How many cars did these manufacturers sell in 2021?

BMW probably sold 2,659 cars in the time it’s taken you to read this, but for Alpine this figure represents something huge: it’s 74.1 per cent more than the total volume of cars it shifted in 2020. Plus, it kinda only makes like, one car – the A110. Various guises of course, but fundamentally, one car.

On home turf in France where the bulk of its cars were sold, the numbers are even more striking – a massive 117.5 per cent increase over 2020, while in the UK, Alpine shifted 202 cars, marking a 92.4 per cent increase.

If you really want to stand out with an Alpine, head over to Estonia, Finland, Lebanon or Lithuania, where each territory sold one Alpine each. Now that’s rare.

Despite the challenges posed by 2021, like global chip shortages and supply issues and empty toilet roll and pasta aisles (hey, it matters), Audi delivered just 0.7 per cent fewer cars last year than in 2020.

Indeed, the carmaker reported a whopping 57.5 per cent increase in EVs over 2020 – that’s 87,894 electric cars. China was the biggest overall market (701,289 cars), while in Europe, Audi UK (117,993) outsold France (50,383), Italy (55,005) and Spain (34,767), coming in second behind Germany (180,883). Audi USA shifted 196,038 cars last year.

Believe it or not, Bentley’s second record sales year, with a huge 31 per cent increase in 2021 over 2020. And the best-selling Bentley last year was the… that’s right, Bentayga SUV. (One in five Bentaygas sold last year were hybrid, too.)

The Americas and China bought just over half of all new Bentleys sold last year. The Bentayga accounted for 40 per cent of sales last year, while the Conti GT took up 33 per cent. If your head is already spinning from many numbers, go off and listen to a Conti GT3 at full chat.

Amazingly, BMW reported a 9.1 per cent increase in sales over 2020, which gave it its highest ever sales figures in history. As an entity including Mini and Rolls-Royce, BMW Group shifted just over 2.5m cars worldwide.

BMW sold 103,855 fully-electric cars, a whopping 133.2 per cent increase over 2020, and 163,542 M cars – a 13.4 per cent increase – thanks to the new M3 and M4 (we won’t mention Ms X5 and X6).

BMW does bikes too, remember? 2021 was Motorrad’s best ever year, with 194,261 units sold – 14.8 per cent over 2020. The 1250 GS did 60k on its own.

From ‘Fast Seats’, to ‘that brand with a badge that looks like a holiday tattoo’, to a '189.4 per cent sales increase versus 2020', Cupra’s rise is stellar. The company shifted 79,300 cars last year, the best-seller unsurprisingly the Formentor SUV (56,400).

And the Cupra Born electric car – which only went on sale in the UK in December – has already clocked up 3,300 sales.

Good news! A brand dear to TopGear.com’s heart saw modest – but still positive – growth in 2021 versus 2020. Over half a million cars worldwide means 3.1 per cent more, despite, as you’ll be well aware, “setbacks caused by the pandemic and the electronic components crisis”.

The big hitter? The Dacia Sandero! That shifted 226,825 cars across the world, with the Duster coming in second place with 186,001 cars shifted. The Spring, Logan and Lodgy all did mid-to-late twenty ks, while in the ‘others’ column, we’re told 47 cars were sold.

A bumper year for Maranello - 22.3 per cent up - driven mostly by its V8 supercars. Overall Ferrari shipped 2,036 more cars last year than it did in 2020, "driven by the F8 family, together with the Ferrari Roma and the SF90 Stradale". Production of the V12s dropped by 16.1 per cent year-on-year however, thanks mainly to the 812 Superfast being phased out. Portofino M and the SF90 Spider were apparently in the "ramp up phase" during 2021, and "deliveries of the Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2 were higher compared to the prior year, in line with planning, and reaching the end of production".

Regions across the globe reported healthy increases, but in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan the growth was astronomical - 97.1 per cent up.

We should be seeing results later this month, so check back soon.

No global figures as of yet, but Honda US reported a 8.9 per cent increase over 2020’s sales, shifting 1,466,630 cars and trucks. In fact mostly trucks – 812k of that 1.4m. Woah.

Hyundai’s announcement about its 2021 sales figures notes that it was achieved “despite the ongoing pandemic and supply chain issues”. And so a 3.9 per cent increase over sales in 2020 doesn’t look too shabby.

Outside Korea, sales rose seven per cent (3,164,143), while in its home country they actually dropped by 7.7 per cent (726,838). In the UK, Hyundai shifted 69,680 cars – its best ever year – with the Tucson the second-most popular ‘S2-C’ segment car across the land. Demand for the Ioniq 5 also “surged late in the year”. Good car, that.

Another strong performance from the Koreans, with a 6.5 per cent increase over 2020. The Sportage SUV was the biggest selling Kia of 2021 (363,630), and the brand is targeting 3.15m cars to shift this year. No pressure then, EV6.

Sant’Agata had its best ever year on record in 2021, with a 13 per cent increase in sales over 2020’s numbers. And yet again, it’s the SUV that led the – ahem – charge: the Urus accounted for 5,021 Lambos sold last year, followed by the Huracán (2,586), and finally Aventador (798). America was the biggest market, followed by China, Germany, UK and then Italy.

Still, if the Urus means we get more cars like the Huracán STO, we’re all in.

A relative handful compared to some of the big hitters on this page, but for the Hethel carmaker this represents monumental growth. That figure of 1,710 cars represents a 24 per cent increase compared to how many cars Lotus shifted in 2020 (1,378). Furthermore, it's the biggest global total since 2011, which is frankly amazing.

2021 was of course the year production of Lotus's triumvirate of icons finished. We waved goodbye to Mssrs Elise, Evora and Exige; unsurprising then, that the biggest seller for Lotus last year was the Elise in Sport 240 Final Edition and Cup 250 Final Edition guise. A future classic, clearly.

Territories across the globe reported massive sales bumps - the UK for example, sold 29 per cent more Lotuses last year than in 2020 - though nothing trumps USA/Canada, which rose 111 per cent year on year.

No pressure then, Emira...

So now you’ve just realised that of the Big Three German Carmakers, BMW outsold both Audi and Mercedes, the latter squeaking in at just over two million cars sold globally. That’s five per cent less than 2020, a result of – again – the semiconductor shortage affecting the supply chain.

However, there were some strands to pull out. Much like its competitors, Merc saw a massive increase in sales of its electrified cars – 227,458 units (a 69.3 per cent increase over 2020). Sales of the S-Class rose by 40 per cent (mostly thanks to China), G-Class sales were up, and AMG shifted 145,979 cars, a rise of 16.7 per cent over 2020.

Oh, and Maybach sold 15,730 cars, which is a 50.7 per cent rise over 2020. In China alone, they’re shifting more than nine hundred a month…

Another increase for a BMW Group company, with Mini reporting a 3.3 per cent rise in sales over 2020. Just under a fifth of all Minis sold were electrified, we’re told, while one in 10 were fully electric.

No word yet, but watch this space…

Bit of a dip for Renault over 2020 – the brand recorded a 6.7 per cent decline last year. France was still the company’s biggest market though, with 393,688 cars sold, followed by Germany, Russia, Brazil and India.

The UK saw sales of 50,554 cars in 2021, and much like a few of the other big hitters on this page, recorded a healthy increase in sales of hybrid and fully-electric cars – Renault reports a 52 per cent sales increase in Europe, versus 2020.

While Cupra enjoyed a record year, Seat itself suffered a decline, if only marginally. The brand sold 391,200 cars in 2021, a two per cent dip versus 2020; the firm points to the well-documented semiconductor shortage as a reason.

Still, its top three big hitters were the Arona (106,900), Ibiza (95,800), and Leon (87,700), and curiously, Germany was the company’s biggest market (73,300 cars sold), followed closely by Spain (70,800) and then the UK (43,000).

Surprisingly, an SUV wasn’t the biggest seller for Skoda last year – it was the Octavia, head-and-shoulders above everything else with 200,800 cars sold. The Kamiq was the second-best selling Skoda of 2021 with 120,700, while the Karoq finished just behind on 119,200 units. A car outselling an SUV. At least some things make sense.

Otherwise it’s a 12.6 per cent global decline over 2020 for Skoda, the biggest hit taken in China (down 58.8 per cent). Germany was the number one market for Skodas, if you’re interested.

As stats go, a 185 per cent increase over the year before is a nice one to throw down. Polestar shifted 29k cars last year across the globe. Bear in mind that it basically makes two things: a £140k hybrid coupe and a five-door electric crossover for just over £40k.

A record-breaking year for Porsche, as Stuttgart sold over 300k cars last year, an 11 per cent increase over 2020. What pandemic, huh?

Naturally, it was the SUVs that shifted the most, the Macan taking the title of ‘best-selling Porsche of 2021’ with 88,362, followed by the Cayenne (83,071). The Taycan actually outsold the 911 – the former with 41,296 units sold, versus 38,464 for the rear-engined icon.

Mssrs 718 Boxster and Cayman totalled 20,502 sales, while the Panamera recorded 30,220 units. America was the market with the biggest gain over 2020 (22 per cent more), while around 40 per cent of all Porsches sold in 2021 were electrified.

Guess what. Another BMW Group company, another record year. 2021 was Rolls-Royce’s best ever, the iconic British carmaker reporting a massive 48.7 per cent increase over 2020. China, the Americas and Asia-Pacific all reported record sales, while RR tells us Ghost and Cullinan – along with all the Black Badge cars – were the big hitters.

Oh, and bespoke commissions were at ‘record levels’. Keep a keen eye out on the roads…

No word from the Supergroup that comprises Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Citroen, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Peugeot and Vauxhall/Opel yet, so check back soon.

Record year for Tesla. That figure of just under one million cars represents 87 per cent more than the company delivered in 2020 (499,647). You want a picture of growth? In 2017, Tesla delivered 103,181 cars.

The bulk of last year's metal was taken up by Models 3 and Y which accounted for just over 911k cars, the rest being Models S and X of course.

We won't see any new cars from Tesla this year, though. Musk said the Cybertruck and Roadster would probably arrive in 2023, while 2022's focus is on developing the 'Optimus' humanoid robot. Yep, you read that right.

Nothing so far, so check back soon.

Slight dip for VW in 2021, selling 8.1 per cent fewer cars than it shifted in 2020 (5,328,100). The biggest hit was China – down 14.8 per cent – though North America shifted 13 per cent more (206,300).

The company pointed to the ongoing semiconductor shortage as an issue, though noted an order backlog of 543k cars in Europe alone – of which 95k were ID models – that shows “demand for Volkswagen vehicles continues to be very high”. 

Like the other big hitters on this page, sales of EVs saw a healthy rise – 7.5 per cent of total deliveries in 2021, up from 4 per cent the year before – with the most popular car the ID.4. SUVs of course, make up the lion’s share – 40 per cent of all VWs sold in 2021 – which is up from the year before (34.8 per cent).

A final line from VW? “Nevertheless, the Golf held onto its top position as the best-selling car in Germany in 2021.” Of course.

The headline figure is 5.6 per cent year on year, but more interestingly, the number of people who bought a Volvo online in 2021 rose by 316 per cent versus 2020. Probably something in this whole 'internet' thing, huh.

Anyhoo, the best-selling Volvo of 2021 was the XC60 (215,635, up from 2020), followed by the XC40 (201,037) and the XC90 (108,231). And nearly 40 per cent of all new Volvos sold in December 2021 were ‘Recharge’ models – electrified, basically.