The Ford Focus is the world’s best-selling car in 2012, having outsold every other model of car in the first seven months of the year. And with sales of 3,499 to date in 2012, the Ford Focus is also Ireland’s top selling car this year to date (January to August inclusive ).
More than 500,000 Focus models - including 153,400 in Europe - were sold from January to July, continuing a success story that saw an unrivalled 860,000 Focus models sold last year.
Ford say that it sold 522,821 Focus models in the first seven months of 2012 to put it ahead of the Toyota Corolla and the Volkswagen Golf in the same time period. The Focus also plays a key role in delivering a major Ford milestone today as a model produced at Rayong, Thailand, becomes the 350 millionth vehicle the company has produced in its history.
“Consider, for a moment, the enormity of 350 million vehicles,” said John Fleming, Ford executive vice president of Global Manufacturing. “It’s equivalent to producing one vehicle every 10 seconds for 109 years; and, if placed end to end, would stretch to the moon and back - twice.”
The Ford Focus first appeared in Europe in 1998 and won the 1999 European Car of the Year award. The current, third generation of the mid-size car - launched last year - was designed on an unprecedented global scale, helping to make more technologies and features economically viable than ever before for cars in this segment.
Key innovations available as standard or as an optional extra in the new Focus include Active City Stop low-speed safety system, Active Park Assist, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keeping Aid, Traffic Sign Recognition, Auto High Beam, Driver Alert, and Adaptive Cruise Control.
In Europe the new Focus is available in five-door, four-door, and wagon versions. This year, Ford launched 250 bhp Focus ST, its first global performance car. And in Europe, it began offering the Focus with the new 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine, which was named the 2012 International Engine of the Year in June. A zero emissions Focus Electric, Ford’s first ever all-electric passenger car, will be available in 2013.
