Ford has announced that the new Mustang was the world’s best-selling sports car in the first half of 2015, with 76,124 registrations globally – 56 percent more than in the same period last year.

“Initial global response to the Mustang has been strong, and we are only in second gear. We continue accelerating production and global reach with right-hand-drive models now coming out of the plant,” said Stephen Odell, executive vice president, Global Marketing, Sales and Service.

Ford has begun production of the right-hand-drive Mustang at Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan, marking the first year the pony car is available to customers in more than 100 markets around the world – including in countries where motorists drive on the left side of the road.

The availability of a right-hand-drive Mustang allows export to more than 25 markets around the globe, including the UK, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, as well as Cyprus, Malta and a series of Caribbean islands.

The Mustang went on sale last winter in the United States and Asia, with the pony car arriving in European markets this summer. US sales were up 70 percent in August, overtaking the Chevy Camaro. The Mustang is in high demand in regions such as Southern California, where retail sales have more than doubled this year.

The Mustang does well in China too, having already established itself as one of the nation’s top-selling sports cars, with hottest sales in Beijing, Guangdong and Shanghai.

In Europe, almost 2,000 Ford Mustang orders have been taken in the UK since January, with the first customer deliveries expected in November. Nearly 3,000 orders have been received from Australia, and 400 in New Zealand, two other right-hand-drive markets where deliveries begin this fall.

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