(February 29, 2012) DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Focus sales are on pace to double in February to over 20,000 units, giving the stylish compact hatchback and sedan its best sales performance in more than a decade.
 
“Fuel prices have been on the rise again, with customers once again moving to smaller vehicles,” said Erich Merkle, Ford sales analyst reporting manager. “We have a 40-mpg, fun-to-drive, well-equipped compact with more power than our competitors. The word is getting out on how efficient the new Focus really is.”
 
February 2001 saw Focus sales pass through the 20,000 vehicle mark; overall car and truck sales that year numbered 17.2 million vehicles, making February 2012 Focus sales even more striking. Ford’s current sales guidance numbers for the overall market this year are estimated at 13.5 million to 14.5 million vehicles for total sales as a comparison. February 2011 Focus sales totaled 10,879.
 
“We now have strong inventory going into a higher gas price environment, allowing us to fully participate in this shift,” said Merkle. “Also, we’ve responded to customer demand for a five-speed manual transmission on the highest Titanium trim level.”
 
Customer demand for the Focus Titanium with five-speed manual transmission pushed Ford to offer that trim package and transmission as a new combination. Interestingly, demand for the manual transmission this year is running much higher than Ford’s expectations (4.5 percent expected vs. 6.7 percent actual). As more Titanium five-speeds enter dealer inventories, Ford expects demand for manuals to increase to nearly 10 percent of total Focus sales.
 
Since going on sale in March 2011 as a 2012 model, the new Ford Focus has been awarded several prestigious industry and consumer awards, including being named to Car and Driver’s 10 Best list, Automobile Magazine’sAll Stars and most recently Connected World magazine’s Connected Car of the Year 2012.