2011 – 2007 Best Selling Car Brands and Makes in Greece

Car sales statistics for Greece in 2011 reflect the dire state of the Greek economy. Toyota, Opel and Volkswagen were the top brands in a very weak market.

Porsche Cayenne
Fewer Cayennes in Greece than often Claimed © Porsche

The best-selling car manufacturers and brands in Greece in 2011 were Toyota, Opel, and Volkswagen. New passenger vehicle registrations in Greece were sharply down with almost a third fewer new cars sold on the Greek automobile market in 2011 compared to 2010. Of the top 30 brands, only Mini (+6%) registered positive growth.

The total Greek new passenger car market in 2011 was 97,682 cars, down 31% from 2010. Car sales in 2011 were only 36% of what it was on average per year between 2004 and 2009.

Best-Selling Car Brands and Makes in Greece 2007-2011

According to car sales statistics released by the AMVIR, new passenger vehicle registrations in Greece were as follows:

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Average 04-09
Rank 2011 TOTAL 279,794 257,242 220,548 141,499 97,682 265,312
1 Toyota 27,701 26,468 21,007 16,716 12,128 24,849
2 Opel 23,325 20,863 17,245 13,003 11,440 20,781
3 Volkswagen 22,056 21,068 18,745 12,936 9,466 20,108
4 Ford 19,059 15,752 15,572 10,165 6,427 18,061
5 Fiat 11,770 14,012 11,106 9,135 5,816 12,310
6 Nissan 11,046 11,789 11,849 6,732 5,687 11,736
7 Hyundai 17,282 18,610 12,069 9,432 4,885 19,573
8 Skoda 10,434 9,898 8,786 7,420 4,688 9,436
9 Citroen 14,030 9,839 5,524 6,137 3,609 11,844
10 Peugeot 12,642 10,350 7,657 5,066 3,419 11,785
11 Suzuki 14,797 13,680 12,731 6,466 3,103 12,754
12 Seat 9,102 9,223 6,685 3,799 3,029 9,877
13 Audi 6,175 6,888 7,904 3,141 2,513 6,552
14 Kia 8,338 7,809 5,229 2,418 2,328 7,346
15 Mercedes 8,782 8,797 8,802 3,149 2,078 8,412
16 BMW 8,128 8,069 6,509 2,870 2,021 7,142
17 Chevrolet 7,017 5,136 3,197 2,986 1,860 4,895
34 Porsche 562 467 424 98 37 470
Ferrari 21 18 29 3 0 20

Source: SEEA

The Greek Passenger Car Market 2007 to 2011

The collapse in the Greek automobile market reflects the dire state of the Greek economy as a whole. The average annual new passenger vehicle registrations in Greece between 2004 and 2009 were 265,312 cars. In 2010, only 141,499 cars were sold and in 2011 the figure was a further 31% down.

Toyota, Opel, and Volkswagen have been the top-three most popular car brands in Greece for the previous five years. Although these three remain the best-selling car brands in Greece, sales in 2011 were around half the average pre-crisis figures.

For many other brands, sales are now about a third of what it used to be. Premium and luxury German brands Mercedes-Benz and BMW sold only about a quarter of the number of cars they used to sell in Greece.

More Porsches than Rich Taxpayers in Greece?

The figures for Porsche were added for fun following the claims that there are more Porsche Cayennes in Greece than taxpayers admitting to earning more than €50,000 per year. (According to the BBC, over 300,000 Greeks declared such high incomes in 2010, while Porsche admits to selling only around 1,500 Cayennes in total in Greece.) Porsche sales in 2011 were less than a tenth of the long-run average while rich Greeks presumably now leave their new Ferraris offshore.

About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience in online writing. His best-selling cars website has been reporting car sales statistics since 2008 with classic car auction prices focusing on the most expensive automobiles sold at public auctions in the past decade. He also owns the travel websites European-Traveler.com and Lake Geneva Switzerland. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Finance from the University of London.