In 2023, the Tesla Model was the best-selling car model worldwide followed by the Toyota RAV4 and the Honda CR-V SUV models.
In full calendar year 2023, the top-selling car model in the world was the battery-electric Tesla Model Y SUV. According to JATO, it outsold the previous world best-selling Toyota RAV4 model, which slipped to second place worldwide. The Honda CR-V was the third most popular car model globally in 2023. The global top-selling non-SUV car model was the Toyota Corolla sedan, the fourth most popular model overall.
Top 25 Best-Selling Car Models Worldwide in 2023
The 25 most popular new passenger vehicles worldwide in the full year 2023, according to JATO, were:
Top Ten Best-Selling Car Models Worldwide in 2023
The Tesla Model Y was the most popular car model in the world in 2023. It was the first time ever that a battery-electric car was the global top-selling car model. Sales of the Tesla Model Y totaled 1.22 million units globally, up by 64% from 2022, or 480,000 more units than in 2021 — a result achieved by no other manufacturer before.
Consequently, the Model Y managed to outsell traditional global top-sellers like Toyota’s RAV4 and Corolla sedan. According to JATO, these models previously featured at the top of the ranking due to healthy demand in North America, China, the Middle East, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and many markets across Latin America, Africa, and Central Asia.
Despite a slight increase in sales volumes, the RAV4 sold 1.07 million units (+5%) to slip to second place while the Honda CR-V gained third.
Earlier, JATO expected the Corolla sedan to be the third most popular car in the world but it ultimately finished fourth with 803,000 units (-19%). The Corolla was the most popular regular sedan in the world in 2023. Weakening sales of the compact sedan can be attributed to its age — the current Coroalla model was released in March 2018 — and the launch of the Corolla Cross, its SUV counterpart.
The Corolla Cross SUV quickly gained popularity in developing economies to become the fifth most popular car model worldwide in 2023.
Sales of the Toyota Camry were flat worldwide in 2023 but it remained the top-selling larger sedan car model in the world.
The Ford F-150 truck was the best-selling large truck SUV worldwide in 2023. Sales were up by nearly a fifth while the Toyota Hilux sold slightly fewer trucks globally in 2023.
Two medium-sized sedans rounded out the top ten: the Nissan Sentra and the Tesla Model 3.
Further Best-Selling Car Models Highlights in 2023
Among the top 25 best-selling car models worldwide in 2023 were 13 Japanese models, 5 Americans, 3 Chinese, and 2 Korean and European models.
The best-selling Chinese car worldwide in 2023 was the BYD Qin at 12th.
The only European car models among the top 25 most popular cars in the world were the Volkswagen Polo (20th) and VW Jetta (21st).
Global Worldwide Car Sales by Brand in 2023 (Full Year)
→ USA Car Sales by Brand in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018
→ Global Worldwide Car sales by Brand in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020
Global worldwide sales by brand in 2023:
- Alpine (incl. Renault)
- Audi
- Bentley
- BMW (incl. MINI)
- BYD
- Dacia (incl. Renault)
- Hyundai
- Jaguar (incl. Land Rover)
- JLR (incl. Jaguar & Land Rover)
- Kia
- Lamborghini
- Land Rover (incl. Jaguar)
- Lexus
- Mercedes-Benz
- MINI (incl. BMW)
- Porsche
- Renault
- Renault Group (incl. Alpine & Dacia)
- Rolls-Royce
- Skoda
- Tesla — Model Y World’s Best-Selling Car Model
- Toyota (incl. Lexus and Daihatsu)
- Volkswagen Group Sales
- Volkswagen Group Electric Car Sales
- Volvo
NOTE: “Sales” as reported by the various brands generally refer to deliveries and not necessarily sales to the customer or final registration. Terms and definitions may vary. All statistics are provided by respective car manufacturers unless clearly stated otherwise.
