It seems as though hot hatch fans just can’t get enough of fast Fords at the minute after sales of cars like the Fiesta ST and Focus RS shot up by a full 21 per cent in September.
Despite the fact that sales of hatchbacks are generally declining as buyers increasingly opt for crossovers and SUVs, sales of Ford’s hot hatches continue to be on the rise.
Erich Merkle, Ford sales analyst, said: “Non-luxury, turbocharged small hatchbacks are down 21 per cent year-over-year, but our turbocharged Ford Focus is up 37 per cent. With the shift into SUVs and crossovers, our hot hatches are bucking the trend.”
The rise in sales seems to be spread evenly across the board too, with sales of the Focus ST up despite the arrival of the more powerful four-wheel drive Focus RS earlier this year.
It’s theorised that the increase in demand could stem from the One Ford plan, with buyers in markets outside of Europe excited to get access to cars previously unavailable to them.
Jessica Bishop, Ford’s brand manager for the Focus, said: “For decades, we heard criticism from customers that Ford sold its best small cars only in Europe, yet in five short years we’ve built a reputation here for making very serious but affordable performance cars with our Focus ST and Fiesta ST one-two punch.”
