Ford is racing towards 30 successive years as Britain's top selling car brand, helped by an October share of the total vehicle market of almost 17 per cent.

One in six cars and commercial vehicles sold in Britain last month was a Ford. From the Ford Ka to the iconic Transit, over 30,900 new cars and vans sporting the blue oval were delivered by Ford dealerships. This beats the October 2005 total by close to 3,000 vehicles.

Ford has been the country's top-selling brand every year since 1976 and the increased October car sales have helped to ensure that Ford will secure the 30 year milestone.

For October 2006 Ford's car registrations topped 23,600 units – well ahead of 21,700 in October last year – and for the year to date, Ford's market leadership margin has extended to over 37,500 units.

Ford S-MAX and the new Ford Galaxy have been star performers. They have doubled the blue oval's MPV (Multi Purpose Vehicle) sales, which topped 1,280 units last month compared with 675 during October last year. Other fast sellers were the Focus – the UK's favourite car – and Ka, which is 10 years old this year and yet is priced less than at launch in 1996.

Commercial vehicle sales are also a key contributor to Ford's improved performance in the total vehicle market in 2006. The Ford Transit has already recorded 40 years of market leadership and this year the new Southampton-built Transit has helped to record significantly improved October and year-to-date sales.

Light commercial vehicles, including the Transit Connect, are similarly soaring – up 10 per cent on a year ago.