2018 (Full Year) International: Global Top Car Brands

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Toyota, Volkswagen and Ford were the best-selling passenger vehicle brands worldwide in 2018.

Toyota TS050 Hybrid

In 2018, Toyota was again the world’s leading car brand with sales increasing to just over 8 million vehicles worldwide. Volkswagen was second with sales increasing to over 6.7 million cars while Ford sales contracted by 11% to just over 5.3 million vehicles sold worldwide in 2018. The Ford F-Series and Toyota Corolla were the world’s top-selling car models in 2018.

Best-Selling Car Brands Worldwide in 2018

According to JATO, the following were the 25 top-selling car brands worldwide in 2018:

2018 Top Selling car Brands and Models Global 2018
© JATO

Global Top-Selling Car Brands in 2018

Toyota remained the global leading car brand in 2018 with worldwide sales increasing by 3% to 8,091,277 vehicles sold. The Toyota Corolla was also the world’s top-selling passenger car in 2018 (although the Ford F-Series pickup sold in higher numbers).

In 2018, Volkswagen increased sales by a percentage points to 6,746,204 cars sold worldwide. Volkswagen was helped by a resurgent South American market that helped to offset slower sales in China.

In 2018, Ford was the worst performing top car brand globally with sales down by 11% to 5,329,290 vehicles. However, its nearest competitors failed to fully catch up with Honda sales flat at 4,966,037 cars and Nissan sales 2% down to 4,750,863 cars sold worldwide in 2018.

Hyundai increased global sales in 2018 by 3% to just above the 4 million mark. Chevrolet sales were down 1% to 3,881,747 vehicles.

Of the global top-ten best-selling car brands in 2018, Suzuki was the most improved with sales up by 5% to 3,046,585 cars. Kia sales worldwide also increased by a strong 4% in 2018 to 2,638,782 cars.

Mercedes-Benz rounded out the top ten list of worldwide best-selling car brands with sales up 1% to 2,551,806 cars. It was the eighth consecutive year of sales increases for Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz remained the world’s leading luxury car brand in 2018.

The worst performing of the top car brands globally in 2018 were Baojun (-13%), Buick (-12%) and Ford (-11%). Two predominantly European brands Opel / Vauxhall and Fiat also struggled with sales down by 8%.

The most-improved top 25 car brand globally in 2018 was Mitsubishi with sales up by nearly a quarter. Jeep and Geely also increased global sales in 2018 by 11% while Suzuki and Skoda sales worldwide in 2018 improved by 5%.

The Ford F-Series, Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic were the global top-selling car models in 2018.

Worldwide Car Sales per Brand in 2018

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.