The best-selling cars in the world (before the Tesla Model Y)

For the first time an electric car is there best-selling car in the world. To accomplish the historic feat is the Tesla Model Y than in the first three months of 2023, according to the data collected by Hundredrecorded 267,200 registrations in 53 countries.

With these exceptional numbers for a zero-emission car, the Model Y manages to oust from the top of the world rankings two models that have been accustomed for years to frequenting the top areas of the rankings: the historic queen Toyota Corolla and the Toyota Hilux.

But which models have conquered the title of “best selling car in the world“? Which car, before the Tesla Model Y, has managed to win over the most customers globally? To answer these questions, let’s start from 2022 and go back over the yearsat least until credible estimates can be found.

Tesla Model Y: first quarter 2023

With 267,200 license plates registered around the world, the Tesla Model Y earns the title of best-selling car in the first three months of 2023.

Immediately behind we find the Toyota Corolla with 256,400 registrations and the Toyota Hilux with 214,700 units delivered globally.

Toyota RAV4: 2021-2022

In the 2022 the Tesla Model Y was instead third in this global challenge, just behind the Corolla and the queen of sales for the entire year, the Toyota RAV4 (1,016,000 units).

The RAV4 was the best-selling car in the world even in 2021ahead of the Corolla and the Honda CR-V, reaching a historical record of registrations for the Japanese SUV, at an altitude of 1,132,000 units.

Toyota Corolla: 2019-2020

Before the recent domination of the RAV4 it was the turn of another car from the same Japanese manufacturer, the Toyota Corolla that in the two-year period 2019-2020 has conquered the scepter of queen of the world of cars.

The best year was 2019, when the Corolla also called Auris and Levin, both with hatchback and sedan bodywork, recorded 1.48 million of pieces sold. This is a record for sales of a car in 12 months, at least in the recent history of the automotive industry.

Ford F-150: 2016-2018

There’s also an American car among the recent queens of auto sales, and it’s not just any car. Let’s talk about Ford F-Seriesthe pickup family he has in the F-150 its most famous model and which since 1981 has been at the top of the US charts.

In the three-year period 2016-2017-2018 it has also risen to the throne of the best-selling car in the world, reaching 1,076,153 registrations globally in 2016.

Toyota Corolla: 2005-2015

That of Toyota Corollawhich lasted eleven years dal 2005 al 2015can rightfully be defined as an undisputed domain, approached only in a few years by the Ford F-150.

In this long decade signed by Corolla, the Japanese compact has often managed to exceed the threshold of one million cars sold in twelve months.

Volkswagen Golf: 2000

Il 2000 it is the year of the Volkswagen Golf on the top of the world, with 1.14 million units registered and the Ford F-150 close by at around one million units.

2000 is also one of the worst years in the recent history of Toyota Corolla sales which even finishes in tenth position.

The queens of the twentieth century

Registration data are more difficult to find before 2000. On the basis of the production numbers and the little other information available, it is however easy to hypothesize that between 1974 and 1999 the best-selling car has almost always been the Toyota Corolla.

To compete there was certainly the Ford F-Series, but also the small Opel Corsa which in the 1998 would have conquered the first position with over 910,000 units sold worldwide also with the Vauxhall, Chevrolet, Holden and Buick brands.

Volkswagen Beetle (1972)

Before the Corolla there was instead the Volkswagen Beetle as the best-selling car in the world, in particular starting from the early 60s of the last century, while before that the primacy was divided by various models Made in the USA and branded Chevrolet, Ford, Plymouth and Buicks.

Before the Second World War, the undisputed queen was instead there for several years Ford Model T which also holds a still unbeaten record: over 2 million cars produced in one year on the first assembly line, exactly in 1923.

To learn more about the topic, you can then read the ranking of the best-selling cars of all time.