(By Tom Lohnes) – 2021 was not a good year at all for car sales. Between $10,000 markups on Kia Sorentos and even a Toyota RAV4 PHEV being listed for sale at $96,000, it is needless to say things were rough. But, for some companies, things surprisingly went great. Here’s a few surprising sales statistics from 2021.
Mercedes-Benz G-class, 41,174 units
The G Wagen is not a new vehicle. Starting in the 1970’s the G-class had humble beginnings as a military vehicle, but eventually came to be the luxury off-roader we all know and love today. Spanning nearly 50 years and only 2 generations, the G has never had a better sales year than 2021. At 41,174 vehicles delivered, it nearly doubled the sales of the soon-to-be-gone Chevrolet Camaro, everyone’s second favorite modern muscle car.
Bentley (whole company), 14,659 units
The best sales year of the British company’s entire 103-year history, 2021 was a fantastic year for Bentley. Of the nearly 15,000 units sold, approximately 40% was the Bentayga SUV. The new-for-2021 Hybrid version got approximately 1/5 of that 40%. The second best-seller was of course the Flying Spur sedan, and the ultra-low-volume Continental GT coupe is of course last. Also, the $1.5 million Bacalar accounted for exactly 15 of those 14,659 cars.
Dodge Viper, 4 units
After being discontinued in 2017, everyone scrambled to get some of the last new Vipers available. Well, I guess enough people didn’t, because Dodge somehow sold 4 brand new Vipers in 2021. With an 8.4-liter V10, 645hp, a 6-speed manual, and a thing for punishing stupid people, the Viper is a true driver’s car. If you don’t want a Viper but also want a dead car that still has a warranty, Dodge also sold 10 “new” darts. Weird.
” New” Vipers and Darts? WTF??? Get on this BS !