Ford Focus on track to be global number one

FORD is claiming its Focus small-car is the highest-selling nameplate in the world for the first half of 2013, maintaining its number one status from last year’s list.

Registration data obtained from the R.L Polk & Co. research firm confirms that Ford sold 589,709 examples of the Focus worldwide for the first half of 2013, a 20 per cent boost over the same period last year.

The Blue Oval’s hatch and sedan range topped the list in 2012 with 1,020,410 sales globally for the year, ahead of the Toyota Corolla on 872,744 units.

Ford has two vehicles in the top-five sellers, with its Fiesta light car coming in at number four with 356,434 sales to the end of June. The Fiesta finished in sixth place last year with 723,130 overall sales.

The continued growth of the Focus nameplate is due in part to its sales success in the Chinese market, where sales are up by 137 per cent. This trend is mirrored in a number of other Asian markets, with boosts in Indonesia (up 193 per cent), the Philippines and Vietnam (both up 72 per cent).

Toyota sells the Corolla under different names in different markets and the Japanese car-maker is reportedly disputing Ford’s number one status, suggesting that if all Corolla-based nameplates were counted together, it would outsell the Focus.

The Focus is a relatively new nameplate on the global stage having only been introduced in 1998, while the Corolla dates back 47 years to 1966 when the first generation model was launched.

Other nameplates featured on last year’s list included the Ford F-Series ute, Toyota Camry, Volkswagen Golf, Chevrolet Cruze, Honda Civic and CR-V.

In Australia, the Focus lags well behind the Corolla, with the Toyota often topping the overall passenger sales for the month, as it did in September.

From January to September this year, Toyota has shifted 32,039 Corollas, while the Focus has sold 15,050 units, less than half that of the Corolla despite growth in excess of 15 per cent YTD.

In fact, the Corolla looks set to take crown as the top-selling vehicle in Australia overall in 2013.

Overall, the Focus sits in fifth place in the local small car segment, behind the Corolla, the Mazda3 in second place (30,781), Hyundai i30 in third (22,499), and arch rival Holden’s locally built Cruze in fourth (19,190).