Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Ford Focus was best-selling nameplate in 2012

Last August, Ford made a few waves by claiming that the Ford Focus was, at that point, the top-selling car in the world. The automaker failed to account for variations of the Toyota Corolla wearing a different name (such as the Auris and Matrix), however. With official data from Polk coming in now, Ford is able to say that the Focus was, in fact, the best-selling nameplate in the world last year.

Using new-car registrations (which doesn't factor in fleet sales), the Polk data shows that a total of more than one million Focus models around the world. Strong sales in the US and China have led to a 16 percent increase in year-over-year Focus sales from 2011 that helped to create even more of a gap between it and the second-best global seller, the Corolla.

Ford also had the Fiesta and F-Series listed in the top 10 for worldwide nameplates, but what's even more impressive is the fact that the F-Series is only sold in North America.

Rank Make Model 2012 2011
1.............Ford...............Focus...............1,020,410..........879,914
2.............Toyota...........Corolla.............872,774.............819,376
3............. Ford...............F-Series...........785,630............713,657
4............. Wuling...........Zhiguang.........768,870............729,328
5.............Toyota............Camry...............729,793...........558,800
6............. Ford................Fiesta................723,130...........764,415
7............. VW..................Golf ...................699,148............716,358
8............. Chevrolet...... Cruze................661,325...........606,825
9............. Honda.............Civic.................651,159...........606,825
10........... Honda........... .CR-V................624,982............507,353

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/04/09/f...plate-in-2012/

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Well done Blue Oval, well done

spwolf

Does Autoblog think that cars sold to fleets dont get registered? They drive around without license plates? Interesting.

spwolf

also, they are missing some 200k sales for Corolla... they are probably just counting "nameplate" so they dont count Auris for instance, which is Corolla Hatchback.

Here are correct numbers:
http://bestsellingcarsblog.com/2013/...elling-models/

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Apparently the Wuling Zhiguang/Hongtu/Sunshine is a microvan from what info I could find on this "best selling nameplate"

spwolf

yes, it is best selling minivan in china, very cheap... in fact, thats another nice story - GM counts it into their 9 million sales, which some dispute as they dont own 50% of the company, but lesser share :-)

Individual

iTrader: (7)

I guess it's true since I have noticed many of the new Focus' on the road lately.

edgeucated

iTrader: (4)

I am going to side with Autoblog on this one. I think most people rather see sales number without the inflation from fleet vehicles. This is a better indication of which car sold well base upon consumer opinions.

fleet sales are just due to the best deal a manufacturer gives a company IMO, it does not represent how good a car truly is

mmarshall

I don't really find the current American-spec Focus that impressive, although, of course, it is a marked improvement over the last-generation American-spec Focus. The last Focus sold here (which was markedly different from the Euro-spec one), though fairly reliable, was essentially an unrefined tin can that drove like an appliance. Still, the (current) new American-spec Focus, though now with an enthusiast-worthy chassis, needs some more work. The dual-clutch automatic is sluggish starting out and at low speeds, the center-dash stying, IMO, is odd and busy, the interior-trim level is not as well-done as its primary Chevy Cruze competitor, and the SYNC/Ford MyTouch systems are a major source of customer-complaints.

TF109B

Toyota denies Ford's Focus was "#1"- story here http://finance.yahoo.com/news/toyota...073058115.html

TRDFantasy

This headline is a joke, and Ford should be ashamed of themselves for resorting to such desperately misleading media attention. Forget the fleet data, this data excludes several Corolla variants.

The Auris is actually sold as a Corolla in some countries, while being called an Auris in other markets. At the end of the day it's still a Corolla. Same thing with the Scion xB, it's a Corolla Rumion in other markets and a Toyota Rukus in some markets as well. Additionally Toyota counts the Matrix as part of Corolla sales.

Also that Yahoo page you linked to TF109B is partially incorrect as well. All of the missing Corolla variants are sold under the Corolla name in some markets, but not in other markets.

spwolf

they are not correct, so there is nothing to side with Autoblog... for some reason they think fleet cars dont get license plates or something stupid as that... this counts all sales, including fleet sales. Focus is huge fleet car and their numbers would probably be half of this without "fleet"...

so I was just complaining about their idiotic remarks on how fleet cars apperantly dont get license plates.

TF109B

So is not wrong, you say so yourself. They're counting cars sold under the Corolla name like the Toyota spokesman said. The fact that its the same car under another name means the sales could be even bigger.

STIG

Either way, it doesn't look good for Ford. Their all new Focus is fighting a spot for a "mediocre" Corolla which has not been updated for about 68 years, at least in NA market. should be interesting when all new Corolla is out.

spwolf

well, thats wrong way to do it, and many analyists agree... Cars are same, you can call them whatever name you like.

Ford does this all the time, thats why their stock value is crap, they might be fooling Reuters and EPA, but they are not fooling anlyists and investors.