Ford Motor Co. is on track to recover its No. 2 sales ranking in the United States, supplanting Toyota Motor Corp. after achieving its biggest one-year gain in market share since the 1980s, reported The Detroit News.

Ford has increased its U.S. auto sales at nearly double the market's growth rate, boosting its share to 16.4 percent, from 15.3 percent last year and 14.2 percent in 2008, said George Pipas, the company's market analyst.

"The last time Ford gained one or more points of market share was in the '80s," Pipas said.

In addition, "it's the first time since 1993 that we have gained share in the U.S. back-to-back two years in a row," he said.

In the first 11 months of this year, the Dearborn automaker's sales have risen 21 percent in a market that has expanded 11 percent.

Ford, the only one of Detroit's automakers to weather the industry downturn without taking a government bailout, has benefited from the difficulties of its crosstown rivals and Toyota.

Ford lost its second-place ranking to Toyota in 2007, but Toyota's share has shrunk to 15.2 percent this year while its U.S. recalls have totaled 6.75 million vehicles. General Motors Co. remains in first place, with 19.3 percent of the U.S. market.

With new models ranging from the F-150 pickup to the redesigned Fiesta subcompact, Ford was able to take advantage of market opportunities.

Pipas predicted the industry-wide selling pace would exceed 12 million vehicles in December for a third consecutive month.

Looking to 2011, "we think sales for the year will be above 12 million and perhaps closer to 13 million," he said.

Amid forecasts from TrueCar.com and AutoTrader.com that trucks and SUVs are leading the sales recovery, Pipas said those reports are slightly misleading.

Three-quarters of light vehicles sold in the United States, including many crossovers and SUVs, are built on car platforms.

"The trends are," he said, "that people are buying more fuel-efficient vehicles as each year passes."