Hyundai Elantra almost beats Toyota Corolla as world's best selling car

Choose a random set of people from the streets and throw them the question "Which is the world's best selling car?". In more cases than what you would have guessed, Toyota Corolla would be the answer. The Corolla has become the definition of 'car' in many countries and has been the best selling automobile in the world for many years now. It even overtook Volkswagen Beetle recently to become the best selling car of all time. So, when another model inches ever so close to almost topple the customary global best-seller, it ought to make headlines across the globe.

As Mr. Akio Toyoda have been magnanimous enough to admit several times of being wary of, it is none other than Hyundai which is threatening Toyota's stronghold now. Agreed, 2011 has been a horrible year and a one to forget for Japanese manufacturers Toyota and Honda with the massive earthquake and tsunami causing widespread destruction and disrupting production. As if that was not enough, wild floods in Thailand crippled Toyota and Honda further. With Toyota just coming out of a huge 'recall' controversy in 2010, this is just not the right time to watch and match their performance.

But, at the same time, let us not take any credits away from Hyundai, the South Korean manufacturer that has been slowly and steadily climbing its way up the rankings and sales charts with amazing regularity over the past few years. All those efforts are now paying off, with the Elantra and Sonata models fighting their way up the order blowing the competition away. According to a report published by Forbes, the Elantra sold a massive 1.01 million units in 2011, joining an elite list of very few models that have sold more than a million units in a calendar year that includes Ford Model T, Volkswagen Beetle, Ford F Series and Toyota Corolla.

That is not all, the Elantra fell just 10,000 units short of the sales figure of Toyota Corolla. No other car in the recent past has ventured so close to the quintessential best-seller Corolla. Kudos to Hyundai for bringing out class-leading models with an impressive combination of style, features and performance that is catching the attention of the public like no other. Expect Toyota to bounce back strongly in the coming years. This is going to be a fight to watch out for. With the all-new Elantra expected to be launched here this year, we will also be having an Indian episode to witness.