Ford unveils updated Focus model for Europe

ROME (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. unveiled a new version of its popular Focus car on Sunday with an updated design and technology as the U.S. carmaker seeks to reinforce the family car's position as its best-selling model in Europe.

The updated model, to be sold in countries across Europe including Russia, will hit the market early next year, Ford Italy Chairman Gaetano Thorel said.

Ford, which has an 11-percent market share in Europe, hopes to sell about 500,000 units of the car next year -- the average yearly volume for the model, he said.

"For us, Focus is clearly one of the most important cars in our lineup and this restyling is to keep it at the top of the segment," he told Reuters.

Italy is one of the biggest markets for the model alongside Britain, Germany and Spain.

Ford sold 511,200 Focus units last year, accounting for just less than a third of its total sales of 1.7 million units for all its models in Europe. The carmaker has high hopes for the model in the fast-growing Russian market, Thorel said.

It also sells its Ka, Fiesta and Fusion models in Europe, where the automaker has fared better in recent years in comparison to North America where it has been forced to cut jobs and close plants after posting a record loss.

The new Focus model, unveiled at a ceremony in Nice, France, offers new features such as an updated refueling system, the ability to hook iPod players to the main audio system through a new USB port, a tire deflation detection system and options for fuel efficiency and lower C02 emissions, among others.

The model, which competes in the fiercely competitive European family car segment, was last given a face-lift in 2004, after its introduction in 1998.

Production of the three-door, five-door and wagon versions of the model begin at the end of the year while the four-door, ST and Focus Coupe-Carbriolet are due early next year.