ROME – Everyone is crazy about Tesla and SUVs. This is what emerges from the annual global sales report published by the specialist Jato Dynamics which, as already anticipated last February, saw the Model Y as the best-selling car in the world (151 markets). A performance that follows that of last year when the Californian company’s SUV made history by becoming the first electric vehicle to establish itself in the absolute world sales ranking of all cars.
In 2023, sales of the Tesla Model Y reached 1.22 million units, recording growth of 64% compared to 2022, with 480,000 more units. An extraordinary result also considering the fact that this car is not marketed (due to its high cost) in many emerging markets.
In second position we find the Toyota Rav4 SUV, which follows the performance of the previous year with 1,075,000 units sold, while the third step of the ranking is occupied by the Honda CR-V which totals “only” 846,000 units sold, confirming an all-round podium the prerogative of Sport utility vehicles.
And SUVs, driven by the success of the Model Y, achieved a new sales record last year with 36.72 million units sold, recording the highest market share ever. Between 2022 and 2023, volumes increased 16 percent, accounting for nearly 47 percent of total global auto sales for 2023. China and the United States-Canada remained the largest markets for SUVs, accounting for 54 percent. % of the global total.
Overall, in 2023, 78.32 million new cars were sold with an increase of almost seven million units compared to 2022, which corresponds to an increase of 10%. Among the top 25 vehicles in the ranking drawn up by Jato, we find 13 Japanese models, 5 American, 3 Chinese (BYD) and 2 Korean and European. For the first time, Chinese manufacturers’ sales exceeded those of American manufacturers.
Finally, it should be noted that in 2023 the markets with the greatest growth, in addition to Eurasia (+40%) were those of the Old Continent (16%), thanks to the boom in demand in Turkey, the United States-Canada and Japan-Korea ( 12%), while China’s growth, compared to 2022, was 6%.
“The growth recorded in 2023 is remarkable – underlined Felipe Munoz, senior analyst Jato Dynamics – especially if we consider the ongoing geopolitical tensions between China and the United States, the instability generated by conflicts in Europe, the high interest rates that persist in most of the Western world and the high price of vehicles.”
