Sweden Top 4 Brands : 1970-79

Julie Andrews discovers the Volvo 244. Quite an ugly car

The 1979s was a steady time for the top 4. The two local makes took charge, taking about 40% of the total sales. Ford, GM and VW were left fighting it out for the other two spots. The top 4's share of the total is shown at the extreme right of the chart, which remained stable.

A success story at this time in Sweden was Mazda. They entered the market in 1971 and was the 6th best selling brand by 1979. Nissan also entered around the same year and were 12th by decade's end. Japanese brands were making inroads during the 1970s.

The Saab 900. More stylish than the Volvo I must say

Total sales started the decade at 203,300 and finished at 215,300. A peak of 312,900 sales came in 1976. The chart below shows sales in thousands.

Yr	1st	Sales	%	2nd	Sales	%	3rd	Sales	%	4th	Sales	%	%
1970	Vol	53.8	26	Saab	34.8	17	Opel	23.8	12	VW	20.7	10	65
1971	Vol	51.4	26	Saab	34.1	17	VW	23.7	12	Opel	21.5	11	66
1972	Vol	56.0	25	Saab	36.1	16	VW	25.0	11	Opel	24.8	11	64
1973	Vol	59.6	26	Saab	37.5	17	VW	22.1	10	Opel	22	10	63
1974	Vol	56.9	22	Saab	41.7	16	VW	30.1	12	Opel	23.1	9	58
1975	Vol	58.1	20	Saab	44.3	16	VW	31.9	11	Ford	25.3	9	56
1976	Vol	75.4	24	Saab	39.5	13	Ford	31.9	10	Opel	31.1	10	57
1977	Vol	55.7	23	Saab	29.7	12	Ford	26.1	11	VW	22.8	9	56
1978	Vol	49.8	25	Saab	27.4	14	Ford	22.0	11	Opel	18.0	9	58
1979	Vol	55.8	26	Saab	29.8	14	Ford	22.8	11	Opel	22.1	10	66

Thanks to BilSweden for the data.

For others in the series, please click on the years: 2000-13, 1990-99, 1980-89,
1960-69, and 1950-59.