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Despite being seven-years old, the RAV4 ranked above the Tesla Model 3 and the Corolla to become the best-selling nameplate of the previous 12 months.
Based on research from 153 markets, the world’s best-selling car of 2024 has been named. Image: Toyota
With the all-new generation having made its world premiere two months ago, the outgoing Toyota RAV4 has been named world’s best-selling vehicle of 2024 by the smallest of margins.
This, according to a reported six-month research and data gathered from 153 markets by renowned automotive analyst Felipe Munoz, which also saw Toyota products occupy five of the top 10 slots.
Global top 10
Combining sales with its Chinese sibling, the Wildlander, the RAV4 raked-in figures of 1 187 000 units, an improvement of 11% from its offset in 2023.
Taking second place, the Tesla Model 3 moved 1 185 000 units, a drop of three percent from 2023.
Occupying third, the Toyota Corolla Cross, and its Chinese offshoot, the Frontlander, amassed sales of 859 000 units, followed by the Honda CR-V and its Far East derivative, the Breeze, on 854 000.
Completing the top five, the Toyota Corolla Sedan and its Levin sibling, marketed in the People’s Republic, recorded a drop of 11%, yet still delivered 697 000 vehicles globally.
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Outside the top five, the venerable Toyota Hilux edged-out the Ford F-150 as the world’s best-selling bakkie with sales of 617 000 versus 595 000, despite being over a decade old.
Finishing eighth, the Toyota Camry posted a sales drop of eight percent, but still managed to shift 593 000 units compared to the 560 000 of the ninth placed Tesla Model 3.
At the base of the top 10, the BYD Qin entered as the sole Chinese conceptualised product, with an offset of 502 000 units.
Sales in South Africa
As a comparison, both the Hilux and Corolla Cross ranked in the top five of South Africa’s best-sellers of 2024, with the former taking first place with sales of 32 656, and the latter fourth on 21 861.
So far, the first half of 2025 has yielded sales of 16 526 for the Hilux and 9 576 for the Corolla Cross, split by the Ford Ranger (12 398), Suzuki Swift (11 948), Volkswagen Polo Vivo (11 310) and Isuzu D-Max (9 846).
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