Ford Mustang becomes best-selling sports car in the world; this is how the muscle car made it

Ford's muscle car, the Mustang has been enjoying the best-selling sports car status in the USA for over 50 years. Now, the pony car of the blue oval logoed car company has achieved a new feat by becoming the best-selling sports car on the planet for 2016.

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Mustang expanded its sales lead in 2016 as the world's best-selling sports car with more than 1,50,000 Mustangs sold, according to IHS Markit's new vehicle registration data. The key reason behind surge in sales is the increasing exports. International markets fuelled Mustang's sales growth last year, with global sales up six percent over 2015. The number of Mustangs exported is doubling every year, with more than 98,000 total cars shipped to customers outside of USA since 2015. In 2016 alone, Ford has sold over 45,000 Mustangs outside of its home country.

The Iconic muscle car stayed as wall poster item for over five decades among many aspiring buyers since it was limited to only left-hand driven countries. Ford decided that in 2015 it would take the Mustang to markets across the world. Keep this mission in mind, Ford introduced the sixth generation of the car in 2015 with first ever factory designed right hand drive export models.

The global rollout saw big sales gains in Germany and China as well as smaller nations such as New Caledonia, Gibraltar and Bonaire. The right-hand drive model entered Indian market in July 2016 for Rs 65 lakh, powered by the flagship 5.0-litre V8 engine. The mustang is currently available in 140 countries across all continents other than Antarctica.

Ford's data shows more than 3,95,000 sixth-generation Mustangs have been produced at Flat Rock Assembly Plant. For 2017, the company is planning to expand Mustang's territory to six new countries, including Brazil, the Palau Islands and the Ivory Coast, with three additional markets announced later. This also indicates best-selling sports car in the world tag will stay with Mustang for longer.