Bakkies might be more popular than any car in South Africa, but global trends show that the world still favours a more traditional vehicle configuration.

The world’s most popular vehicle is not a bakkie or SUV. With comprehensive sales data from 2018 finally collated and verified, Toyota’s Corolla has been classified as the most in-demand car of all.

Ford’s F-Series bakkie finished as the second most popular vehicle, an achievement made even more credible by the fact that it is essentially only sold in the North American market – whereas Corolla is a true global product, sold in a multitude of geographies.

Statistically, Corolla sold 1 181 445 units, with Ford delivering 1 080 757 F-Series bakkies to new customers last year. These two models were the only vehicles to sell in excess of a million units each.

The top ten list of most prevalent automotive products is dominated by Toyota, Honda and VW. Rav4 ranked third and Camry ninth, whilst Honda occupied fourth (Civic) and seventh (CR-V). VW’s Tiguan and Golf were fifth and sixth, with Polo eighth. Only one other bakkie, besides F-Series, ranked in the top ten most sold vehicles for 2018, and that was Chevrolet’s Silverado.

In a world where product development and marketing strategy is anchored by a mission to serve bakkie and SUV demand, these global sales numbers tell a very different story. The presence of Camry, Corolla, Civic, Golf and Polo making up half of the most popular top ten vehicles, illustrate that the market is telling a truth very different from what product planners are strategizing.

Top 10 best-selling cars in the world 2018