Ford has received double the expected number of orders for its award-winning Fiesta ST in its first six months on sale, with almost one third of all orders placed across Europe coming from the UK.

Company bosses have said that more than 3,000 Fiesta ST orders have been placed in the UK since it went on sale at the end of March, a sales rate well ahead of the firm’s projected 5,000-per-year target.

Europe-wide demand is being led by UK customers, making up 56-per cent of all dealer reservations across the continent. As a result, Ford has announced that Fiesta ST production will increase by 15 per cent to 60 vehicles per day to keep up with growing demand.

Commenting on the car’s popularity, Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe, said: “The customer and media reaction to the Fiesta ST has been extraordinary – it’s really become an instant classic and orders have been extremely strong. We are doing what we can to increase production and try to meet demand.”

The success of the new Fiesta ST follows on the heels of the Focus ST, which went on sale in summer 2012. The Focus ST was the best-selling hot hatch in Europe during the first six months of 2013, recording 4,000 sales.