I disagree that no one outside Europe gives two hoots about hatchbacks. UAE is full of hatchbacks but it's all small engined, generic Jap crap.
What I would agree with is that no one outside Europe gives two hoots about hot hatchbacks. And the simple reason for this is the price of petrol. A liter of petrol in UAE is 2.20-2.30. Go to Europe, a liter of petrol will cost you maybe 7-8 dhs. This is why these cars are popular in Europe. Light, fast, economical and fun to drive. Europeans come here and realize they can run a Mustang or Camaro and do burnouts and donuts for what it costs to run a Citroen Saxo VTS or a Peugeot 106 GTi at home. Then there's the lack of dealer support. Honestly, French car dealers here suck. If you have to wait 2 weeks for a part, then you tell all your friends, that's the dealers reputation ruined. All because they wanted to save money by putting parts on back order rather than just keep some stock.
Peugeot have built some fantastic luxury sedans, the 607 for example. The reason cars like this never took off here is because people are brainwashed into thinking if it ain't jap, it's crap, so these cars don't even come onto their radar. Oh that's nice, but I'll buy the Camry, my friend says it's good. Look at the 406 coupe. Thing of beauty, designed by pininfarina, one of the worlds premier car designers. All over Europe. But I haven't seen a single one here.