The Ford Focus just surpassed the Toyota Corolla as the top selling car in the world. The success of the Focus, which is improving in the US, is at the core of Ford’s big comeback under CEO Alan Mulally.

The all new Focus that is in Ford dealerships today, was developed in Europe and is now built in five countries — the US, China, Germany, Russia and Thailand. It is sold in 120 markets worldwide.Despite economic slowdowns in Europe and China, the global auto industry set a record last year with more than 80 million new vehicles sold worldwide, driving demand for the Focus. Sales topped 14.5 million in the US, compared with just 10.4 million as recently as 2009.

In the US, the Focus is offered as a sedan, a hatchback five-door and an electric-car. After Focus, which sold about one million across the globe, the Corolla was the most popular with 966,000, and then the Volkswagen Jetta, followed by the Hyundai Elantra and Ford Fiesta.