compared with the same period in 2015 according to a report by JATO Dynamics.

Global car sales totalled 20.44 million units, a 2.8% increase on the same period in 2015.

Significantly, the market’s biggest brands posted declines, with Volkswagen declining by one per cent, Hyundai by three per cent and Chevrolet by nine per cent. Ford, Honda and Mercedes posted the biggest increases amongst the top 10 at seven per cent, five per cent and 14% respectively.

In terms of models, the Toyota Corolla reported a 4.8% gain in Q1 2016 which saw it move up the ranking to become the best-selling vehicle for this period, knocking the Wuling Hongguang from the top spot.

The popularity of SUVs in China has been an ongoing source of growth, and the trend continued last quarter, with the country accounting for 36% of total sales in Q1 2016. Sales of SUVs in Europe (including Russia and Turkey) gave the overall market a boost with 20% growth and 1.11 million units sold.

SUVs continued to dominate across much of the rest of the world in Q1 2016, with the category increasing sales by 23% compared with the same period last year and five vehicles from the category entering the top 10 best-selling car ranking – these were the Nissan X-Trail, Honda HR-V, Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V and Ford Escape.

SUV growth also drove premium car volumes, with 2.15 million units sold, 833,300 of which were SUVs.

Felipe Munoz, global automotive analyst at JATO, concluded, ‘Q1 2016 saw dramatic changes as the SUV category increased its market dominance. The whole world wants a SUV, and this shift is evident in the brand ranking, as those that focused on this segment, were the brands that posted the largest gains.’