During the first seven months of 2012, the Ford Focus has outsold every other car in Ireland - and across the world.
Between the months of January and July, over half a million examples of the Focus have been sold; with over 150,000 in Europe alone. These figures continue the car's strong selling streak from 2011, in which 860,000 units were sold.
When the Focus was released 14 years ago in 1998, the car was an immediate success - winning the coveted 'Car of the Year' Award in 1999. Today, the Focus offers buyers access to technologies such as Active Park Assist, Lane Keeping Aid, Traffic Sign Recognition and Adaptive Cruise Control.
The Focus is available in four- and five-door guises, as well as an estate version, along with the high powered ST model. The car is also available with the new 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine - a unit that won the 2012 "International Engine of the Year" Award back in June.
Marking this success, a Focus was Ford's 350-millionth vehicle to roll off the production line; a milestone that was acknowledged at the company's plant in Rayong, Thailand.
"Stretched end-to-end, 350 million vehicles would go from here to the moon and back - twice!" said John Fleming, Ford's Executive Vice President of Global Manufacturing. "It is the equivalent of producing one vehicle every 10 seconds for 109 years."
Of the 522,821 Focus sold so far this year, 3,390 were sold in Ireland - making Ford's popular family car the best-selling model locally as well.