Ford models crowned reliability winners for second year running in DEKRA’s Used Car Report

• Ford Fiesta, S-MAX and Galaxy win consecutive awards for used car reliability
• Ford Kuga completes the haul with first victory
• The Used Car Report awards – from industry safety authority DEKRA -- are based on more than 15 million vehicle inspections

COLOGNE, Germany, Jan. 17, 2012 – Four Ford models have scooped top reliability awards – three of them for the second year running.

The awards recognized the Fiesta, S-MAX, Galaxy and Kuga for beating rivals in terms of the number and severity of faults reported.

The Used Car Report awards were published by DEKRA, Germany’s testing and certification authority. The respected industry safety firm collated the results during the course of its 15 million inspections of vehicles in Germany over the past two years.

Fiesta and Kuga topped the categories for small cars and SUVs with less than 50,000 kilometers on the odometer with DEKRA fault index scores of 95.3 per cent and 94.7 per cent, respectively.

The S-MAX and Galaxy won the MPV class for high-mileage vehicles, those having covered between 100,001-150,000 kilometers, with a DEKRA fault index of 66.1 per cent.

Ford of Europe quality expert Dr Thomas Hochkirchen said the awards were the result of ongoing reliability-focused improvement.

“DEKRA is incredibly well-regarded by car buyers, and we are proud of these real-world awards,” he said.  “It proves our build quality and reliability start on the forecourt and keep going for tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of kilometers.”

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About Ford Motor Company
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.fordmotorcompany.com.

Ford of Europe is responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 51 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.