Ford Focus tops global sales
For second year in a row, it’s the global car sales champ
For a second year in a row, it’s the world’s best-selling vehicle,
What was the best-selling vehicle in the world in 2012?
Americans might say a Ford F-Series pickup, since it’s the perpetual top seller in the U.S. Others, recognizing their international appeal, might say it’s a Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic.
It’s not. The world’s best-selling car nameplate for a second year running is Ford Focus. More than a million were sold in 2012, up from 879,914 in 2011, says Ford Motor, citing data from research service R.L. Polk. No. 2, also for a second year, is the Corolla, a perennial leader that formerly topped the list.
Toyota, not surprisingly, wants a recount. It says that by its methodology, Corolla was No. 1 in 2012 with sales of 1,160,764. Toyota’s total includes the Corolla sedan (90% of volume), along with Corolla variants such as the Corolla Altis, Corolla Axio, Corolla Wagon, Corolla Fielder and Corolla Rumion models. It does not include derivative models, such as the Scion xB, that don’t have a Corolla badge.
Toyota says it is in contact with Polk to see how they arrived at a Corolla global sales figure nearly 300,000 fewer than its total.
Only after those two then comes Ford F-Series trucks. Others in the top 10 — such as Toyota Camry, Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Golf and Chevrolet Cruze — underscore how global the auto industry has become.
The only vehicle on the list that’s likely unknown to most Americans is a Chinese family hauler in fourth place, the Wuling Zhiguang, made by a joint venture of General Motors and China’s SAIC and Wuling.
The Focus’ success appears to validate Ford’s “One Ford” global strategy of designing, engineering, building and marketing the same vehicles with the same names in all markets.
CEO Alan Mulally has repeated it like a mantra since he joined the company in 2006. Mulally found a composite of regional products and business practices, then spent years changing Ford so Focus is built the same way at a plant anywhere in the world in order to save money from economies of scale.
A car known by a single name anywhere in the world reduces cost and can boost brand equity. “As companies build more vehicles locally, around the world, they are using a global name. Even in countries like China they are not changing model names as much,” said Haig Stoddard, industry analyst at Wards Auto.
Michael Robinet, managing director of IHS Consulting, said a single name helps in emerging markets. “With the impact of the Internet and name awareness, there are definitely economies of scale and the ability to build brand equity around the world,” Robinet said. “When you pick a name that is universally accepted, like Focus or Corolla or Fiesta or Beetle, it reduces marketing costs.”
Chevrolet Cruze, for example, bears the same name everywhere but Australia, where General Motors sells under the Holden brand, GM spokesman Klaus-Peter Martin said. But even there, it is the Holden Cruze.
Chrysler revived the Cherokee name for a new generation of what was the Jeep Liberty in the U.S., in part because Liberty was sold elsewhere in the world as a Cherokee.
Even Ford still has naming discrepancies to address. In Europe, the Ford Escape is sold as the Kuga, and the Fusion is sold as the Mondeo. But executives are considering single names in the future.
Ford sales analyst Erich Merkle said the Focus is particularly strong in the U.S. and China. Ford sold almost 246,000 in the U.S. last year, up 40%, and it was the 11th-best-selling vehicle in the U.S.
China now accounts for one in four Focus sales. Consumers there can buy a more affordable Focus “classic” (the last-generation Focus) or the costlier current model. Ford invested $490 million in Chongqing to build the current Focus.