Best selling cars in the world revealed

It’s the most popular car in the world, selling more than half a million already this year, but you won’t see it on Australian roads. This is why.

Ford F-150 is America’s and the world’s most popular vehicle.

There is one big truck to rule them all.

In Australia the new car market is dominated by the Toyota HiLux, but globally the super-sized Ford F-Series pick-up truck is the number one selling vehicle.

The giant utility is the big brother to the Ford Ranger, but most Aussie would have never heard of, let alone seen, the American pick-up as it does not roam the streets down under.

But despite the F-Series persona non grata status in Australia it is the most popular new car in the world selling more than half a million examples so far this year according to data compiled by automotive market analysts Jato.

The staggering volume that Ford sells its big truck is almost equal to the total amount of vehicles sold in Australia during the first half of this year.

Australia’s favourite vehicle the HiLuxes was only the 39th best selling vehicle while the Ford Ranger failed to crack the top 50 list.

Ford has no plans to bring the big truck to Australia any time soon. However, the interest for American-style pick-ups is there, both Ram and Chevrolet now sell its F-Series rivals down under via local right-hand drive converters.

Local favourite: Toyota is set to launch its next-generation Corolla in Australia

Second place is held by the Toyota Corolla with global sales of more than 478,000. The Japanese small car is a familiar face to Australian buyers and is the current best selling passenger vehicle in the country.

However, the Mazda3 and Hyundai i30 — Australia’s other favourite small cars — are nowhere to be seen.

European favourite: The VW Golf has a far bigger following overseas.

The world’s next most popular vehicle is the Volkswagen Golf (357,000), which has remained dominant — especially in Europe — despite the brand’s widely publicised diesel emissions scandals.

Toyota’s Rav4 was the best selling SUV, the Japanese high-rider knocked off the Nissan X-Trail as the world’s most popular SUV.

Family hauler: The Toyota RAV4 is the world’s most popular SUV.

In Australia the Rav4 and X-Trail are both out sold by the Mazda CX-5.

Mazda, while popular in Australia, is a small player in the global automotive market. Only two models the CX-5 (21) and 3 (38) were among the 50 best selling vehicles in the world.

Honda has had a stellar year with three vehicles in the top 10 list: The Honda Civic (413,000) was fourth, Honda CR-V (339,000) was eighth and the Honda HR-V (335,000) was the ninth best selling model.

The Renault-Nissan alliance was the biggest selling automotive group in the world, accounting for 12 per cent of vehicle sales. Sales for both brands are declining in Australia.

The alliance out sold Toyota, GM and the Volkswagen Group.