New Transit Custom Helped Ford of Europe Gain Commercial Vehicle Market Share; Overall Sales Fall In January

• Strong sales of the all-new Transit Custom helped Ford’s commercial vehicle market share rise in January to its highest level since 2008
• Ford’s total vehicle sales in the traditional 19 European markets fell 22 per cent in January, reflecting the weaker market conditions as well as changeover for key models and limited availability of large passenger cars
• Ford was Europe’s No.2 best-selling brand for both cars and total vehicles in the Euro 19
• Ford was the best-selling car and total vehicle brand in the UK
• All-new B-MAX has sold more than 20,000 units since launch in October
• Ford continues product offensive in 2013, including new Fiesta, Fiesta ST, Focus Electric, Kuga, Transit, Transit Connect, Tourneo Connect and EcoSport

COLOGNE, Germany, Feb. 19, 2013 – Strong early demand for the all-new Transit Custom helped Ford of Europe gain market share in commercial vehicles in January. 

Overall, Ford remained the No. 2 best-selling brand for passenger cars and commercial vehicles in the traditional 19 European markets it tracks despite a year-over-year decline in sales.

Ford sold 13,000 commercial vehicles in January in the Euro 19, about level with last year while the overall market was down 12 per cent.  Ford’s commercial vehicle market share of 8.7 per cent was up 1.6 percentage points from a year ago and at its highest level since 2008.  Including Russia, Turkey and Romania, Ford’s commercial vehicle sales rose 8 per cent in January.

Ford’s overall vehicle sales in January totaled 74,000 units in January, down 22 per cent.  The decline reflected the overall industry sales decline as well as key model changeovers such as Fiesta and Kuga, and reduced availability of large passenger cars.

“We are in the middle of a complete transformation and expansion of our commercial vehicle lineup and it’s already starting to pay off with strong early sales of the Transit Custom and new Ranger,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales, and Service, Ford of Europe. “We expected a significant sales decline in January because we didn’t have full availability yet of the new Fiesta and Kuga, plus we had production limitations of our large cars.”  
  
De Waard said he is seeing strong orders for new products including the Fiesta, Kuga, B-Max, Transit Custom and Tourneo Custom, which should help Ford strengthen its position going forward.

“We’re very excited about the early response to our new products,” de Waard said. “The new B-MAX is off to a fast start with 20,000 sold since October and orders are coming in strong for new Fiesta and new Kuga.”

Further new product launches this year include the Fiesta ST, Focus Electric, Transit, Transit Connect, Tourneo Connect and EcoSport, as part of Ford’s product acceleration in Europe that includes the introduction of 15 global vehicles in Europe within five years.

Regional Sales Performance

In the UK, Ford sales in January were level with last year at 24,000 units. With a total vehicle market share of 14.7 per cent, Ford continued to be the market leader, and the Fiesta and Focus were the No. 1 and 2 best-selling vehicles in the country, respectively.

January market share for Ford in Germany, the company’s second largest market by volume, was 5.9 per cent, with sales of 12,500 units. Ford’s sales in Turkey grew by 29 per cent to 5,100 vehicles in January 2013, the highest sales gain for any of Ford’s European markets.

In Russia, Ford’s third largest market by sales, monthly registrations for Ford were nearly stable, with sales of 6,500, down 200 units.

Eastern and Total Europe

In Eastern Europe, Ford sales were up 3.9 per cent at 3,800 vehicles in January. Ford sold 89,300 vehicles across the full European region of 51 markets, down 18.7 per cent.