The Ford Focus continues to be the best-selling vehicle nameplate in the world, based on Ford’s analysis of the just-released and latest Polk global vehicle registration data through the third quarter of 2013.

Led by strong growth in China, Focus global registrations from January through September 2013 grew to 856,587, a 16.1 percent year-over-year increase. China was the biggest contributor to the success with 303,481 registrations, representing an 85 percent year-over-year increase, according to Polk, which recently was acquired by IHS.

Focus buyers cite the vehicle’s exterior styling and generous level of equipment as key reasons for their purchase. In China, the top differentiators among car intenders include the vehicle’s design, excellent safety and high quality. Each of these attributes scored 15 percent to 40 percent higher among consumers than the closest competitor.

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“Our success with Focus serving more and more customers around the world underscores the strength of our One Ford plan,” said Jim Farley, Ford executive vice president of global marketing, sales and service and Lincoln. “We remain absolutely committed to developing a full family of vehicles that, like Focus, offer outstanding quality, fuel efficiency, safety, smart design and value.”

Thanks to Ford’s One Ford plan and global product vision, the company now has two of the top five best-selling nameplates in the world – the Focus and Fiesta – with a combined 1,402,555 vehicle registrations during the January through September 2013 period, based on Polk data.

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In addition to Focus being the best-selling passenger car nameplate title in China, Fiesta continues as the top-selling small car in Europe.