Ford Predicts Its Will Soon Have the World’s Best-Selling Car

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) says its Focus is on track to become the best-selling car in the world this year, knocking Toyota Motor Corp.’s (NYSE: TM) Corolla from the top spot.

Ford sold more than 489,000 Focus sedans and hatchbacks worldwide in the first half of 2012. That was almost 27,000 more than the Corolla. Ford sells the recently revamped Focus in more than 100 countries. It is a strong seller in the United States, where Focus sales were 31% higher in the first half of the year when compared with 2011. However, the Corolla outsold the Focus in the U.S. by nearly 27,500 in the first half of this year.

Ford made its prediction at its Focus assembly plant in Rayong, Thailand, where Ford executives also celebrated the production of the 350 millionth vehicle Ford has made since its founding 109 years ago. The plant opened in May and is one of Ford’s most advanced, with the capacity to produce 150,000 cars per year for sale in Australia and other countries in the region.

Ford is up about 1% in premarket trading to $9.41. The 52-week range is $8.82 to $13.05, and the mean price target is $13.50. Toyota is down fractionally to $79.60, in a 52-week range of $60.37 to $87.15.

Photo of Trey Thoelcke
About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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