In what appears to be a fight between the east and the west, the two automotive giants, Ford and Toyota are claiming the top spot for the bestselling car on the planet. Ford on wednesday claimed that its compact car, the Focus is the bestselling car in the world with 589,709 units sold during the first six months of 2013, a significant rise of 20 percent when compared to the same period in 2012. The data was gathered on the basis of registration by the independent automotive information provider, R.L. Polk and Co.
However, challenging Ford’s claim is Toyota with the Corolla claiming the top spot with 590,760 units of the car sold throughout the globe, for the first six months of this year. Toyota continues that the Corolla hatchback is sold under the Matrix name and also cars nearly identical to the Corolla are sold under different name plates in countries outside of the U.S., which has not been taken into account, clearly out numbering the sales of the Focus.
Ford’s claim has not gone down well with Toyota, who is losing the throne to Ford for the second year in a row. The major sales for Ford currently comes from China, where the company has managed to sell over 202,380 units of the Focus in the first half of the year. The new version of the Focus has been in the market for a year and is still a new product there. The Focus managed to sell over one million units in 2012, leaving Ford assured that it will manage similar numbers this year too, while Toyota is leaving no stone unturned to emerge at the top.
Even though the Focus has been doing well globally, the sales have been stagnant in the U.S. with sales being up only one percent in September this year. The slump in sales has caused Ford to shut down production of the Focus for two weeks at its Michigan assembly plant. The Corolla hasn’t been a market friendly product either. The sales grew by five percent through September this year mostly because the all new Corolla was only recently launched in the market.
In an industry where growth of the market and dominance of a brand name gather so much importance, the fight doesn’t seem to end between the two giants, with both Ford and Toyota exploring emerging markets for its products. The Focus and the Corolla are great cars to own and live with on a day to day basis and have been recently updated with changes internally and externally.
On the Indian front, the Toyota Corolla has made a name for itself as a reliable and powerful D-segment offering for a decade, while the Ford Focus sedan will soon be launched in India. Competitors in the segment include the Chevrolet Cruze, new Skoda Octavia, Renault Fluence, Volkswagen Jetta and Hyundai Elantra.
