According to recent statistics, the Ford Focus is now the world’s most popular car.

Although Ford’s compact is not the best-selling car in the country,  Ford Focus is the sporty compact that has been growing in popularity in the last couple of years across the world. According to experts, Ford Focus is about to take Toyota Corolla’s spot as the world’s most popular car.

In spite of the shift, Toyota may not be too worried about it. According to recent statistics, Toyota has sold approximately 966,000 vehicles across the globe, making Toyota Motor one of the world’s most successful automakers. General Motors had reigned in the previous year by outselling the Japanese automaker in 2011. Now, GM and Volkswagen are competing to see which company gets the second place in 2012.

Reports show that 2012 was a record year for automakers across the world. Global sales have reached the 80 million mark. In Europe, however, the sales haven’t picked up during this year. In China, sales have also slowed while in the U.S., the sales have been robust. According to recent statistics, 14.5 million units of cars and trucks have been sold in the U.S. in the year of 2012.

Although Chinese market hasn’t been open to purchasing many vehicles, Chinese cars are among the best-selling models globally. In 2012, reports show that Ford has been investing in China, which put Ford Focus in the list of best-selling vehicles in the country. Since Japanese cars have been boycotted by Chinese consumers, there has been a drop in the sales of Japanese cars in China during the second half of the year.

In spite of the variables, the top ten most popular vehicles in the world happen to be fuel-efficient and small, which makes compact vehicles some of the most desirable vehicles out there.

In Asia and Europe, compacts are the most popular vehicles available.

According to the data gathered by the Consumer Reports, the Ford Focus and the Toyota Corolla are still the world’s leaders. About 250,000 Ford Focus vehicles were sold in the U.S. in 2012 while one million Ford Focus cars were sold across the world during the same fiscal year. In 2012, about 966,000 Toyota Corolla cars were sold across the globe.

The Volkswagen Jetta comes in third place of the list. The German automaker sold 822,000 Jetta vehicles across the world, which makes VW one of the strongest automakers in the world. The company plans to dominate the market by the end of 2018. According to the report, the Hyundai Elantra comes in fourth. Hyundai sold about 777,000 Elantra vehicles in the world during the year of 2012, which makes the Korean automaker the fourth most-popular internationally.

Some of the most popular vehicles include the Ford Fiesta, the Volkswagen Golf and the Toyota Camry.

For the full list and more details regarding all models, click here.