Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Is Ford's Focus really the world's best-selling car this year?

Last week, Ford boasted that the Ford Focus was the best-selling car in the world through the first half of 2012, but Toyota fired right back claiming its compact sits in the top spot. Which automaker is correct? Well, both. Kind of.

Ford says that the Ford Focus has sold 489,616 units through June compared to 462,817 for the Toyota Corolla, and it even hired an independent firm, IHS Automotive, to calculate the sales figures. And this is where things get confusing. See, Ford sells the Focus globally under one name, but the Toyota Corolla is also sold with different body styles that carry different names... and IHS Automotive's sales figure for Toyota does not include these models. As a counterpoint to the Focus hatchback, the Corolla is also available in a five-door form carrying the Toyota Matrix and Toyota Auris names, while the Corolla Fielder is Toyota's station wagon alternative to the Ford Focus Estate. The Scion xB is sold in Australia as the Corolla Rumion.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, Toyota says that its Corolla-based models accounted for 603,840 through the same six-month period Ford claims its Focus was the top seller. Breaking the numbers down even further, Toyota says that the Auris and Corolla alone have managed 524,000 sales globally which is still more than Ford's Focus sales. In the U.S., the Focus has sold 147,877 units through July while the Corolla has sold 175,366 (including the Matrix).

Like a political debate, the numbers can probably be skewed in anyone's favor, and it should be just as fun to watch as the old General Motors and Toyota "we're the biggest in the world" arguments where each automaker found some obscure brand in its portfolio to add in a few thousand extra units. Regardless of which car actually hold the current top spot, though, what is for certain is that these are the two hottest cars in the world.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/04/i...car-this-year/

chikoo

Toyota lost.
Ford FTW.

That is how numbers are counted. That is why the iphone is the largest selling smartphone, even though Sam(e)sung android models sell more combined.

mmarshall

This is why it's sometimes silly, IMO, for automakers to jiggle and play games with numbers. of course, it does sometmes make for good talking and discussion/debate-points.

One thing that does surprise me about the new Focus, though, is how well Ford managed to get big sales numbers even on the American-market version, with its unrefined twin-clutch transmisson and the hard-to-use Ford SYNC/MYTouch systems. Both have been well-known complaints in the auto-media....yet customers still keep buying the Focus.

Toys4RJill

Does not shocked me at all that Corolla lost the crown. With Toyota's really poor redsign/refresh in 2008, it really leaves one wanting more than what the current Corolla offers.

TRDFantasy

Toyota lost by name yes. If they had grouped all variants under Corolla name, then it's not even close. Still impressive that Corolla sedan alone almost matched sales of ALL Focus variants.

mmarshall

How? The Corolla has always been about simplicity, durability, economy, reliability, and easy-to-use controls. The current model stays true to that philosophy.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Ford wins in aesthetics too

T0ked

iTrader: (2)

Ford loses. Sorry. In the US, where we can compare name to name, Ford loses. In the worldwide market, you have to compare the different names the Corolla is sold under. Then, Ford loses. If it were the other way around, I'm sure Ford would be counting all different names their model was being sold under. Sad when you have to play with numbers this way.

Toys4RJill

I agree, the Focus looks better. The Corolla design has been on the market since 2006 as is dated.