In 2002 the situation in the automotive world was simpler in our country, with popular cars dominating in sales
The Brazilian national football team has gone through a 24-year drought without being champion in the World Cup and many believe that there is a chance that this will be broken in 2026. The last time we were world champions in the Breton sport was in 2002, a year where the new car market was very different from the current one and had great news.
One of the most notable differences was the volume of sales: in 2002 1,387,499 cars were registered. As a comparison, in 2025 we had 2,485,319 units registered during the year.
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A coincidence is that the brand that most registers cars was Fiat, just like today. The second position was Volkswagen and the third was with Chevrolet, today this is the opposite. See the ranking:
| Rank | Brand | Registrations | Participation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiat | 357,427 | 25.4% | |
| Volkswagen | 346,859 | 24.7% | |
| Chevrolet | 344,152 | 24.5% | |
| Ford | 129,129 | 9.2 | |
| Renault | 61,247 | 4.4% | |
| Peugeot | 45,086 | 3.2% | |
| Toyota | 25,552 | 1.8% | |
| Honda | 21,014 | 1.5% | |
| Mitsubishi | 13,975 | 1% | |
| 10 | Mercedes-Benz | 10,148 | 0.7% |
While today the ranking of best-selling cars is taken by SUVs and a significant share of electrified cars, in 2002 the list was dominated by national compacts. The Volkswagen Gol led by far, followed by the Fiat Palio and the Chevrolet Celta.
A curious detail is that the Corsa Sedan sold more than twice as much as the hatch, as there were two different generations of the three volume in our market. Another curiosity was the Peugeot 206 in seventh position, the hatch was successful for being beautiful and for the novelty factor. It alone in 2002 sold more than the entire brand in 2025.
The best-selling medium car in 2002 was the Volkswagen Golf, with 25,177 units. See the ranking of the 30 best-selling cars of 2002:
| Rank | Car | Registrations |
|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen Gol | 190,871 | |
| Fiat Palio | 119,020 | |
| Chevrolet Celta | 97,946 | |
| Fiat Uno | 87,009 | |
| Chevrolet Corsa Sedan | 85,738 | |
| Ford Fiesta | 54,282 | |
| Peugeot 206 | 36,684 | |
| Chevrolet Corsa hatch | 33,266 | |
| Fiat Siena | 30,138 | |
| 10 | Fiat Palio Weekend | 30,000 |
| 12 | Volkswagen Golf | 25,177 |
| 13 | Volkswagen Polo | 24,891 |
| 14 | Renault Clio | 23,059 |
| 15 | Chevrolet Astra Sedan | 21,694 |
| 16 | Volkswagen Parati | 20,778 |
| 17 | Volkswagen Saveiro | 19,837 |
| 18 | Honda Civic | 19,280 |
| 19 | Chevrolet S10 | 18,857 |
| 20 | Volkswagen Santana | 18,415 |
| 21 | Ford Ka | 16,977 |
| 22 | Toyota Corolla | 15,696 |
| 23 | Chevrolet Astra hatch | 14,312 |
| 24 | Volkswagen Kombi | 14,309 |
| 25 | Renault Clio Sedan | 13,698 |
| 26 | Renault Scenic | 12,677 |
| 27 | Citroën Xsara Picasso | 12,157 |
| 28 | Chevrolet Zafira | 11,030 |
| 29 | Fiat Doblò | 9,747 |
| 30 | Ford Focus hatch | 9,681 |
The sales ranking reveals that the year 2002 was very different from what we are used to. In part this is explained by the novelties that arrived in the middle of the year, which changed sales in the following years.
Probably the most important launch of the year was the new generation of the Toyota Corolla. The medium sedan has undergone a major evolution that has changed the segment, bringing larger size and a high standard of quality.
It premiered in June featuring actor Brad Pitt as the poster boy. At the end of 2002, the Corolla closed the year 29 positions above the previous generation in the sales ranking.
Another important launch of 2002 was the Chevrolet Meriva. Minivans were the fashionable cars and this was the first compact. In addition, it was a project entirely developed in Brazil with a global proposal.
It came after the new generation of the Corsa, the second in Brazil and third globally. The car arrived in hatchback and sedan versions positioned as a premium compact, leaving the entry-level segment to the Celta and Classic.
This premium compact concept was one of the novelties in the Brazilian market in 2002. The Volkswagen Polo came with the same proposal and boasted sophistications such as electro-hydraulic steering, steering wheel with depth adjustment, automatic air conditioning and the use of laser welding in construction.
Ford, on the other hand, launched the new Fiesta for the popular segment, with no opportunity to fight directly with Corsa and Polo. The hatch debuted at the Camaçari (BA) plant, which is now owned by BYD.
The Ford Fiesta brought an innovation that didn’t catch on: the 1.0 supercharger engine. It used a mechanical compressor to bring more power to the Zetec Rocam, yielding 95 hp. It was almost the same power as the aspirated 1.6, but the novelty didn’t stick.
Fiat dedicated the year 2002 to two launches. The first was the Doblò, a van with a controversial design that was present at the premiere of the first two reality shows in the country: A Casa dos Artistas and Big Brother Brasil.
The other novelty was the Stilo, a sophisticated medium hatch that promised to bother the VW Golf. It could be equipped with an on-board computer, panoramic sunroof, eight airbags, modular rear seat, sound system with MP3, two-zone air conditioning, xenon headlights and stability control.
Despite having so many technological innovations, the Stilo used Chevrolet’s 1.8 Family 1 engine, in 8 or 16-valve versions. The Abarth sports model had the 2.4 five-cylinder shared with the Marea.
The Ford EcoSport was unveiled during the 2002 Motor Show, but its launch was postponed to the following year. The national SUV launched in the year of the cup was the Mitsubishi Pajero TR4, an updated version of the Pajero iO with improvements made in Brazil and which was successful.
On the list of minor novelties we had restyling of the Fiat Strada and Chevrolet Astra, the launch of the Volkswagen New Beetle and Ford launched the Ka Action for those who didn’t have money for the XR.
While today a medium turbodiesel pickup with less than 200 hp and 50 kgfm is called weak, in 2002 the most powerful in the segment had 135 hp and 38.2 kgfm. That title went to the Ford Ranger, which received a new 2.8 International engine with variable geometry turbo.
At the time, those looking for more performance on an average needed to look for the V6 gasoline versions. On the other hand, these old diesel engines have a simpler design than the current ones.
It was in 2002 that Nissan started producing vehicles in Brazil, with the Frontier. It started with only a double cab and used the same MWM turbodiesel engine as the Chevrolet S10, with 132 hp. Later came the single-cab version and the SV XTerra.
The segment leader at the time was the Chevrolet S10, which had no news. The Toyota Hilux still had discreet performance and received a face-lift in 2002, exclusive to South America.
Along with the renewed design, the Japanese pickup gained new engines. The aspirated 2.8 diesel gave way to a 3.0 with 90 hp, which gained a turbo version with 116 hp. It also gained a 2.7 gasoline, with 142 hp.
Above these averages there was only the Ford F-250 or the North American models that came through independent importation. Among the compacts, the fight was between Fiat Strada, Chevrolet Montana, Ford Courrier and Chevrolet Corsa Pick-Up.
Many things have changed in the Brazilian car market in the last 24 years. But now we hope that the situation of our football will also change and the sixth will come.
