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NEWS
Ford and Toyota argue the toss on No1 status
Who's No1 – Focus or Corolla? It's all down to how you word the claimA minor bunfight of sorts has erupted over the past few days between Toyota and Ford, with each manufacturer claiming No1 global-seller status for the Corolla and Focus respectively.
The debate has ensued in the wake of data released by US-based industry statistician R.L. Polk & Co, which shows the Focus notched up 1,020,410 global sales in 2012, making it the top-selling nameplate in the world.
However, Toyota has refuted this claim, arguing that its Corolla outsold the Focus, with 1,160,764 of the vehicles finding new homes in 2012. The sticking point in this claim is that not all of these vehicles were strictly marketed as Corollas, since the model (and derivates of it), wear multiple badges around the world.
For example, Polk didn't count the Japanese market Corolla Rumion, which we know as the Rukus. Any Corolla-based model with a two-word model name was excluded from the count, even if one of those words happened to be 'Corolla'. According to the Polk data, therefore, the Corolla notched up 872,774 sales in 2012.
For its part Toyota claims its figure doesn't include Corolla-based models such as the Auris hatchback (which is sold as a Corolla in Australia anyway) and the Auris hybrid sold in Europe, Japan, Africa and Central and South America. In all, the Toyota figure reportedly excludes 172,730 Corolla platform siblings, including the Matrix and Scion xB hatchback sold in North America; the Verso wagon sold in Japan, Africa and South America; the Rukus sold throughout the South Pacific; and the E'Z minivan sold in China.
Polk is sticking with its argument that the Focus is indeed the No1 selling nameplate globally, as Ford “didn't include any rebadged vehicles, platform derivatives or nameplate versions”. But the total sales numbers for Focus apparently included older (second-generation) models selling alongside the current (third-gen) Focus in the US and China – on two different platforms.
Polk’s figures are based on new-vehicle registrations from 80-plus countries and represent 97 percent of global new-vehicle volume, so they are believed to be an accurate indicator of worldwide automotive sales.
Technically, the Focus is still the best-selling nameplate, although Toyota isn’t necessarily wrong either in claiming it has the best-selling vehicle. It all depends on how you define the ‘best-selling’ car, or whether you even care about such chest-beating. The fact remains that both models are clearly faring well globally, with the Focus benefiting from strong gains in the US and Chinese markets.
And the Blue Oval also nailed down third and sixth spots respectively with the F Series (the world’s best-selling pick-up) and Fiesta respectively, reflecting the company’s strong resurgence following the GFC.
Top 10 nameplates in 2012 (Polk data)
| Pos | Model | Units sold |
| 1 | Ford Focus | 1,020,410 |
| 2 | Toyota Corolla | 872,774 |
| 3 | Ford F Series | 785,630 |
| 4 | Wuling Zhiguang | 768,870 |
| 5 | Toyota Camry | 729,793 |
| 6 | Ford Fiesta | 723,130 |
| 7 | VW Golf | 699,148 |
| 8 | Chevrolet Cruze | 661,325 |
| 9 | Honda Civic | 651,159 |
| 10 | Honda CR-V | 624,982 |
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Written byGautam Sharma
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