Ford’s European Market Share Increases in February; New Car Demand in the Region Remains Weak

• Ford’s February vehicle market share in its 19 traditional European markets was 7.6 per cent, up 0.2 percentage points from February 2011
• Ford sales volume at 78,300 vehicles was down 8.3 per cent compared with February 2011. Overall industry sales fell 10.3 per cent
• The new Ford Focus and Ford C-MAX models hit new milestones exceeding the 250,000 and 150,000 sales mark, respectively.
• Ford saw share gains in 10 of its 19 traditional European markets in February
• Ford sales in Russia rose 38.6 per cent with share up by 0.4 percentage points to 4.3 per cent in February

COLOGNE, Germany, March 14, 2012 – Ford Motor Company increased its market share in its 19 traditional European markets in February compared with a year ago, but industry-wide sales in Europe remained well below 2011 levels.

Ford’s captured 7.6 per cent of the total market in the 19 markets, an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared February 2011. Ford’s total sales of 78,300 fell by 8.3 per cent compared with last year, somewhat better than the overall industry decline of 10.3 percent.

Through February, Ford’s market share in the 19 markets has increased by 0.2 percentage points to 8.0 per cent, though sales volume has decreased by 6.5 per cent to 172,400 vehicles.

“The strength of our new products is helping us outperform the European market under extremely challenging business conditions,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe. “Industry sales are well below 2011 levels, which itself was a slow year, so we remain very concerned about the market. There is a clearly a strong need for decisive actions to help bolster consumer confidence and improve demand.”

Ford recently revised its forecast for new vehicles sales in the 19 traditional markets to 14 million vehicles. The company previously said it expected sales to finish between 14 million to 15 million vehicles.

On the positive side, Ford of Europe noted that 2012 is a very strong year for new product, which will keep the company in a strong competitive position. New entries coming this year include the Focus 1.0-litre EcoBoost, which reaches dealerships starting this month, as well as the new B-MAX, Kuga and Fiesta ST that debuted recently at the Geneva Motor Show.

“We have a wealth of exciting vehicles and technologies coming this year that will pay off for years to come. For example, the Focus 1.0-litre EcoBoost sets a new benchmark as Ford’s most fuel efficient petrol-powered car ever. The B-Max, which comes to market later this year, features best-in-class access to the interior with the central body pillar integrated into the hinged front doors and sliding rear doors. Our in-car connectivity system – SYNC – debuts in the B-MAX, and also will be available in the Fiesta, Focus, C-MAX, Kuga and Transit by year-end. These are game-changing fuel economy, features and technologies the competition can’t match,” said de Waard.
  
In February, 19,300 new Focus cars were registered, which was the best month for Focus in terms of sales and market share since 2009. Focus was Ford’s best-selling model in February, edging the Fiesta by 100 units. Focus sales have reached 250,000 since the redesigned version was launched 11 months ago.

C-MAX sales surpassed 150,000 units since the new model debuted in late 2010. Sales of C-MAX in February totalled 8,700, making it the third best-selling Ford vehicle in Europe. C-MAX posted its best February market share since 2004.

Market roundup

Ford remained Europe’s No. 2 best-selling vehicle brand for the first two months of the year, and increased its market share in 10 out of its 19 traditional European markets in February.

In Germany – Ford’s largest European market in February – the company had registrations of 17,500 vehicles and a market share of 7.2 per cent, equal to a year ago.

February market share for Ford in the UK was 15.5 per cent, an increase of 1.2 percentage points – the highest share for Ford in any of its European markets for the month. Ford’s February sales volume climbed by 3.4 per cent to 11,300 units, whilst in the first two months of 2012 Ford’s sales volume was 35,000 vehicles, 200 units below 2011. Through February, Ford’s share in the UK was 15.9 per cent, 0.3 percentage points higher than in the first two months 2011.

In February, market share in France – Ford’s fourth-largest market for the month – rose by 0.4 percentage points to 5.4 per cent, and was up by a half percentage point from 4.9 per cent last January and February.

The 10 markets in the 19 traditional markets where Ford increased market share in February were the UK, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland. Ford was market leader in the UK and Hungary and was import leader in Italy in the first two months of the year.

In Russia, outside Ford’s 19 traditional European markets, Ford continued its strong sales momentum with registrations of 9,200, up 38.6 per cent compared to February 2011. Ford’s market share grew by 0.4 percentage points to 4.3 per cent. Ford’s sales volume soared by 53.3 per cent to 15,800 for the first two months of the year. Year-to-date market share for Ford in Russia climbed 0.8 percentage points to 4.2 per cent.

Eastern European sales also continued to grow in February, with sales of 3,300 units showing an increase of 14.8 per cent.

New vehicle registrations for Ford in its total 51 European region markets in February were 7.4 per cent or 7,700 units lower at 97,300 vehicles. In the first two months of the year, Ford reported 205,900 new vehicle sales in its 51 markets, a reduction of 12,500 or 5.8 per cent on the same period 2011.