Major technological shifts can often change the playing field in established industries, and the entry of electric cars into the car market is an example of this.
Established car brands have reason to feel increasingly threatened by young competitors who are rapidly gaining market share.
In 2023, 327,998 cars were newly registered in Sweden, and here is the list of the most popular car brands according to statistics from Car.info.
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1. Volkswagen
In first place we find Volkswagen, with 45,268 cars sold at the time of writing.
The brand’s most popular model is the electric car ID.4, which accounts for roughly 11,000 of the cars sold. The Caddy and Transporter vans have also sold well.
Volkswagen sold the most cars in Sweden, and the ID.4 is the most popular model – Photo: Marcus Berggren2. Volvo
Second place is taken by the Swedish people’s home favorite Volvo with 40,979 registered cars. The most popular model XC40 has sold well both as a pure electric car and with fossil fuel.
13,661 XC40s were registered in 2023, which is just under 2,000 more than the second most popular model, the XC60.
Volvo’s bestseller for the year is the SUV XC40 – Marcus Berggren3. Toyota
In third place we find the faithful manufacturer Toyota with 26,608 cars registered.
The most popular model for the brand, which is legendary for building reliable cars, is the hybrid SUV RAV4 with 5,849 registered cars. The hatchback Corolla and the small car Yaris also sold well.
Toyota takes third place, thanks in large part to the RAV4 – Toyota4. Kia
Fourth place was taken by South Korean Kia with 24,394 registered cars.
The brand has made a real class journey in the last ten years, from building distinctly cheap cars to offering good, pleasant and well-built cars at sensible prices with good guarantees.
The most popular model was the Niro, which is available as both an electric car and with fossil fuel in various forms. 6,092 copies of the model were registered in 2023.
Kia’s most popular model Niro is available with both electric and fossil fuel – Photo: Marcus Berggren5. Tesla
A very clear sign of electric cars entering the market is that Tesla became the fifth largest car brand in Sweden in 2023 with 20,332 registered cars.
Even more remarkable is that the Model Y SUV actually became the country’s best-selling car in all categories, with a whopping 16,416 units registered in 2023.
Tesla Model Y became Sweden’s most popular car in all categories in 2023 – The Tesla establishment stands strong
Tesla is not the only young car brand that has entered the Swedish car market, but it is the only brand that has so far found its way to the top of the sales figures.
The rest of the top 10 list is thus filled out by established brands.
Sixth place is occupied by Mercedes-Benz, followed by Audi in seventh place and BMW in eighth place. In ninth place we find Škoda, and the list is rounded off with Ford in tenth place.
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