In France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, B-segment cars took 27 per cent of the market in the first nine months of 2007.

While sales in the sector over the year-to-date dropped 0.5 per cent compared to a year ago, the decline represents a smaller fall than the total market has experienced over the same period.

During the third quarter, however, volumes dropped at the faster rate of 3 per cent compared to the same period in 2006. The Ford Fiesta was the B-segment's best seller in the “big five” markets in the third quarter, with an increase in sales of 3.9 per cent over the year-to-date. Behind the Fiesta came the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa which was up 48.8 per cent year-to-date following a well-received model update. The Corsa was followed by the Peugeot 207, up 131.1 per cent for the year-to-date, the Renault Clio and Fiat Punto. “This is an impressive result for the Fiesta considering the fashion conscious nature of the segment,” said Nadir Shah, global business development director at JATO.