Should your travels bring you to Wolfsburg in the near future, do yourself a favor, don’t mention “Cologne.” Don’t say anything about “Köln.” For goodness gracious, don’t mention Ford. Even colloquialisms such as “ich mach mich fort” (“I’m outta here”) should be avoided. Any of the above would get you an icy stare at a minimum. Or a uniformed Werkschutz escort to the factory gate at Wache Sandkamp. The boys in Wolfsburg carry a deep grudge against Ford. Ford beat Volkswagen at Golf.
The Volkswagen Golf, Europe’s perennial top seller ( 5 times in 10 years,) has been kicked off the podium by the Ford Fiesta. The Fiesta is officially Europe’s best-selling car in March, even for the first quarter 2010. That according to the latest figures from JATO Dynamics, a provider of automotive data. Brought to you via a press release from, dare we say it, Cologne.
According to the figures compiled by JATO Dynamics, 68,630 Ford Fiestas were sold in March, a 25.8 percent increase from the same month last year, and almost 11,800 units ahead of its nearest rival, the Volkswagen Golf.
In the first quarter of 2010, JATO records that 140,496 Ford Fiestas were sold – over 5,400 units ahead of its nearest rival.
No fuzzy math this time. This time it’s serious.
David Di Girolamo, head of JATO Consult warns that things might change: “The last time Fiesta was ahead of Golf in European sales was March 2009, so it remains to be seen whether it can hold top position this time round.” Because, says Di Girolamo, “there remains the shade of scrappage in these figures, so we need to remain cautious.”
Scrappage? You better believe it. Germany, where the Golf rules the roost, slumped in sales in the first quarter, while Germany is weaning itself off the Abwrackprämien-addiction. All the while Italy and the UK, where the Fiesta is strong, celebrated the fiesta of the expiring scrappage incentives. Gobble, gobble: Their cold turkey is right around the corner.
Luca Ciferri, the Automotive News man in Europe, recommends to celebrate while the celebrating is good. “From April, Fiesta sales will slow down both in Italy and UK. Even though the German market will remain weak throughout 2010, the Golf will rebuild its lead comfortably.” Ciferri is a betting man:” My bet is that 2010 will again be the year of the Golf.” Ciferri didn’t say, how much he will bet.
The Top 10 of the best-selling cars and brands across Europe in March, according to JATO:
1 Ford Fiesta
2 Volkswagen Golf
3 Renault Clio
4 Vauxhall Corsa
5 Peugeot 207
6 Ford Focus
7 Vauxhall Astra
8 Volkswagen Polo
9 Fiat Punto
10 Fiat Panda
it’s a great looking car, but do they only sell it in that color?
+1
Why is it always shown in that hideous color?
That bile green color apparently appeals to the target market in the US. Pre-ordered US market Fiestas have that color choice as #1 and blue (which I ordered) as #2. Boring silver is finally fading out. In the Euro market black is the biggest seller.
It makes perfect sense. Lots of Europeans are afraid of baddies in Corvettes.
…And I bet a lot of them participate in Royal Marine amphibious assaults as well.
Damnit. You beat me to the amphibious assault reply.
Are we in the good ole’ USA ever gonna get the Fiesta two door hatch? The only hot (or not so hot) hatches in two door form in the United States are the Rabbit/Golf (I actually like the Rabbit name better) and the Hyundai Accent. I know they don’t sell in huge numbers but even at a price between the sedan and the 4door hatch, I’d buy a Fiesta one. (I’ve heard the Accent 5speed has a B&M shifter, is that true?)
The Accent SE does.
I’d buy one too……if it came in three door form.
A 2.0 Ecoboost in a three-door Fiesta would be hard to resist.
For me at least…………..
All the Fiesta fanboy sites also whine about the lack of a US 3-door. Mass market automakers do not really cater to enthusiasts but the average buyer when planning for a high-volume car. There is no 3-door Fit, Versa, Corolla or non-Si Civic either. If you look at US VW Golf/Rabbit sales, excluding the specialty GTI model, you probably find the vast majority are not 3-door. I ordered the sedan, even less of an “enthusiast” choice, because it looks better proportioned and a trunk is more useful for my needs. I think the Jetta outsells the Golf here also.
The problem with two-door cars with two rows of seats is that no one really likes them save the driver, and even then, drivers who access the rear seats regularly will loathe a two-door. This is okay in a vanity or discretionary car, but not in something practical.
Two-doors are like manual transmissions and diesel engines: enthusiasts want them, but the vast majority of the buying public wouldn’t shed a tear. Notice that sporty compacts are now coming in four- or five-door form more often than not: younger buyers no longer associate “sporty” with “irritating to get in/out of”.
Personally, I despise two-door cars, and I truly revile manufacturers who cloister their performance offerings in such an unfriendly package.
Lord forgive me for doing this, but psarhjinian +1.
If it was a 15-year stretch of unchallenged dominance, this would be a shock. But for this generation, V-dub went for evolution and Ford went with revolution, and the latter wins out for a month. I recall the Honda Accord unseating the Camry for a month during the recall madness. Whether it will outsell the Camry for the year remains to be seen.
Also FWIW I wouldn’t buy either a Fiesta or a Focus unless it came in 3-door hatchback form. Used Saturn Astra, maybe?
OK , the Fiesta was No.1 and its’ VW rival the Polo was No.8 . But then again the Golf was No.2 and its’ Ford rival the Focus was No. 6
At Its Favorite Game
Absurdly stretched headlights? I mean… Dear Lord, that thing is horrifying!
Besides the fact that the fiesta is quite a nice car, and that scrappage schemes are ending shortly and therefore there might be a “last minute run”, there also is another, yet unnamend reason for the high demand in the UK in March.
For some reason, the british license plate system (some numbers indicating the production year or sth. like that?) leads to the fact that sales in march (and september) are twice the monthly UK mean.
Maybe a UK-citizen can shed some light on that.
Anyway, its still a nice car. But its not like the Golf has been leader in europe for long. IIRC it was in the total of 2008 and 2009, but before that it used to be the 206, the astra at one time, etc. Quite diverse. I didn’t think anybody really kept track of the most sold car in europe per month or quarter. Wrong apparently. ;)
True. However, the Spring (and to a lesser extent the Fall) season is prime new car buying season in most of Europe, which pretty much hides the UK license plate effect.
The plate used to change in January , so there would be a rush of sales to get the new plate.Dealers found it hard to cope ,as we all have good christmas holidays. Plate change moved to August , but this still caused problems as so many folk are on summer holidays , and there was one big spike in sales each year . Solution ? Have two plate changes , to reduce the effect of plate snobs trying to get the latest plate.
I can understand Ford Fiesta at the top, but VW Golf?
It must be the tradition.
Golfs are nothing special and they´re horrendously overpriced.
That is one hideous shoebox.
Golfs are a full size above the Fiesta
surely this is just normal attrition
bigger car, bigger engines, more dollars for purchasing and running
polo would be a more normal competitor to the fiesta
Bertel,
Do you have the numbs for the Focus and Polo, and the 3rd place Clio?
Everyone hates on the “two door” but coupe’s are generally smaller, lighter and more aerodynamic which means that they are faster and get better gas mileage, most commuters ride alone for hours a day, I’d say a coupe makes much better sense for them.
So they are selling these in the USA already? Have not seen a SINGLE Fiesta yet. I’ve seen TWO Astras since they came out. Maybe 4 Rabbits. Maybe 5 EOS. Pretty easy to be exclusive around here (rural TN, town of 60K, regional pop of 250K and were the hub). Going to drive home via the Ford dealership and see what is on the lot. Plenty of Asian cars around here.
Fiesta comes in 3 door and 5 door bodystyles – take your pick. The Golf is a C-segment car, the Fiesta is B-seg. The Ford Focus is the direct competitor against the Golf. These figures are simply reflecting that UK (Ford’s biggest European market) are closing out on gov’t incentivised sales and to a lesser extent Italy (where Ford are also strong).
Interestingly, Ford have published data to show that people pay extra for those vibrant colours. Think it’s popular with the laydeez. Something about making a fashion statement. Clearly I don’t come from that demographic ;-)
Top 5 cars in Europe, March 2010
Ford Fiesta 68,630
VW Golf 56,845
Renault Clio 43,879
Opel/ Vauxhall Corsa 41,724
Peugeot 207 40,895