Ford's 10 Best-Selling Vehicles Of All Time
Ford Motor Company, one of the largest companies on Earth, has been building cars for well over a century. During that time, it has produced mostly successful models that have been sold around the world. It is nearly inconceivable that any American resident alive today has not had some experience with a Ford vehicle, whether they actually owned one themselves or not. They are simply so ubiquitous there is no escaping the reach of this automaker.
Some of Ford's products over the years have been less successful than others. The Edsel is a prime example of a failed project that was only on the market for a couple of years. Furthermore, Ford has tried its hand in other industries -– Ford quit the airplane business after building only 199 Ford Trimotors. However, regarding its core business of automobile manufacturing, more products from Ford have been hit than misses, which is why it has become such a large and influential business.
With manufacturing happening all over the planet, Ford auto sales easily reach the millions across a wide range of models. The long history of car and truck sales based on global production has given us some of the best-selling Ford vehicles of all time. Here are 10 of them.
10. Ford Explorer - 7 million
While Ford did not create the concept of the SUV, its Explorer helped to define it and make it the most common form of transportation on the road. The Explorer name originated as a trim package for full-size pickups from 1968 to 1986 and was revived as a new family-hauling SUV released in 1991. The success of the Jeep Cherokee and the failure of its own Bronco II model led Ford to rethink its path forward within this market and come out with an all-new vehicle based on an enlarged Ranger platform.
The Explorer was an immediate hit and sales went through the roof. When it debuted, it was modern and well-appointed with a range of options and trims that met nearly any budget and consumer need. With upscale trim such as the Eddie Bauer edition, the Explorer quickly caught on as a premium option in an increasingly crowded market segment. Sales continued to be strong as the Explorer shifted through new generations, eventually shedding the small truck platform in 2002 and later adopting a unibody structure in 2011.
That shift to a unibody design helped to further establish the Explorer as a dominant player in its segment, later becoming the de facto standard for new police cruisers, something that would not have been possible with a body-on-frame chassis. With the bulk of sales of the Explorer occurring in the United States, it would never become a best-selling vehicle worldwide but with over 7 million sold since 1991, it gets into the top 10 best-selling Ford models.
9. Ford Taurus - 8 million
American automobile manufacturing saw a long period of decline throughout the '70s and early '80s with marked depreciation of power, quality, and, some might argue, styling. As the '80s progressed, American automakers regained their footing and started releasing cars that people wanted to own. Ford needed a hit to replace its aging line of cars and looked toward its divisions in Europe for inspiration. Taking in ideas for architecture, engineering, and exterior styling, the Taurus was born and subsequently redefined the American family car.
The Taurus broke from the pack by dropping the overwrought chrome trim and ugly metal bumpers common on American cars and adopting more curvaceous styling with clean, minimalist lines. The mechanicals also adopted a common European trait –- front-wheel-drive using smaller engines. Although the V8 dominated all but the smallest of American cars for decades, the Taurus used only 4-cylinder and V6 engines driving the front wheels. This turned out to be a winning combination as the Taurus went on to become the best-selling car in America and received high praise from automotive journalists all over -– Motor Trend even named it the Car of the Year for 1986.
The Taurus continued in production until 2019, coinciding with the elimination of all cars from Ford's offerings except the Mustang. It did manage to spawn some excellent special edition models in its SHO Taurus, featuring a 32-valve Yamaha-built V6 and, later on, a V8. All in, the Taurus accounted for 8 million units sold over the course of its production.
8. Ford Transit - 8 million
While the Ford Transit first went on sale in the United States in 2014, along with the smaller Transit Connect, the history of this van dates back to the 1960s in Europe. The first iteration of the Transit originated from Ford of Britain and went on sale in 1965. While Americans enjoyed the larger Econoline van, Europeans needed something a bit more compact to deal with smaller streets. Only when Ford sought to standardize its lineup across its global offerings did the European-derived van arrive stateside.
The development of this van came from the cooperation of Ford of Britain and Ford of Germany, historical rivals, to create a new commercial vehicle with more capacity than its contemporary challengers in Europe. Mk1 Transit vans could be ordered with a choice of V4 gasoline or diesel engine, although a V6 would be offered later. It proved to be a popular van, moving tons of goods throughout the continent over hundreds of thousands of miles.
The Transit has succeeded through nine generations and continues in production today, now as a front-wheel-drive model. Since 2014, it has become one of the most popular cargo vans in the United States, replacing the Econoline full-size cargo van completely upon introduction. In the nearly 60 years of production on both sides of the Atlantic, Ford Motor Company has managed to move more than 9 million Transits in total.
7. Ford Ranger - 8 million
Japanese pickups and mini-trucks entered the American truck market in the early '70s, becoming instant hits. Wanting a part of the action, Ford imported and sold a Mazda truck rebadged as the Ford Courier until it replaced it with a homegrown model in 1983, the Ford Ranger. The new truck would not only help increase profits from the small truck market but also establish it as a leading seller at Ford dealerships.
The small truck proved to be popular for its combination of easy-to-manage size and incredibly capable platform. Initially, buyers could choose between a 79-horsepower 4-cylinder or a 115-horsepower V6. A diesel engine was also offered but was eliminated after 1986. Successive generations gave the little truck more engine choices with increased power and payload capacity while increasing the luxury of the cabs with premium materials. A second generation came about in 1993 and lasted until 2011. However, Ford reintroduced the Ranger in 2019, though it is now a substantially larger truck. Regardless, it has become a steady part of the Ford truck lineup.
The original Ranger sold about 7 million units before its cancellation. Ford has sold about 350,000 units of the new model, but this model originated in 2011 for international markets, with more than 800,000 produced in South Africa to date.
6. Ford Focus - 9.2 million
After being on the market for several decades and selling millions of units across multiple continents, Ford chose to retire the Escort in the late '90s, bringing in another car on a global platform called Focus. While the Escort and Fiesta had previously been created to be global car platforms, the goal of a single successful platform for all markets never completely materialized. It was only with the new Focus, which was truly built on a platform to be used in all markets and with all other components being fundamentally the same, that an actual global production would be realized.
The Focus debuted in Europe for the 1999 model year and in 2000 in the United States. It was offered as a 3-door or 5-door hatchback as well as a sedan and wagon. Powering the front wheels was a range of small 4-cylinder engines that proved to be reliable and economical, and the styling when it debuted proved to be fresh and appealing. Ford enjoyed success with the new Focus right away, quickly gaining sales and awards, the North American Car of the Year and International Car of the Year in 2000 and the 1999 European Car of the Year.
Focus production soldiered on in factories on multiple continents, eventually spawning four generations and multiple special editions, including some spicy and desirable performance models such as the Focus SVT and Focus ST. The widespread appeal of a small, versatile car — along with its affordable price and Ford's reputation for quality — helped the company move 9.2 million units so far. However, European production of the Focus will end for good in 2025.
5. Ford Mustang - 10 million
In the early '60s, the legendary Lee Iacocca sought to rejuvenate Ford with a car that would appeal to young buyers with a blend of sportiness and performance wrapped in an affordable package. This brought us the Mustang and spawned the market segment we know today as the pony car. Lightweight and affordable with the option of placing a V8 with a healthy power output proved to be the perfect formula for a wildly successful new model. The first car went on sale mid-cycle as a 1964 ½ model after receiving 20,000 orders immediately after showing the car at the 1964 World's Fair.
1965 Mustang model year sales topped out at 419,000, far exceeding expectations. This cemented the car's place within the Ford lineup and its continued popularity has made it the only car sold by Ford in North America. Many changes have come to the now seventh generation Ford Mustang, although it remains a household name and American motor icon. It has also spawned many special edition cars, with some, like the Shelby GT350 and GT500, becoming obscenely rare collectibles. The '80s brought the Mustang SVO and factory-approved customs from Saleen, while today Shelby American and Roush create powerful versions for modern buyers.
With more than a half-century of production underway and no end date in sight, the Mustang shall continue to be a favorite pony car. Furthermore, the stellar success of the model has led to about 10 million people becoming the proud new owner of a factory-fresh Ford Mustang.
4. Ford Model T - 15 million
Many folks will be surprised to hear that the Ford Model T was not the first car produced by Henry Ford. It was, however, the first successful mass-produced car by Henry Ford. Although Oldsmobile had built a mass-produced car on an assembly line, it was the automation of the Model T factory that helped it to become so ubiquitous on the street in the United States and around the world.
Ford's first car was the Model A, a name that would be later resurrected, and he built successive models running through the alphabet until he had seemingly perfected his design when he reached the letter T. Unlike other auto manufacturers of the time, who sought out the luxury market, Ford wanted to build a car that would be affordable and simple to operate. Mass production began in 1908 including many cost-saving measures such as famously using only black paint.
Furthermore, creating a moving assembly line with workers situated to install the same part on each car in the same station over and over increased efficiency and lowered costs. Production time began at 12.5 hours per unit and was cut down to just 93 minutes by 1914. The price fell accordingly, bringing the initial price of $825 down to $360 by 1916. Henry Ford celebrated the construction of the 10 millionth Model T in 1924, and while the design was already outdated by then, he continued production until 1927 when it ended with 15 million units sold.
3. Ford Escort - 20 million
The compact Ford Escort sold for many years in the United States and was consistently popular with buyers. However, the Escort's history began overseas in 1967 when Ford of Europe created a replacement for its popular Anglia saloon — known as a sedan in the United States — car. Though the Escort and the car it replaced were both rather small, they were preferred by most European drivers at the time and sales started well. It was seen as a safer and better-performing upgrade that capitalized on Ford's good name on the continent.
The Escort continued as one of Europe's most popular cars for years and the name was borrowed for an American version in 1981. The American Escort was primarily built as an economy hatchback to serve budget-minded buyers with an affordable and practical, no-frills compact car. While the first European Escort relied on the rear wheels for motivation, it adopted front-wheel-drive along with its American counterpart in 1980. Cars on both sides of the Atlantic shared a platform but each received unique styling, options, and interiors.
Throughout its history, the Escort saw many ups and downs. Build quality suffered on American versions and efforts to homogenize the model across all markets fell flat. Europe eventually replaced it with the Focus in 1997, while the North American version stuck around until 2000. Still, across all markets, Ford moved 20 million units before production ended.
2. Ford Fiesta - 22 million
In 1976, the first examples of what would become Ford's first successful global front-wheel-drive car rolled off the assembly line. The name of the car was Fiesta, and it was built as a fresh new entrant into the supermini segment. While superminis enjoyed worldwide popularity, Americans generally enjoyed larger vehicles, especially during the '70s. Regardless, the Fiesta debuted in 1976 and made its way into American dealerships alongside such massive land yachts as the 1976 Ford LTD.
While the first-generation Fiesta only saw modest success in the United States, its popularity elsewhere was another story. The Fiesta continued in production for many years, undergoing five major updates before being retired for good. A reputation for being a good handling, no-nonsense little car of generally strong reliability kept customers coming back year after year. Several high-performance versions came about that are now sought-after hot hatches today. It returned to American soil from 2011 to 2018, with 2023 being the last year for it everywhere else.
While the Fiesta saw little support from American car buyers, that did not stop it from being a genuine sales success for Ford. Sales spread worldwide with factories in 15 countries producing it. In the end, Ford managed to push 22 million units across all markets, making it the best-selling car ever made by Ford.
1. Ford F-150 - 41 million
Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the Ford Motor Company knows that its most popular vehicle is not a car at all. The Ford F-150 has gone through 14 generations since being introduced in 1948, evolving from a rugged and spartan work truck to a modern truck that often borders on a luxury vehicle — albeit a luxury vehicle that is still capable of performing hard work.
The first trucks were designated with single digits, such as F-1 or F-2, while the second generation introduced the naming convention we have today. For years, the trucks remained much the same, with upgraded engines coming and going while the interior featured bench seats, basic gauges, and not much else. Throughout the '70s and '80s, the F-Series of trucks started to receive more convenience and luxury features such as power windows, bucket seats, and roomier extended cabs. The late '90s brought the double cab design that dominates the truck market today, along with a shift toward premium interiors and more convenience than ever.
Through every generation, rugged reliability has been a hallmark of F-Series trucks. Today's Ford truck comes with a vast array of options and pricing starts around $38,000 and gets into Mercedes-Benz and BMW territory at $84,000 for fully-loaded special editions. Regardless, Ford's F-150 has been the best-selling vehicle in the United States for 41 years straight and looks to keep its top position with upcoming models. As a result, Ford surpassed 40 million units sold in 2022, adding about 600,000 to that number each year by selling a new truck every 49 seconds.