Below you’ll find a list of the 10 most popular vehicles of all time and we bet there are a few surprises. However, what’s really interesting is how the list will look in another five or 10 years as a couple of cars are no longer in production and others have definitely fallen out of favour. 

For example, the Toyota RAV4 isn’t on the list, but as 2024’s most-popular car globally with 1.18 million units sold, it won’t be long before it starts climbing the lower reaches of this all-time ladder. 

Precise production figures are difficult to ascertain (and obviously a moving target given some cars sell almost 100,000 examples a month), but we’ve done our best to collate an accurate list using several sources. So, without further ado. 

10. Honda Accord – 19,500,000 approx.

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How many of you had the Honda Accord in the top 10? Liars. First introduced in 1976, Honda’s large sedan is now in its 11th generation, though its popularity is a fraction of what it once was, even being removed from sale in its native Japan due to a lack of demand. 

The US accounts for most of these sales (more than 13 million), but the Accord is a hugely important part of Honda’s history and was often a perfect example of the brand’s engineering excellence, as evidenced by its pair of Wheels’ Car of the Year wins in 1977 and 2008. 

9. Ford Escort – 20,000,000 approx. 

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Helping the Ford Escort’s position on this list is the fact that it’s a nameplate that has taken many forms over the decades. There’s the European-style Escort most will be familiar with, plenty of which were made in Australia, that existed from 1968-2004 before being replaced by the Focus. 

Then there’s the US-spec Escort that proved very successful in the 1980s and ’90s and the Chinese Escort that revived the nameplate from 2015-2023. All in all, more than 20 million examples were produced along with some of the most iconic cars of all time, including the RS1600 and RS Cosworth. 

8. Toyota HiLux – 21,000,000 approx.

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Having passed 18 million sales in 2018, we calculate that global HiLux sales are now somewhere north of 21 million, with plenty more to come thanks to the recent reveal of the ninth generation. 

First appearing in 1968, its reputation for rugged reliability has seen it prosper in some of the world’s harshest climates, including Africa, the Middle East and, of course, here in Australia.  

7. Toyota Camry – 22,000,000 approx.

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Just as bread and milk aren’t the most exciting items on most people’s shopping list, but that doesn’t stop them being popular, so the Toyota Camry has garnered more than 22 million customers since 1982. 

Ironically, though its popularity is now waning – even being discontinued in Japan – today’s Camry is one of the best ever, with plenty of space, an exceptionally frugal hybrid drivetrain and the sort of polished driving manners that haven’t always been present across its 10 generations. 

6. Volkswagen Beetle – 23,000,000 approx. 

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If you want to sell a lot of a car, keeping it in production for 65 years is a good start, the first-generation Beetle finally ceasing production in Mexico in 2003 having first been introduced in 1938, though serious production didn’t start until 1945 for, ahem, reasons. 

While the iconic original accounts for most of the total figure, the New Beetle, introduced in 1998, adds another 1.2 million and the oft-forgotten third generation another 500,000-odd between 2011-2019. 

5. Honda Civic – 28,000,000 approx. 

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Having passed 27 million units sold in 2021, we’re confident the global sales total for the Honda Civic now sits well north of 28 million, a testament to its combination of quality, fuel efficiency and reliability in a small package. 

Today’s standard Civic is a return to form, its elevated price tag justified by a premium interior, excellent dynamics and hybrid power, while the Type R is one of the most thrilling and capable front-wheel drives ever produced. 

4. Volkswagen Passat – 34,000,000 approx. 

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Success in its European homeland was one thing, but the best example of the impact the first Volkswagen Passat made was its 1974 Wheels’ Car of the Year win in rugged, big car-loving Australia. 

Across nine generations it’s consistently offered clean-cut, conservative styling – though the Giugiaro-designed original is lovely – and a premium experience for the everyman. Not the sort of car many dream about, but one that fulfils the needs of many. 

3. Volkswagen Golf – 37,000,000 approx.

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The Volkswagen Golf cemented the direction established by the Passat. A switch from rear- to front-drive, sharp Giugiaro-penned styling and a premium presentation that made it as comfortable in Melbourne as it was in Monaco or Mogadishu. 

These traits have carried across five decades and eight generations to make this humble hatchback one of the most popular cars of all time. Car of the Year trophies aren’t everything, but the fact the Golf has three (1976, 2009 and 2013) speaks volumes. 

2. Ford F-Series – 43,000,000 approx.

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The Ford F-Series is a sensation. It’s a sales sensation, passing 40 million units in January 2022, a profit sensation, its huge margins the pillar on which Ford’s financials are built, and it achieves all this without really venturing beyond its local shores. 

Introduced in 1948 and now in its 14th generation, unlike other vehicles on this list, the F-Series shows no sign of slowing down, having sold 620,580 examples in the first three quarters of 2025 alone, up 13 per cent on the previous year. 

1. Toyota Corolla – 53,000,000 approx. 

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Even so, it’s going to take Ford’s monster truck a long time to catch the humble Toyota Corolla as the most popular car in history. Despite changing tastes meaning the affordable hatch/sedan no longer fights for the annual top spot, it continues to sell more than half-a-million examples each year. 

It passed the 50 million sales mark in August 2021, an astonishing achievement, and next year the release of the 13th generation will coincide with the model’s 60th anniversary.  

While it would take more than a decade for the F-Series to overtake the Corolla even if production stopped tomorrow, perhaps it will remain around long enough for small cars to become in vogue once again. Here’s to the next 50 million.