Ford Focus is the word’s best-selling car
Somewhere in Ford’s headquarters a room has been cleared out to make room for all the high-fiving that must be going on there. The tallies are in, and according to Polk’s annual vehicle-registration review, Ford sold 1,020,410 Focus’s worldwide in 2012, which makes it the best-selling vehicle nameplate in the world. But that isn’t the only flattering news Polk gave the blue oval this year.
The Ford Fiesta also topped the list as the best-selling subcompact car globally, with 723,130 registrations last year. As we’ve come to expect, the mighty F-150 cracked the top ten and climbed to the number 3 spot among all vehicles sold worldwide with 785,630 truck registrations. And yes, it’s still the best-selling pickup in America 36 years running.
If that weren’t enough to make Alan Mulally blush, Ford also earned top honors for both overall loyalty to manufacturer and make in Polk’s 2012 Automotive Loyalty Awards for the third consecutive year. Polk determines loyalty when a household that owns a new vehicle “returns to market” and buys or leases another new vehicle of the same - you guessed it - model or make. From Polk:
“A Polk analysis attributes Ford’s owner loyalty success this year to its shorter product refresh cycles, a customer-focused lease end process and the company’s competitive product lineup across most vehicle segments.”
Personally, I attribute a good portion of Ford’s continued success in both customer loyalty and Focus sales to the example being set by my father. In the last decade he’s bought a grand total of four Ford Focus’s with cold hard cash:
1. 2004 Ford Focus sedan (For commuting)
2. 1994 Ford Focus wagon (A work-truck alternative)
3. 1996 Ford Focus sedan (My little brother’s first car)
4. 2006 Ford Focus wagon (To replace the ’94 wagon (RIP))
Curiously enough, his only pickup is a 1977 GMC ¾-ton crew cab lovingly dubbed “The Wonder Truck”.
Go figure.
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