Despite the fact that for the first time in 2009, Ford's warmly received new Fiesta hatchback managed to top the Golf VI in sales in March, overall, VW's bread-and-butter model was crowned once again king of Europe in the first quarter of the year with a total of 119,651 units (-3.9% compared to Q1 2008) versus the Fiesta's 113,576 units (+15.7% compared to Q1 2008). The Fiesta recorded a 15.5% increase in volumes in March with 52,805 vehicles sold while the Golf remained stable with a 0.1% decrease at 46,415 units.
The depressed European market, which according to Jato Dynamics' data, fell 16.9% (or 691,350 units) in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period last year, to a total of 3,401,473 units, is definitely more favorable towards smaller cars.
In March, behind the Fiesta, the top ten places were rounded off by the VW Golf, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, Peugeot 207, VW Polo, Fiat Punto, Ford Focus, Fiat Panda, Renault Clio and Opel/Vauxhall Astra.
Overall in the first quarter of 2009, the European top sellers are the VW Golf followed by the Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 207, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, Ford Focus, VW Polo, Fiat Grande Punto, Fiat Panda, Renault Clio and Opel/Vauxhall Astra.
And in case you didn't notice it, there's not a single Japanese or Korean model in the European bestselling car list...
Data: Jato Dynamics
