The Ford Focus has notched up the enviable title of world’s best-selling car for 2012. Nearly 490,000 units of the Blue Oval hatchback have been sold worldwide during the first half of this year, and, according to HIS Automotive, that makes it the single best-selling car.

HIS Automotive’s data shows the Focus beat its nearest competitor – the Toyota Corolla – by almost 27,500 units.The announcement comes as automotive giant celebrates the 350 millionth Ford ever made. The landmark car was a Ford Focus built at the company’s Rayong factory in Thailand.

“Consider, for a moment, the enormity of 350 million vehicles,” said John Fleming, Ford executive vice president of global manufacturing. “It’s equivalent to producing one vehicle every 10 seconds for 109 years; and, if placed end to end, would stretch to the moon and back – twice.”