Revealed: Who makes the world’s most popular car?

The original Mini and Toyota’s illustrious Corolla are two nameplates that have a shimmering reputation for popularity, as two of the most prolific sellers in the history of four-wheeled machinery.

Perhaps for future generations, the Toyota RAV4 and Tesla Model Y could have similar significance?

Industry analytics firm JATO has been busy measuring data from all over the world to try and spot trends in the motoring industry. As part of its data collection, it claims to have figured out the 10 most popular vehicles from 2022 – and the list features a few surprises.

Number one on the list was the aforementioned RAV4, with a reported 1,016,000 sales last year. It narrowly edged its Toyota sibling, the Corolla, which recorded 992,000 sales over the same period.

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The Tesla Model Y was the top selling pure electric vehicle, being listed in third overall with 747,000 sales last year. Its result is one of the most widespread. JATO reported that 44% of Model Y sales came from China, 34% from USA and Canada, and 19% from Europe.

That top three won’t be much of a surprise to regular readers. Ever since the current RAV4 debuted, customer waiting times have been long. The Corolla has always been enormously popular. And the Model Y is perhaps the most talked about new car of the moment.

The rest of the top 10, however, is much less predictable.

Fourth on the totem is the Honda CR-V. The current CR-V has struggled to gain a foothold in New Zealand over the last few years, in spite of a refresh two years ago. But its sales in other markets have been commendable, with 733,000 selling in 2022 according to JATO.

Toyotas wound up fifth and sixth, with the Camry (673,000) leading the Hilux (632,000). Whilst most of the models on the list have a large North American presence, the Hilux doesn’t. JATO reports that the Chinese, US, Canadian, and European markets combined accounted for a mere 6.3% of total Hilux sales last year.

Conversely, a model that skews heavily towards China and North America – the Nissan Sentra – was seventh with 566,000 sales. Those two juggernaut markets accounted for 95% of its total sales last year.

The balance of the top 10 was filled by an interesting cross-section consisting of the Toyota Corolla Cross (530,000), Ford F-150 (525,000), and Tesla Model 3 (482,000). Inevitably, 97% of F-150s sold last year were sold in the US.

According to JATO, 79.4 million new vehicles were registered around the world in 2022. This marks a 2% year-on-year decline, with car sales in North America, Europe, and China trending downwards.

JATO noted that sales of electric vehicles unsurprisingly “surged” in 2022, growing 66% to a total of 7.37 million vehicles worldwide. Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics, made specific reference to the success of Tesla’s two most popular nameplates.

“The EV boom looks set to endure,” said Munoz.

“Governments in the developed world have continued to offer generous incentives, encouraging consumers to make the switch away from ICE vehicles, while average prices have decreased thanks to the introduction of more affordable models by OEMs,” Monuz added.

“It is a historic moment to see a pure electric vehicle not only so close to the top position, but a relatively new brand (Tesla) getting so far in the global ranking, particularly given they are not the most affordable vehicles.”

Ironically, Tesla wasn’t the biggest brand winner of 2022 according to JATO. It noted that Tesla’s growth in market share made it the second-fastest growing brand in the world for the year. The one brand to beat it? BYD.

BYD, Tesla, Chery, Toyota, and Suzuki were listed as the five brands to have grown their market share by the highest percentage year-on-year. On the flipside, BAIC, Nissan, Honda, Stellantis, and Volkswagen were listed as the industry’s biggest market share losers.