The newest generation of the Ford Fiesta has become Europe’s best-selling car, pushing the Volkswagen Golf into second place in both March 2010 and year-to-date sales, according to the latest figures from JATO Dynamics.
Ford sold 68,630 Fiestas in March 2010, representing a 25.8% increase in sales over March 2009, and 11,785 more than Volkswagen’s second-placed Golf.
In the first quarter of the year (January-March), Europeans bought 140,496 Ford Fiestas (+21.7%) and 135,048 VW Golfs (+10.4%).
Beyond the Fiesta and Golf, small cars dominated the list with the best selling models in Europe in first quarter of 2010.
The most improved car in the month’s top ten was the new Opel/ Vauxhall Astra, which saw a 42.9 sales rise in March, helped greatly by a 75.9% increase in the UK, where it was the third best-selling car.
As well as securing the top spot with the Fiesta, Ford also managed to finish first in the March brand chart, with 1,818 sales more than Volkswagen, whilst also closing up the year-to-date gap to its German rival which topped the Q1 charts with 372, 205 units (+7.8%).
As for the national trends, aside from Germany that saw a hefty drop in sales in march (-26,6%) and in the first quarter (-22.8%), all other major European markets posted sales gains for both March and year-to-date 2010, compared to 2009.
Via: JATO
