Happy Mustang Day! Ford is celebrating the 56th birthday of one of its most beloved nameplates with a historic announcement. The Ford Mustang is now the world’s best-selling sports car.

Mustang already holds a few other titles. It’s been America’s best-selling sports car for the last 50 years and the best-selling sports coupe for the past five.

“We’re proud of our growing Mustang stable and performance variants,” said Jim Farley, chief operating officer, Ford Motor Company. “From Sweden to Shanghai, more and more driving enthusiast are enjoying the feeling of freedom and the American open road in these new Mustangs. We are honored to serve our owners, enthusiasts and fans for 56 years and counting.”

According to IHS Markit, during 2019 102,090 units of the Mustang were sold worldwide. During this period, Mustang sales in Germany increased 33 per cent, in Poland sales rose by nearly 50 per cent, and in France, they nearly doubled.

Ford sold 9,900 Mustangs in Europe during 2019, a 3 per cent increase year-on-year, with 1,300 sold in the UK. The European market consists of Austria, Belgium, Britain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Romania, Sweden, and Switzerland.

In Europe, the Mustang is offered in fastback and convertible body styles, like it is in the U.S. The U.S. market has a more robust lineup of offerings including the 2020 Ford Mustang ShelbyGT500, which has over 700 horsepower.

Last year, Ford introduced an all-electric performance crossover with the Mustang name, the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E. It is on sale now with deliveries expected in the last half of the year.

In 2019 Mustang owners across Europe set a new world record for having over 1,300 Mustangs on parade all at once.