The downturn Sweden experienced hit car sales hard. It seemed to hit Volvo less as its market share climbed, then fell back again as things improved. VW consolidated its position as the decade passed and Saab got to a comfortable third.
The economic slump of the 90's was the worst since the 30's. Restructuring of the economy steadied the ship and things started to improve. Total sales hit a low of 124,500 in 1993, but were back to 295,000 by 1989. Volvo's sales - while not back to late 80's numbers - improved markedly.
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| The S80 was a move to a more streamlined look |
| Yr | 1st | Sales | % | 2nd | Sales | % | 3rd | Sales | % | 4th | Sales | % | % |
| 1990 | Volv | 47.6 | 21 | Ford | 23.4 | 10 | Saab | 19.5 | 9 | Opel | 19.3 | 8 | 46 |
| 1991 | Volv | 37.9 | 20 | Ford | 18.6 | 10 | Saab | 18.2 | 10 | VW | 14.9 | 8 | 48 |
| 1992 | Volv | 35.8 | 23 | Ford | 14.8 | 10 | Saab | 13.9 | 9 | VW | 12.7 | 8 | 50 |
| 1993 | Volv | 33.1 | 27 | Saab | 12.5 | 10 | Ford | 12.5 | 10 | VW | 10.7 | 9 | 55 |
| 1994 | Volv | 42.8 | 27 | Ford | 19.0 | 12 | Saab | 18.0 | 11 | VW | 13.5 | 9 | 60 |
| 1995 | Volv | 49.0 | 29 | Saab | 18.4 | 11 | Ford | 17.5 | 10 | VW | 15.5 | 9 | 59 |
| 1996 | Volv | 43.2 | 24 | VW | 20.6 | 11 | Ford | 19.1 | 11 | Saab | 15.5 | 9 | 55 |
| 1997 | Volv | 51.4 | 23 | VW | 23.5 | 10 | Ford | 22.4 | 10 | Saab | 16.8 | 7 | 51 |
| 1998 | Volv | 53.6 | 21 | VW | 32.3 | 13 | Saab | 19.6 | 8 | Ford | 18.7 | 7 | 49 |
| 1999 | Volv | 64.1 | 22 | VW | 33.2 | 11 | Saab | 26.3 | 9 | Ford | 19.3 | 7 | 48 |
Data source: Thanks to BilSweden.
For others in the series, please click on the years: 2000-13, 1980-89, 1970-79,
1960-69, and 1950-59.
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