Ford becomes top-selling brand in Europe

[TonyV]

Posted: 7:09 a.m. April 15, 2010
Ford becomes top-selling brand in Europe
BY BRENT SNAVELY
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Ford said today that sales of new cars and trucks in its 19 primary European countries increased 16.1% in March as it sold 192,500 vehicles, making it the best selling brand for the month.




The company’s sales increase also outpaced industry sales, which increased 11.5% in March compared with the same month last year.


Ford also said its market share increased to 10.4%, up 0.4 percentage points from last March, and marked the company’s highest share of industry sales since August 1998.


Ford's sales gains were led by the Ford Fiesta subcompact car, which accounted for 35% of its total sales volume. Ford sold 68,000 Fiesta’s in March.


The Fiesta has been among the company’s best selling vehicles since a redesigned version was introduced in the fall of 2008 and was the second-best selling car in Europe in 2009, behind the Volkswagen Golf. For Most of 2009, Ford was Europe's second-best selling brand behind Volkswagen.

[TonyV]

Ford -- Europe's Top-Selling Brand in March

COLOGNE, Germany, April 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

•Ford was No.1 in Europe for March with a sales volume of 192,500 vehicles
•Ford Fiesta sales at 68,800 were the highest for any Ford model on record in a single month in Europe
•Ford posted best monthly market share since August 1998 - 10.4 per cent in the main 19 European markets, up 0.4 percentage points on March 2009


Ford was No.1 in Europe in March with sales of 192,500 vehicles, a 16.1 per cent increase – or 26,700 vehicles – compared to March 2009, and the company's tenth consecutive month-on-month volume increase. Fiesta sales at 68,800 were the highest for any Ford model on record in a single month in Europe.

Market share was at a twelve-year high of 10.4 per cent and the company's best share in its main 19 European markets since August 1998.

"Attaining the No.1 position in the European market for March and being No.2 year-to-date – despite the continuing aggressive discounting we have seen from some competitors – is a great testament to the hard work of the Ford team and especially our dealers across Europe who have done an outstanding job in supporting and satisfying their customers," said Ingvar Sviggum, Vice President, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe.

"This success also underlines the confidence customers have in our latest range of excellent vehicles. With 11 all-new or significantly freshened vehicles and a wealth of new customer-focused technologies being introduced this year, our product range is set to becoming even stronger in Europe."

Ford was the No.1 best-selling brand for March in the UK, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, The Netherlands and Turkey, and increased its market share in 10 of its 19 main European markets. In the UK, where March is traditionally a strong month because of the registration plate change, Ford strengthened its market lead with 72,700 new registrations, up by 10,300 units or 16.4 per cent on March 2009. Ford was also passenger car market leader in Spain for the month.

Commenting on the product highlights in March and the first quarter, Roelant de Waard, Vice President, Sales, Ford of Europe, said: "Fiesta continues to be an outstanding performer for us with 140,400 sold in Europe during the first three months of the year, and close to 70,000 sold in March alone. Globally, we've now sold over 750,000 Fiestas since the latest generation model was launched almost 18 months ago."

Among other sales successes for March was the Ford Focus, which firmly underpinned its No.2 Ford sales position within Ford's main 19 European markets behind the Fiesta. Focus increased sales by 23 per cent. Sales of the Ford Ka rose by 27 per cent in March, while Kuga sales increased by more than a third compared to March 2009.

Dr. Wolfgang Schneider, Ford of Europe's Vice President for Legal, Governmental and Environmental Affairs, said: "Ford has had a great March and first quarter sales performance, but we can expect some further challenges in the months ahead as more scrappage schemes are phased out."

"We understand fully that there will not be another round of scrappage incentives but we do ask that governments consider other sales incentives, in particular to encourage small and medium sized enterprises. For example, tax breaks for commercial vehicles would not only benefit smaller companies but the wider economy and automotive industry as well," Dr. Schneider said.

In the first quarter of 2010, Ford registered 391,100 vehicles in its 19 European markets, 32,600 units or 9.1 per cent more than in 2009. Total industry was up 9.2 per cent.

Market share in the main 19 European markets was 9.4 per cent, remaining unchanged when compared with the same period in 2009, and confirming Ford as the No.2 best-selling brand in Europe for the first quarter this year. Ford's share rose in seven of its main 19 European markets for the first quarter of 2010.

Ford of Europe sold 212,200 new vehicles in March and 431,900 year-to-date across its 51 markets. Compared to 2009, these sales were 12.7 and 4.7 per cent higher, respectively.

Notes to Editors:

•Ford of Europe's market share refers to the 19 European markets (Euro 19) - excluding Turkey and Russia (as the other main markets) and excluding the 30 European Direct Markets (EDM), where we base our share on non-domestic sales volume and hence no total industry share figures are available. Sales data (reference: registrations) for specific car lines refer to Euro 19.
•We also report our sales performance (passenger cars and commercial vehicles) for the total region for which Ford of Europe is responsible (51 markets in total), here however as retail sales (as total industry registrations numbers are not available).
•The Euro 19 markets are: Austria, Belgium, Britain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Ford reports sales for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania through our Finnish National Sales Company, so sales data for the Baltic states is also included within Euro 19.
•European Direct Markets are: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, Georgia, Gibraltar, Kazakhstan, Kyrgysztan, Libya, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan


Ford of Europe is responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 51 individual markets and employs approximately 66,000 employees. Also in 2009, Ford was Europe's No.2 best-selling vehicle brand. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company (NYSE: F), Ford of Europe operations include Ford Customer Service Division and 22 manufacturing facilities, including joint ventures. The first Ford cars were shipped to Europe in 1903 - the same year Ford Motor Company was founded. European production started in 1911.


SOURCE Ford