Brazil Best Selling Cars Ranking up to October 2023 is lead by the Fiat Strada, followed by the Volkswagen Polo, up 58 spots in the rankings.

The Brazilian auto market is performing well this year, with YTD sales up 11.6% from 2022.

Considering data up to October 2023, the market leader is the Fiat Strada with 98,512 sales (+4.8%), followed by the Volkswagen Polo -up 58 spots- with 83,051 units sold.

The Chevrolet Onix ranks in 3rd with 81,405 sales (+19.4%), followed by the Hyundai HB20 -down 2 spots- at 69,224 (-13.2%), the Chevrolet Onix Plus at 63,098 (+6.8%) and the Fiat Mobi with 59,670 units sold (+5.2%).

The Volkswagen T-Cross ranks in 7th with 58,129 sales (+8.0%) followed by the Fiat Argo at 56,166 (+13.5%) and the Chevrolet Tracker with 53,983 units sold (-2.1%).

Closing the Top 10 the Hyundai Creta with 50,256 sales reported in the first month of 2023 (-0.9%).

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for Top 50 Models.

Market Trend and Outlook

Brazil’s economy has been surprisingly resilient this year. Deloitte states: “Inflation-adjusted wages continue to grow at a relatively rapid clip as consumer price growth slowed. More recently, the labor market has tightened, and consumer confidence has soared. As a result, consumer spending is growing at a respectable rate. Pushing inflation lower will be more challenging from here. A lack of improvement on the inflation front will likely restrain consumer spending as real wage growth and interest-rate cuts slow.”

This growth in consumer spending has pushed the Brazilian Vehicles Market higher and higher, with sales in October 2023 increasing for the 5th month in a row and new registrations reaching 209,669 (+22.7%). YTD figures at 1.74 million are up 11.6% from the previous year.

Looking at cumulative data up to October 2023 brand-wise, Fiat reports the most sales at 384,467 (+12.0%), followed by Volkswagen -up 1 spot- at 271,322 (+3.18%) and Chevrolet -down 1 spot- with 268,596 sales (+16.1%).

In 4th ranks Toyota with 157,179 sales (+2.8%), followed by Hyundai at 144,378 (-6.8%), Jeep with 106,709 (-3.2%), Renault with 99,222 (-1.8%), Honda with 59,844 (+32.6%) and Nissan with 59,173 sales (+32.7%).

Peugeot maintains 10th spot, reporting 28,162 new vehicle registrations (-18.5%).

Looking at specific models the Fiat Strada maintains leadership as the best selling car, despite growing just 4.8% in year-on-year volume. The Volkswagen Polo follows in second, up 58 spots in the rankings.

Medium-Term Market Trend

The Brazilian vehicles market has had a few ups and downs in the past decade, with 2012 registering the highest levels for the following years. Previously, starting in 2010, the market rose for two consecutive years reaching 3.6 million sales in 2012. In 2013 the Brazilian market began a 4 year negative trend falling a maximum of 25.6% in 2015 and reaching 2 million sales in 2016. Luckily from 2017 to 2019 sales grew,  reaching 2.7 million sales.

In 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe human suffering and triggered a deep recession in Brazil. The demand for consumer’s goods declined and light vehicles sales fell below the 2 million mark, first time in the decade.

Although the economy recovered in 2021 (GDP +5.0%) the basic trend was still weak. In fact, 2022 slowed down 0.9% with inflation rates jumping up and the demand remaining weak.

Projections for 2023 are not looking good due to the continuous price increases in parallel with the adoption of more safety rules and the shift towards electrification. This being said the overall trend in the first months of 2023 has been positive and the momentum gained in the last months of 2022 is continuing into the this year.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for all Brands, top 10 Manufacturer Groups, and top 10 Models.

Brazil Best Selling Cars Ranking in 2022 is still dominated by the Fiat Strada ahead of the Hyundai HB20 and the Chevrolet Onix, which is fast growing both in the standard and in the “Plus” derivative.

The Brazilian auto market is in one of the darkest period in its history, with 2022 sales totaling half from the record, hit just few years ago.

In 2022 the market leader remains the Fiat Strada with 112,369 (+3.0%) confirming the strong Fiat reputation in this country.

In second place the Hyundai HB20 with 96,199 sales (+11.3%) followed by a model that dominated for years, the Chevrolet Onix -rising 2 spots- with 85,078 sales (+15.5%).

Behind the Chevrolet Onix Plus with 75,163 sales (+37.4%) followed by the Fiat Mobi with 72,704 (+10.4%) and the Volkswagen Gol -up 2 spots- with 72,592 units sold (+9.6%).

In seventh place the Chevrolet Tracker -Up 7 spots- with 70,761 sales (+39.2%) ahead of the Volkswagen T-Cross -up 3 spots- with 65,191 (+4.6%), the Fiat Argo with 63,967 (-24.2%) and in 10th place the Jeep Compass -down 4 spots- with 63,467 (-10.5%).

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for Top 50 Models.

Market Trend and Outlook

The Brazilian Vehicles Market in 2022 totals 1.96 million sales, a 0.9% decrease from the previous year. In the last month of the year sales grew for the 6th month in a row, with 205,300 new registrations (+5.8%).

Looking at cumulative data from 2022 brand-wise, the leader is still Fiat with 429,837 sales (-0.3%), followed by Chevrolet at 290,996 (+18.9%) overtaking Volkswagen with 268,850 sales (-11.1%).

In 4th ranks Toyota with 191,099 sales (+10.5%), followed by Hyundai with 187,649 (+1.8%), Jeep with 137,319 (-7.7%), Renault with 126,066 (-1.2%), Honda with 56,620 (-30.5%) and Nissan with 53,585 sales (-17.5%).

Peugeot with 41,698 (+41.8%) rises 2 spots into 10th position, boasting the best performance of the Top 10.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for all Brands, top 10 Manufacturer Groups, and top 10 Models.

The Fiat Strada is the new leader in the best-selling cars ranking in 2021 after 6 years of leadership of the Chevrolet Onix, which fell in 5th place. The Jeep Renegade reaches 4th place, rising 5 spots.

In 2021, the new best-selling car is the Fiat Strada -up 4 spots- with 109,114 sales and 5.5% market share, followed by the Hyundai HB20 –up 1 spot– with 86,464 units sold and 4.4% market share,  ahead of the Fiat Argo rising 4 spots with 84,656 sales (4.3% share).

In 4th place we have the Jeep Renegade –up 5 spots– with 73,927 units sold, followed by the Chevrolet Onix -down 4 spots- with 73,636 units sold. Then we have the previous leader, the Jeep Compass, with 70,923 units sold followed by the Fiat Toro -up 3 spots- with 70,914 units.

In 8th place we have the Volkswagen Golf -up 2 spots- selling 66,234 units, followed by the Fiat Mobi -up 6 spots- with 65,855 units.

Closing the leaderboard we have the Hyundai Creta -rising 4 spots- with 64,764 units sold.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for Top 50 Models.

Market Trend

The Brazilian car market this year attempted to recover from the pandemic crash of 2020 and but reported positive performance only in Q2.

The market in Brazil fell from a record of 3.6 million in 2012, when ranked as 4th globally, below the 2 million in 2016 (1.989.000 units) with a vertical unprecedented and unexpected fall.

The main reason behind the fall was the National Automotive Plan released in 2013 which imposed on the manufacturers’ new standards in terms of contents, safety, emissions further reserving advantages to models locally produced towards the imported from outside the region.

However, the domestic car market bottomed out in the first quarter of 2017 when the volume was over 45% below the 2013 level and a new positive path was approached. After ending 2017 with a recovery of 9.2%, in 2018 and in 2019 the market further improved reaching 2.66 million units.

The car market was hit extremely harshly in 2020 as the country was the third in the world by the number of infections. In 2020 sales have been 1,954,828, reporting a decline of 26.2% compared to 2019 due to the COVID-19 impacting sales significantly.

In 2021 the year started negatively for the Brazil market, in fact, in Q1 497,913 units have been sold, reporting a 6.8% decrease in sales compared to Q1 2020, while in Q2 sales started growing, reporting a 120.3% increase in sales with 508,896 units due to the incredibly low volumes in Q2 2020.

In Q3 sales started falling in double-digits, losing 13.6% sales with 463,272 units, and kept dropping 22.7% in Q4 with 505,096 units.

Indeed, Full-Year sales for 2021 have been 1.98 million, reporting a 1% increase compared to 2020.

Brand-wise, this year the new leader Fiat (+33.9%) gained 5.4% market share, followed by Volkswagen (-8.4%), which lost 1.6% share. Chevrolet on the other hand lost 27.7%, losing 4.9% share and reporting the worst performance on the leaderboard.  Hyundai remained in 4th place (10.1%), followed by Toyota which gained 25.4%.

Jeep reached 6th place and gained 35.1%, followed by Renault which fell 3.1%, and Honda (-3.2%). Closing the leaderboard we have Nissan rising 6.4% this year and Chery reported the best performance in the leaderboard by gaining 97.9%.

The most sold vehicle this year became the Fiat Strada by gaining 36.3% with 109,114 units sold, followed by the Hyundai HB20, which lost 0.1% registering 86,464 new sales this year. The Fiat Argo (+28.4%) closes the podium and reports 84,656 new units sold.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for all Brands, top 10 Manufacturer Groups, and top 10 Models.

Brazil best selling car of 2020 was led for the 6th year in a row by the Chevrolet Onix, despite the recent launch of the “Plus” version which cannibalized the same sales gaining 4th place.

This year the Chevrolet Onix – on top for the 6th consecutive year – was still the market leader with 135.358 units sold (-43.9%) and 6.9% market share,  ahead of the Ford Ka with 93.282 (-40%) and 4.8% share, followed by the Hyundai HB20 with 86.550 sales (-14.8%) and 4.4% share.

About 3k units behind we find the new SUV version of the leader model Chevrolet Onix, landing in 4th position with 83.400 units sold, followed by the Fiat Strada -up 2 spots- with 80.047 units sold (+5%). Then we have the Volkswagen Gol -down 1 spot- with 71.153 units sold (-12.5%) followed by the Fiat Argo -down 1 spot- with 65.940 units (-16.5%).

In 8th place we have the Volkswagen T-Cross -up 16 spots- with an amazing +62.1% selling 60.121 units, followed by the Jeep Renegade -up 1 spot- with 56.865 (-17.3%).

Closing the leaderboard we have the Fiat Toro -up 1 spot- with 53.976 (-17.7%).

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for Top 50 Models.

Market Trend

The Brazilian car market was hit extremely harshly in 2020 as the country was the third in the world by number of infections. In fact, during the whole year, February was the only month to report positive sales (+1.7%).

The market in Brazil fell from a record of 3.6 million in 2012, when ranked as 4th globally, below the 2 million in 2016 (1.989.000 units) with a vertical unprecedented and unexpected fall.

The main reason behind the fall was the National Automotive Plan released in 2013 which imposed on the manufacturers’ new standards in terms of contents, safety, emissions further reserving advantages to models locally produced towards the imported from outside the region.

However, the domestic car market bottomed out in the first quarter of 2017 when the volume was over 45% below the 2013 level and a new positive path was approached. After ending 2017 with a recovery of 9.2%, in 2018 and in 2019 the market further improved reaching 2.66 million units.

After starting 2020 with a slight negative trend (-3.6%), the market started collapsing in March as the virus struck. The sharpest drop in sales this year was in April when sales declined by 76.6%, despite Lockdowns starting only in March (-75.7%). The market started recovering in the following months, with performance in December still down 6%.

Indeed, Full-Year sales for 2020 have been 1.954.828, reporting a decline of 26.2% compared to 2019.

Brand-wise, this year the leader Chevrolet (-28.8%) lost 0.6% market share, followed by the growing Volkswagen (-20.4%), which gained an impressive 1.3% share. Fiat on the other hand gained 2.7% share and registered the top 10 performance, falling only 12.1%.  Hyundai reached 4th place -up 3 spots- (-19.4%), followed by Ford which lost 36.3%.

Toyota remained in 6th place and lost 36.1%, followed by Renault, which registered the worst performance in the leaderboard (-45%), and Jeep (-14.9%). Closing the leaderboard we have Honda losing 34.8% this year and Nissan losing 36.5%.

The most sold vehicle this year remained the Chevrolet Onix despite falling 43.9% with 135.358 units sold, followed by the Ford Ka, which lost 40% registering 93.282 new sales this year. The Hyundai HB20 (-14.8%) closes the podium and reports 86.550 new units sold. Despite not reaching the podium, only 3k units behind we have the star of the year, the Chevrolet Onix plus, which grew 210.6% this year and reached 4th place.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for all Brands, top 10 Manufacturers Group and top 10 Models.

Brazil best selling cars ranking in 2019 was dominated again – for the fourth year in a row – by the Chevrolet Onix which ended 9.2%, still a huge share in a so large market. Very far the top followers, the Ford Ka and the Hyundai HB20.

The ranking of Top 100 best selling cars in Brazil reflects the positive momentum of the market, with sales in a positive pathway since the early months of 2018. On top of the list, there are – as tradition – models made by Chevrolet, Fiat and Volkswagen, plus the recent success made by emerging brands, like Jeep and Renault.

Considering the huge relevance of this market within the Latin America region, the leader of Brazil is usually the best selling model in the region.

Indeed, the Brazilian Top seller (for the 4th year in a string) is the Chevrolet Onix which is on top of the entire Latin America region. In the 2018 the model hit the record market share at 9.4% and in 2019 ended at 9.2%.

The top challenger is very far and is the Ford KA with 5.9% of share, ahead of the Hyundai HB20 with 3.9% and the emerging model, the Renault Kwid with a record share of 3.3%.

In fifth place the Volkswagen Gol with 3.1% followed by the Fiat Argo with 3%.

In seventh position the Fiat Strada with 2.9%, and best commercial vehicles in the market, followed by the Chevrolet Prisma with 2.8%, the Volkswagen Polo with 2.8% and the Jeep Renegade with 2.6%.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for top 50 Models.

Brazil Vehicles Market kept growing in 2019 posting the third annual growth in a row achieving near 2.66 million units sold, up over 25% from the 2016 negative peak, while still near 25% far from the 2013 record. Chevrolet, Volkswagen and Fiat on top of the list control 47% of the market, while Renault, Toyota and Hyundai are the emerging brands.

Economic Environment

Brazilian economy is gaining gradual steam, albeit from a subdued level. Data for September revealed a positive end to Q3 for the domestic economy, with economic activity and retail sales both jumping. Moreover, incoming data for Q4 points to broadly sustained momentum, with the manufacturing PMI staying in expansionary territory for the third consecutive month in October and business confidence edging up in November.

The external sector continues to remain under pressure amid evaporated demand from Argentina and subdued exports to China; exports recorded the largest drop since January 2016 in October.

Growth is seen gaining steam next year, on the back of recovering confidence and accommodative monetary policy. In addition, household spending should receive a boost from a government measure to allow workers to tap into an unemployment benefit fund.

Market Trend

Brazilian vehicles market fell from a record of 3.6 million in the 2012, when ranked as 4th globally, below the 2 million in the 2016 (1.989.000 units) with a vertical unprecedented and unexpected fall.

The main reason behind the fall was the National Automotive Plan released in the 2013 which imposed to the manufacturers new standards in terms of contents, safety, emissions further reserving advantages to models local produced towards the imported from outside the region.

In addition, since 2014 the country economy is in difficulties and the previous decade political and social stability has left space to a political battle without limits, which penalized the expectations and the economic endeavor.

However, the domestic car market bottomed out in the first quarter 2017 when the volume was over 45% below the 2013 level and a new positive path was approached.

After ending the 2017 with a recovery of 9.2%, in the 2018 the market further improved ending the year at 2.47 million units sold, up 13.8%.

In 2019 the recovery continued and the full year ended at 2.65 million units, up 7.6% from the previous year. Indeed, this has been the third annual gain in a row.

In the recent years the market changed radically. Until the 2013 the top three brands, Volkswagen, Fiat and Chevrolet used to hold over 60% of market share, while actually these three brands count 47%, despite remaining the best selling brands in the market. They have lost near 15 points of share in advantage of fast growing brands, like Renault, Toyota, Hyundai, Jeep and Nissan, while other traditionally strong players, like Ford, Peugeot and Mitsubishi declined.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for all brands, top 10 Manufacturers and top 10 Models.