- Ford's April market share in its traditional 19 European markets increased 0.2 percentage points to 8 per cent compared with April 2010
- Ford’s April sales rose volume was up 0.7 per cent to 101,900 units
- All-new Focus has sold nearly 25,000 units in its first few weeks on sale in Europe. Focus wagon and four-door models now being launched across Europe
- All-new C-MAX is also off to a strong sales start with more than 56,000 units sold since launch at the end of last year. The vehicle posted its best sales in April and for the first four months the year since 2004
- April sales of Ford S-MAX and Galaxy up by 66 per cent and 59 per cent, respectively
- Commercial vehicle share in April of 8.7 per cent is the highest April share since 2007, largely driven by Transit which was Ford's No.2 best-selling vehicle in April
- Market share in Germany rose by 0.6 percentage points to 7.5 per cent, the best April share since 2003
- April sales in Russia and Eastern Europe grew by 31 and 36 per cent, respectively. Ford's Turkish sales rose 51 per cent to an April record market share of 15.3 per cent
COLOGNE, Germany, May 16, 2011 – Ford Motor Company increased sales volume and market share in Europe in April as strong demand for the all-new Ford Focus and C-MAX and improved performance in Germany helped the company buck the overall industry sales decline.
In the traditional 19 European markets, Ford sales in April increased by 0.7 percentage points to 101,900, while the overall European market saw a 2.5 per cent sales decline. Ford’s market share increased by 0.2 percentage points compared with a year ago to 8 per cent. In April and through the first four months of the year, Ford was Europe’s second best-selling car brand.
“We’re fortunate to have successful new products in the new Focus and C-MAX, which helped Ford achieve a solid April,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe. “More customers are recognising that cars like the C-MAX and Focus offer not only high levels of quality and comfort, but also feature customer-focused technologies often only found in far more expensive premium cars.
Ford sold 12,000 Focus units in April and nearly 25,000 units in total since the popular five-door model went on sale in mid-March.
“With the launch of the Focus wagon and four-door models this month across Europe, we have good momentum heading into the summer,” de Waard said.
The new five-seat C-MAX and seven-seat Grand C-MAX also is proving to be a hit with customers, with 11,300 units sold in April, the best result since April 2004, and more than 56,000 units sold since the vehicle was launched late last year. Sales of Ford's S-MAX and Galaxy models were also strong, increasing by 66 per cent and 59 per cent, respectively.
Ford’s commercial vehicle market share of 8.7 percent marked the company’s best performance in April since 2008. Transit sales were up by 33 per cent in April, and it was Ford's No.2 best-selling vehicle for the month.
"Our strategy to strike the right balance between revenue, volume, and market expense and brand value is working, as shown by first quarter financial results – a pre-tax profit of $293 million," de Waard said.
Ford sales in April in the growth markets in the European region continued to grow. Ford sales in Russia, Turkey and Eastern Europe rose by 31, 51 and 36 per cent, respectively. Ford posted a market share of 15.3 per cent in Turkey in April, a record April for Ford in the country.
At 7.5 per cent – up by 0.6 percentage points from April 2010 – Ford recorded its best April share in Germany since 2003. This result built on the continuing positive trend for Ford in the country, with a year-to-date market share of 7.4 per cent, up 0.4 percentage points on the same period last year.
Ford retained market leadership in the UK and Turkey in April, and is the market leader in the UK, Hungary and Turkey through the first four months of the year. Ford also was the top imported brand in Italy for April and year-to-date.
Ford increased its market share in Britain, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, The Netherlands, Sweden, Russia and Turkey in the first four months of 2011.
Overall, Ford's total European sales in its 50 markets were 128,500 units in April, up 6.8 per cent or 8,100 units on April last year.
Year-to-date 2011 sales
In its traditional 19 European markets, 454,300 new Ford vehicles were registered in the first four months of 2011, a reduction of 38,600 or 7.8 per cent from the same period last year.
Year-to-date market share in Ford's traditional 19 European markets was 8.4 per cent, down 0.6 percentage points compared to 2010. The lower sales and market share reflect the favourable impact of scrappage schemes still in place in the early part of 2010, which helped to boost Ford's small car sales in the first part of 2010, as well as Ford’s decision to selectively reduce participation in low margin business.
Across its total 50 markets across Europe, Ford sold 540,400 vehicles in the first four months of 2011, down 10,400 or 1.9 percent compared to the same period 2010.
April sales highlights
Market Performance (Euro 19 plus Russia and Turkey):
- April sales in Russia were 9,900 units, an increase of 31 per cent or 2,300 units on 2010, while Ford in Turkey reported a sales gain of 51 per centto 12,500 units, up by 4,200 units versus April 2010. Eastern European sales were up 36 per cent.
- Ford was market leader in the UK and Turkey and No.1 imported brand in Italy.
- Ford's share in its 19 European markets was 8.0 per cent for April, an improvement of 0.2 ppts.
- Commercial vehicle market share of 8.7 per cent was up by 1.3 ppts, the best CV April share for Ford in its traditional 19 European markets since 2008.
- Ford increased share in 12 of the traditional19 European markets.
- Ford in Germany reported sales of 21,900 for the month of April, up by 2,200 units or 11.2 ppts on 2010, with a market share of 7.5 per cent, up by 0.6 ppts – the highest share in the market since 2003.
- In Britain, Ford had a market-leading April share of 14.6 per cent - an increase of by 1.1 ppts on April 2010.
- Highest share gains in the 19 European region were in Ireland (up 2.2 ppts, with share at 12.3 per cent), Austria (up 1.4 ppts; share at 7.1 per cent) and Norway (up 1.2 ppts; share at 7.5 per cent).
Model Performance (Euro 19):
- Fiesta (28,100), Transit (12,200), and all-new Focus (12,000) were Ford's top-selling models
- New C-MAX sales were 11,300 in April, and total sales are 56,300 units since launch in late 2010. This also was the best April for C-MAX sales since 2004.
- S-MAX and Galaxy had another strong month in April, with S-MAX sales up by 1,600 units to 4,000 or 66 per cent, the highest April volume since 2008, whilst Galaxy saw sales of 2,300, up by 900 units on 2010, an increase of 59 per cent on April 2010.
- Fiesta was best-selling foreign vehicle for the month in Italy.
- Since its market debut in October 2008, 1,183,000 customers have purchased the Fiesta around the world, with more than 1,105,100 cars having been sold in Europe.
- Transit sales soared to 12,200 units (up by 3,000 on April 2010) or an increase of 33 per cent, the largest April volume for Transit since 2008.
Year-to-date April 2011 performance
Market Performance (Euro 19 plus Russia and Turkey):
- Market leader in the UK, Hungary and Turkey.
- Ford's share at 8.4 per cent, down by 0.6 ppts on the first four months of 2010.
- Germany's year-to-date April 2011 volume grew to 84,000, up by 18 per cent or 12,800 units, the highest year-to-date April sales since 2004 and the highest volume improvement for the six major markets.
- Ford's share increased in five of its main 19 European markets, plus in Romania.
- Leading import brand in Italy for the first four months of 2011.
- Scandinavian markets are going from strength to strength in the first four months of 2011. Sweden had registrations of 7,300, up by 1,400 units, an increase of 25 per cent on 2010 and the highest year-to-date April volume improvement there since 1999. Finland's sales volume was at 5,300 up by 1,000, representing an increase of 24 per cent on the first four months of 2010, the highest April year-to-date sales since 2008.
- The highest share gains of all 19 markets year-to-date 2011 were in Norway (+ 0.7 ppts at 8.4 per cent share), Austria (+ 0.5 ppts, at 7.1 per cent, whilst volume at 9,500, up by 1,700 was the highest YTD April volume in Austria since 1999) and Germany (+ 0.4 ppts to 7.4 per cent).
- For the first four months of 2011 sales in Turkey increased by 24,300 units to 40,600 – a 66.2 per cent sales plus on the same period 2010. 2011 April year-to-date sales for Ford in Russia were at 30,800, up by 38 per cent or 8,500 units on the same period 2010.
Model Performance (Euro 19):
- The three best-selling vehicles year-to-date April 2011 were the Fiesta (129,100), Transit (50,100) and new C-MAX (44,100).
- Year-to-date April Transit share was the highest since the same period 2003.
- In the first four months of 2011, Fiesta remained the best-selling foreign vehicle in Italy.
- Fiesta was the UK's No.1 selling car year-to-date, while Transit was the best-selling commercial vehicle in the first four months of 2011.
- New C-MAX sales achieved 44,100 - the highest volume improvement of a Ford vehicle in the main 19 markets YTD April of 2011. In Germany C-MAX sales were up 172 per cent on the first four months of 2011.
- S-MAX was the best-selling foreign vehicle in its segment in France.
Notes to Editors:
- Ford of Europe's market share refers to the 19 European markets (Euro 19) - excluding Russia, Turkey and Romania (as the other main markets) and excluding the 28 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 (50 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.
- EDM 28 or European Direct Markets are:
- Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, Georgia, Gibraltar, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.
- Tunisian sales were excluded as part of our ongoing review process of our relationship with the importer of Ford vehicles there. April and April year-to-date data for 2010 and 2011 have been adjusted accordingly, reflecting sales for Euro 50 markets for both years.
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Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 166,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.com.
Ford of Europe is responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 50 individual markets and employs approximately 66,000 employees. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company, 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.
