A list of the best selling car brands in the world. Use our worldwide map to find the best selling car manufacturers by country.
The most popular car brands in the world
There are more cars being manufactured today than any other time in history.
But, who is the world’s most popular automaker?
We’ve analysed the sales figures for the last year to reveal the top selling car manufacturer in every country, and the world as a whole. Year on year the competition is revving up to take the top spot, but there is one clear winner.
Toyota storms ahead of any other car manufacturer in the world and takes the top spot dominating the sales markets across 40 countries, with Dacia and Volkswagen coming in behind them.
The top 5 selling car manufacturers in the world are:
| Brand | Countries | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Toyota | 40 | 39% |
| Dacia | 7 | 6% |
| Volkswagen | 5 | 5% |
| Fiat | 5 | 5% |
| Kia | 4 | 4% |
Based on top selling car brands from 102 countries
Which car manufacturer is king of the roads in your country? Take a look at our map below to find out more.
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The Most Popular Car Brands in Asia
It shouldn't be a surprise to see that Asia is dominated by Asian brands. Chevrolet is the only American brand showing with just Kazakhstan under its belt. European brands perform just as weakly with none achieving top sales in more than one country. Toyota, of course, takes first place, outselling the competition in a round dozen countries.
| Brand | Top seller in this many countries | Overall percentage of region |
|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | 1 | 3.33% |
| Fiat | 1 | 3.33% |
| Honda | 3 | 10% |
| Hyundai | 2 | 6.66% |
| Isuzu | 1 | 3.33% |
| Kia | 2 | 6.66% |
| Lada | 1 | 3.33% |
| Maruti Suzuki | 1 | 3.33% |
| Mercedes | 1 | 3.33% |
| Nissan | 2 | 6.66% |
| Perodua | 1 | 3.33% |
| Saipa | 1 | 3.33% |
| Suzuki | 1 | 3.33% |
| Toyota | 12 | 40% |
The Most Popular Car Brands in Europe
The success of the Asian companies continues into Europe with Toyota, again, bagging the most countries of any brand. Volkswagen does best out of Europe's home-grown makers while the once-mighty Ford is outperformed by America's other representative, Tesla.
| Brand | Top seller in this many countries | Overall percentage of region |
|---|---|---|
| Fiat | 2 | 6.06% |
| Ford | 1 | 3.03% |
| Hyundai | 1 | 3.03% |
| Kia | 1 | 3.03% |
| Lada | 2 | 6.06% |
| Nissan | 1 | 3.03% |
| Peugeot | 1 | 3.03% |
| Renault | 1 | 3.03% |
| Skoda | 4 | 12.12% |
| Suzuki | 1 | 3.03% |
| Tesla | 2 | 6.06% |
| Toyota | 10 | 30.30% |
| Volkswagen | 5 | 15.15% |
| Volvo | 1 | 3.03% |
The Most Popular Car Brands in North America
In terms of countries dominated, the USA, once the trailblazer in automotive mass production, and the country with the world's most celebrated car culture, is now left supreme on just the mainland portion of its home continent. European manufacturers are nowhere to be seen in our table as Asia mops up what's left of North America.
| Brand | Top seller in this many countries | Overall percentage of region |
|---|---|---|
| Ford | 2 | 50% |
| Kia | 1 | 25% |
| Toyota | 1 | 25% |
The Most Popular Car Brands in South America
Toyota takes another continent in terms of countries where it outsells any other brand. Chevrolet provides the US contingent while Ford fails to make a chart appearance on its continental neighbour. Fiat is the only European name on the list, but it scores two countries, equalling Chevrolet.
| Brand | Top seller in this many countries | Overall percentage of region |
|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | 2 | 25% |
| Fiat | 2 | 25% |
| Suzuki | 1 | 12.50% |
| Toyota | 3 | 37.50% |
The Most Popular Car Brands in Oceania
The region encompassing the world's southernmost markets provides Toyota, and Asia, with another win. That makes some geographical sense as distances between Japan and the countries of Oceania are, on average, substantially smaller than those to be covered when importing products from the USA or Europe.
| Brand | Top seller in this many countries | Overall percentage of region |
|---|---|---|
| Mitsubishi | 1 | 25% |
| Toyota | 3 | 75% |
The Most Popular Car Brands in Africa
Toyota's second best showing in terms of number of countries taken, Africa embraces Asian vehicles to the near exclusion of US and European brands.
| Brand | Top seller in this many countries | Overall percentage of region |
|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | 1 | 6.25% |
| Dacia | 2 | 12.50% |
| Hyundai | 1 | 6.25% |
| Nissan | 1 | 6.25% |
| Toyota | 11 | 68.75% |
Key insights
- Toyota was the most popular car brand in 2022, leading sales in more countries than any other manufacturer, accounting for much of Asian brands' global dominance.
- Beyond Toyota, Asian manufacturers such as Hyundai and Suzuki also performed strongly, appearing across multiple regions and continents.
- The Volkswagen Group performed strongly in Europe, with Volkswagen leading in 5 countries and sister brand Skoda topping sales in 4 more.
- North America's market is dominated by just three brands, Ford, Toyota and Kia, reflecting a region where a small number of manufacturers compete for the top spot.
- Car sales vary significantly by region, with emerging markets showing the greatest variety, with no single brand dominating and reflecting a mix of local preferences and global competition.
- Dacia and Volkswagen were the closest challengers to Toyota globally, leading sales in 7 and 5 countries respectively.
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