2022 best-selling cars in retail and wholesale

By Alzira Rodrigues | Translated by Jorge Medtisch

Direct sales reached a record 49.5% share in 2022, almost half the automobile and light commercial vehicle market.

There are differences, sometimes expressive, in the numbers by type of sales, both about the bestselling models and brands in the country. In both rankings, the dispute is fierce, most of the time with very slight volume differences.

Considering the automobile segment numbers from January through December last year, the Hyundai HB20 led direct sales, trailed by the VW Gol, Jeep Compass, Fiat Mobi and Fiat Argo. In wholesale, the situation is completely different.

The best-sellers are the Chevrolet Onix, Hyundai Creta, VW T-Cross and Onix Plus (see the tables below).
Some models, such as the Gol and Compass, are part of the retail Top 3 and do not show in the wholesale ranking. The inverse also happens. Out of direct sales Top 10, the Hyundai Creta is the second best seller model for the common consumer.

AUTOMOBILES – DIRECT SALES – Model 2022

1st HYUNDAI/HB20  58.982
2nd VW/GOL  55.513
3rd JEEP/COMPASS  48.578
4th FIAT/MOBI  48.014
5th FIAT/ARGO  39.938
6th GM/ONIX PLUS  36.183
7th JEEP/RENEGADE  35.743
8th VW/VOYAGE  35.363
9th FIAT/CRONOS  31.106
10th PEUGEOT/208  27.208

AUTOMOBILES – RETAIL SALES – Model 2022

1st GM/ONIX  58.083
2nd HYUNDAI/CRETA  56.493
3rd GM/TRACKER  47.471
4th VW/T CROSS  42.002
5th GM/ONIX PLUS  39.060
6th HYUNDAI/HB20  37.273
7th FIAT/PULSE  37.200
8th TOYOTA/COROLLA CROSS  36.217
9th RENAULT/KWID  35.878
10th VW/NIVUS  32.201

In the light commercial vehicle segment, the positions are also distinct. The first five in direct sales are the Fiat Strada, Fiat Toro, VW Saveiro, Chevrolet S10 and Fiat Fiorino. Strada keeps leading wholesales, followed by Toyota Hilux, Fiat Toro, Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi L200.

Both Fenabrave and Anfavea emphasize that direct sales are not restricted to sales to large fleet operators as rentals. They also include purchases by small farmers, taxi drivers and PcD (disabled drivers).

Direct sales became key to defining the brands’ general ranking. Fiat is the leader both in retail and wholesale and is the first among the internal Top 10 best sellers. In direct sales, Volkswagen is the second, GM third, Jeep fourth and Hyundai fifth. Fiat, GM, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai and Renault are the better-placed brands in wholesale.

Last year, direct sales grew 10% over 2021 and were key to granting a light vehicle market similar to the previous year, with about 1.96 million units. Retail sales had a fall of about 13%. According to Anfavea, the sales expectation for rental companies in 2023 is from 450 to 500 thousand vehicles, a smaller market share than last year’s.