VW is only European maker in China top 10 car list

The top ten best selling cars in China from last year have been revealed.

Logo of the Volkswagen car manufacturer during the annual shareholders meeting of the Volkswagen stock company in Hannover, Germany, Wednesday, May 10, 2017.  [Photo: AP]

For European car fans, there are a few surprises on the list.

We report regularly about the great importance that manufacturers in Europe attach to the Chinese car market.

German firm Volkswagen even went as far as to describe China as its ‘second home.’

So, given this, readers might be surprised to learn that there’s only one European manufacturer in the top ten list of cars.

That maker is indeed VW, whose Lavida was the third best selling model in China in 2017, and Sagitar was tenth.

The Lavida is only available in China, and the Sagitar shares a number of similarities with the Jetta platform in use in other countries.

Other foreign manufacturers in the top ten include Nissan and Toyota of Japan whose Sylphy and Corolla models were in fifth and ninth places respectively.

Buick of the USA built the popular Excelle, which was the fourth best selling car on the list.

It’s important to note that the Chinese partners of all of these firms, such as SAIC, FAW, and Geely, have an equal role to play in the success of their models.