Global automotive top 10 revealed! Where did Honda, Ford, Mazda, Hyundai, GM, SAIC and more finish up in the 2021 calendar-year sales race?

The battle for global automotive sales supremacy has been fought and won for 2021, and there are a few surprises in the results.

Three of China’s biggest automotive giants are now certified global players, and there are a couple of interesting tussles that could see the order change by the end of 2022.

As we reported in late January, Toyota Motor Corporation took out top spot for the second consecutive year with a total of 10.5 million sales across its Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino brands.

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It was followed by the massive German conglomerate, Volkswagen Group, on 8.9 million sales from its VW, Audi, Porsche, Skoda, Seat, Cupra, and other brands.

Rounding out the top three last year was the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, with a combined 7.8 million sales. Of the three individual companies, Nissan Motor Company recorded the highest sales at a tick over four million from its Nissan and Infiniti brands.

Renault Group which includes Renault, Dacia, Alpine and Lada hit 2.7 million, representing a 4.5 per cent dip on its 2020 results, with Mitsubishi on just over one million sales.

The battle for fourth, fifth and sixth is where things get interesting. Hyundai Motor Group, made up of Hyundai, Kia and Genesis-branded vehicles, nabbed fourth – just – with 6.7 million sales.

But snapping at its heels is one of the newest global automotive conglomerates – Stellantis. A combination of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group, Stellantis clocked up 6.5 million sales in 2021 from its catalogue of brands, which was 1.5 per cent better than its 2020 tally.

The brands include Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Peugeot, Citroen, Opel and Vauxhall, among others.

Hyundai Group just edged out Stellantis for fourth place last year.

With Stellantis expecting growth in 2022 of about three per cent in most of its key markets, and five per cent in India and Asia Pacific, it could well see the Amsterdam-based company zoom past the Renault Alliance next year.

Hot on its tail is one of the big Americans, General Motors. GM found homes for 6.3 million vehicles in 2021, which was an eight per cent drop on 2020.

Sixth place was the biggest automotive group from China, the massive state-owned SAIC Motor. It recorded a healthy 5.5 million sales globally last year, as it continued to expand into markets outside China.

Under the big SAIC umbrella is MG Motor – a top 10 brand in Australia – Maxus/LDV, and joint-ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen in China.

Given its shrinking market presence in Australia, some might be surprised to see Honda in the top 10 with 4.5 million sales. Honda’s volume mostly comes from the US where the brand is huge. Last year, the CR-V SUV was the second best-selling SUV or passenger car model in the country behind the Toyota RAV4, with more than 350,000 sales.

On top of its automobile business, Honda sold 15 million motorbikes in 2021.

Fiat owner Stellantis kept American giant GM at bay.

Not too far behind Honda was another big American, Ford, with 3.9 million sales, marking a six per cent decline year on year. Despite the dip, Ford is making gains. The Blue Oval was number two for electric vehicles in the US in December last year, thanks to strong interest in the Mustang Mach-E and F150 Lightning.

Rounding out the top 10 is another Japanese brand punching above its weight – Suzuki. The company recorded 2.8 million registrations globally last year, with approximately half of those sales coming from India via Maruti Suzuki – the number one player in the market.

Outside the top 10, BMW Group captured 2.5 million registrations, edging out another Chinese giant, Geely on 2.2 million. Geely is a brand in its own right, but Volvo, Polestar, Lynk & Co, Zeekr and more fall under the wider banner.

Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler nabbed 2.1 million sales last year and Mazda – the number two brand in Australia – recorded 1.3 million.

Mazda’s precise total of 1,287,548 was enough to just edge out China’s GWM – Great Wall and Haval, among others – which recorded 1,280,993.