Another proof that the current generation of Ford Fiesta is just what Europeans want from a hatchback! The lovely little car recently achieved the one million milestone in sales just 28 months after its market launch.

Among the European countries, UK customers have snapped up almost a quarter of the new Fiesta models, with sales since launch totalling 239,742. One would imagine some of it is due to Jeremy Clarkson’s thorough test drive of the car on Top Gear! You know, the one that he raced a Corvette in a shopping mall and took part in a beach assault with royal marines to prove the Fiesta is more than capable to handle day to day tasks.

The Ford Fiesta is produced in Europe in Ford’s state-of-the-art assembly plants in Cologne, Germany and Valencia, Spain. It is the most successful European-made small car sold in Europe ever, with cumulative sales totalling 14 million since the car was first launched in 1976.

Ford’s global safety engineers combined their efforts to ensure the Fiesta would be capable of meeting the most stringent crash protection requirements in any region of the world. Leveraging Ford of Europe’s small car expertise, engineers from Ford of Europe’s engineering centres in Cologne, Germany and Dunton, UK, conducted an array of virtual, actual and hydraulic sled-simulated crash tests to ensure this top safety performance.

Who buys the Ford Fiesta in the UK?

• Seventy four per cent of Fiesta drivers choose mid or high range models
• Sales are split 30/70 between three- and five- door models.
• The most popular colour is Panther black.
• Seventy six per cent sold are petrol powered
• Automatic transmission sales are growing and now account for almost 10 per cent of all sales
• ECOnetic sales have grown from two per cent in 2009 to six per cent in 2010
• Fiesta Titanium customers will also now have a Sony radio with CD player, USB and Bluetooth as standard. The Fiesta Titanium already lists many big-car features, including cruise control and automatic headlights. So far this year, 20 per cent of Fiesta customers have chosen to buy top-of-the-range Titanium models.
• The most popular option, Voice Control, Bluetooth and USB, is added by around 42 per cent of Fiesta customers.