Mac’s Motor City Garage takes a look at the most popular cars in China, now the world’s largest market. The results may surprise you.

First, thanks to the people at ChinaAutoWeb, who compiled the stats used here.

Here’s one obvious takeaway about the best-selling cars in China: They’re not all that terribly different from the roster of sales leaders in American or Europe. If you were expecting a field dominated by oh, say, teensy city cars, you’d be wrong. The market is led by well-appointed compact sedans as China’s rapidly expanding middle class turns away from cheap people-movers and embraces conspicuous consumption with the rest of us.

One key difference, however: In contrast to the USA, in China the top 10 sellers are three-box sedans, besting SUVs, vans, and crossovers by a comfortable margin. Another: Japanese manufacturers are notably absent from China’s top ten, as industrial and political relations between the two countries remain strained.

China’s most popular car once again in 2012 was the Buick Excelle GT, with sales  of over 277,000 units. Based on GM’s global Delta II platform (Opel Astra, Chevy Volt, etc.) the Excelle is essentially the same car Americans know as the Buick Verano, but with smaller Ecotec 1.6L and 1.8L fours instead of the Michigan version’s 2.0L and 2.4L engines.  2012 Buick Excelle GT 

Including the Excelle, Shanghai General Motors (a joint venture of GM and China’s SAIC Motor) had three vehicles in the top 10 in 2012. Second with 262,000 units was the Chevy Sail sedan, a China-specific model powered by Daewoo-derived 1.2L and 1.4L S-TEC engines.  (The Sail’s market was just expanded to India.) The familiar-to-us Chevy Cruze holds down sixth place with 232,000 sales. 2012 Chevrolet Sail Sedan 

Volkswagen, China’s leading auto manufacturer all told, garnered five positions in the top 10 in 2012. In the China market, VW is actually represented by two different manufacturing entities: FAW-Volkswagen, a joint venture between VW and FAW, First Automobile Works; and Shanghai Volkswagen, a partnering of VW and SAIC Motor. All transplant manufacturers operating in China are joint ventures with native companies, the Chinese government tolerating no carpetbaggers. Shanghai VW’s sales leader in 2012 was the Lavida, a China-only product based on VW’s PQ34 platform, while the two current favorites manufactured by FAW-VW are the Jetta and Bora. Volkswagen Lavida

The two remaining spots in the top 10 for 2012 are held down by Beijing Hyundai, which is (you guessed it) a joint venture between Korean automaker Hyundai and Beijing Automotive Group. Its two leading sellers are the Elantra Yuedong, a locally flavored variation of the global Elantra, and the Verna, known to us Yankee imperialist running dogs as the Accent. Hyundai Elantra Yuedong

One more player in the Chinese sales sweepstakes is the Ford Focus, manufactured locally by Changan Ford. However, it didn’t make the top 10 due to a wrinkle in the ranking system, which breaks sedans and hatchbacks into two groups. Counted as one, the Focus would easily jump into one of the top slots with 296,000 units.

It’s all fairly standard fare, really—there’s not a whole lot here that Americans haven’t seen before. To add some variety to the survey, we’ve added some less familiar China-market cars to the gallery below.