DETROIT, Michigan (AFP) Ford Motor Company said Friday its US sales this week topped two million vehicles for the first time in four years, boosted by strong demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Ford is the first automotive brand to hit the two-million mark since 2007, making it the best selling brand in America, the automaker said.

“Ford’s lineup of high-quality, fuel-efficient cars, utilities (sport utility vehicles) and trucks continues to attract more and more new customers,” said Erich Merkle, Ford’s sales analysis manager, in a statement.

“With gasoline prices tracking higher than last year, customers continue to move toward smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, whether they are passenger cars or utilities.”

The US sales milestone was reached this week, and there are still a few days left of the year to add to it, Merkle told AFP. “It’s over two million and still counting,” he said.

Overall, Ford brand small cars were on track for a more than 20 percent gain in sales for 2011, while utility vehicles are heading for an increase of more than 30 percent, the number-two US automaker said.

Ford said its smallest SUV, the Escape, has racked up record sales volumes this year and is America’s best-selling utility vehicle.

Ford, the only major US automaker that did not seek a government bailout during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, reported its 10th consecutive quarterly profit in October.

Shares in Ford were up 0.8 percent on the New York Stock Exchange, bucking an overall sell-off on Wall Street.