Vw Golf VI is Europe’s best selling car

Over the past 30 years, the Volkswagen Golf has been the success of cars in Europe. Now After gaining the honor of the World Car of the Year for 2009, the German made VW Golf is on a roll this year and comes back and turn into the best selling vehicle in Europe, ahead of the Peugeot 207 and Ford Fiesta.

The ranking stand as follows; VW Golf, Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 207, Fiat Punto, Opel Corsa, Ford Focus, VW Polo, Fiat Panda, Renault Clio and VW Passat. As for brands, Volkswagen is the winner here too. It is followed by Ford, Renault, Opel and Fiat. The last five in the brand battle are Peugeot, Citroen, Audi, Mercedes and Toyota. For undisclosed reasons, BMW did not make the top ten.

Although the Golf has recorded an increase in sales, its position is under threat by Ford Fiesta, which unveiled an increase in sales of 27 percent in April and 20 percent year-to-date. The data, compiled by JATO Dynamics, showed that Golf sold 44,612 units in April (down 7.2 percent year on year), while year-to-date sales show 169,089 units have been sold, down 4 percent from the same period of 2008.

"National government scrappage schemes are really starting to have an impact, both in the sales volumes in different markets and in the type of cars being sold. The bigger picture shows the size of the drop in new car sales across Europe," David Di Girolamo, JATO Consult head told the source.

Because of these incentives, the Ford Fiesta is gaining up on the Golf, selling especially well in the biggest european markets: Germany, UK, France, Italy and Spain.

The other two cars in the top ten managed to score increases: the Fiat Panda, up 17 percent and another model from the German manufacturer, the Volkswagen Polo, even if in its case the increase was only 1 percent.

Ford's Fiesta became the most popular car in Europe in March

Figures from industry analyst firm JATO Dynamics said that Ford's Fiesta model has ousted the VOLKSWAGEN Golf, topped the list of most popular cars in Europe. According to JATO, it is the first time in a year that the Golf has dropped from top of the most bought car list.

The survey found there has been a particular growth in car sales in Germany and Italy, where scrappage schemes have been introduced by the governments.

"Germany and Italy are big markets for new cars and we're really seeing the commercial benefits brought about by the new incentives," said David Di Girolamo, head of JATO.

He added: "We will track the markets with interest as it will be important to understand if this is a short-term reaction by consumers or if it will have a prolonged effect on the market."

The results could encourage more people to buy used cars from Ford. The company has recently revealed its used car sector is performing well.

A recent sale of its new Ka and Fiesta models in the used car market saw the vehicles sold for an average of 85 per cent of their original cost.

The Ford Fiesta picked up the Car of the Year for 2009 and the Best Supermini accolades at the What Car? awards recently.