Ford Focus Overtakes Corolla As World's Top Seller

The Ford Focus compact outsold the Toyota Corolla to become the world’s best-selling car, Ford announced Thursday at its Focus assembly plant in Rayong Thailand.

Ford sold 489,616 Focus sedans and hatchbacks globally in the first half of 2011, nearly 27,000 more than were sold of the Toyota Corolla. The Corolla has held the title of world’s best-selling car since 1997 when it surpassed the Volkswagen Beetle. Over 39 million Corollas have been sold around the world since it debuted in 1966.

The Focus has enjoyed success in the US where sales jumped 31% in the first half of the year compared with the same period of last year.

The Focus is sold in 100 countries around the world. In May Ford opened one of its most advanced plants in Rayong with the capacity to build 150,000 Focus cars a year for Thailand, Vietnam and other countries in southeast Asia.