Toyota Corolla to be crowned World’s Best Selling Car
The popular mid-sizer of the Japanese auto major Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Corolla is all set to secure the crown of World’s Best Selling Car by volume. The new vehicle registration data from IHS AUTOMOTIVE states Corolla as the ‘World’s best-selling vehicle model for 2013’.
The recorded number of global registrations of Corolla equals 1,098,524 units with this figure exceeding the numbers of its next rival Ford Focus by just 906 units. The sales figure comprises of not only Corolla sedan units but also its variants under ‘Corolla badge’ such as Corolla Axio, Corolla Altis, and Corolla EX 4 door sedan. The data also includes the Corolla wagons named Fielder and Rumion 5-door.
World’s Best Selling Car: The Numbers Game
Toyota’s own analysis claims that the various competitive claims for “Single Nameplate” registrations might have excluded the data for Corolla variants like Corolla Axio, Altis, EX, Fielder and Rumion, as they are marketed as Corolla sedans and wagons. The Corolla brand reached its peak in February 2014. Its cumulative global sales reached a new milestone of 40.72 million units since its introduction in 1966. This is the highest ever for any car models in the world.
On the other hand, American auto giant Ford Motor Corporation has also, based on the same data source i.e. IHS AUTOMOTIVE claimed that their top-selling model Focus has achieved ‘World’s Best-Selling Nameplate Title for 2013’. The manufacturer claims that Focus sales were up by 8.1% in 2013. It sold 1,097,618 units worldwide against 1,014,965 units sold in 2012.
Focus drove sales figures past 1 million marks successively for the second time in FY2013. After its introduction in 1998, the popularity of Focus grew at a great pace worldwide, especially in China. As a result, in the first half of 2012, it toppled Corolla to become the best-selling nameplate globally. Since then both these models have locked horns with each other claiming the no.1 spot.
However, we must consider the spread of the markets of both these major players & system of data collection. Hence, with some inherent errors in statistical analysis and close numbers, it is really difficult to choose the rightful owner!
