It’s a small car, and at first glance you’d never expect to hear the words “Best Selling Vehicle Nameplate In The World” associated with it – but that’s exactly what the Ford Focus achieved in 2013. According to Polk new vehicle registration data, the 50 percent growth in the Chinese market has helped catapult the Focus to the top of the heap with a whopping 1,097,618 cars sold worldwide last year, an 8.1 growth rate.

That’s important as Ford readies the debut of the all-new 2015 Focus at next week’s New York International Auto Show. The redesigned car offer a new exterior design, upscale interior, and technologies not commonly seen in a compact car.  

A new engine is also on tap – the 1.0L EcoBoost backed by a six-speed manual transmission. The 1.0L EcoBoost powerplant even has an Auto Stop-Start feature that shuts the engine down at stops and turns it back on at takeoff, which helps to boost fuel economy and is typically seen on much more expensive vehicles. 

The redesigned car benefits from the now-familiar shark-mouth grille design, new LED lighting for the head- and taillamps, and a new trunk lid design.

The company has also seen fit to add an SE Sport package that includes paddle shifters in automatic-transmission vehicles, revised touring suspension and 17-inch aluminum wheels. The MyKey feature is also standard on all trim levels, a new feature for 2015. This feature allows parents to help keep teens safe on the road by reminding them to put on their seatbelts, limit audio volume, alert the driver to preset speed limits, and even limit vehicle top speed to 80 MPH. 

A backup camera is now standard, along with a lane-keeping system that alerts a driver if he or she starts to drift out of the lane, along with an aid function that actively applies steering correction to assist the driver in recovering from unintended drift.

All in all, it appears that Ford is working hard to stay on the cutting edge with the new 2015 Focus.