"Welcome to Geneva, and a really exciting show for Ford of Europe as we face one of our busiest years ever in 2008.
Last year was a landmark year for Ford in Europe – in our sixth consecutive year of increased vehicle sales, some 1.5 million European customers bought a new Ford car, while our commercial vehicle range reached a record 370,000 customers, a 10 per cent improvement on 2006.
This performance, coupled with our continued focus on reducing our costs, ensured 2007 was our fourth consecutive year in profit. I am proud to say Ford of Europe has achieved a turnaround of almost $2billion over the past eight years, to record pre-tax profits of $997m for 2007. Furthermore, we expect to be solidly profitable again in 2008.
This is driven by strong customer demand for a refreshed and revitalised Ford range, with the impact of our 'kinetic design' form language extending across our products, and creating vehicles that look as good as they drive – and they drive brilliantly. Today’s Ford range truly appeals to the heart, as well as the head.
While I’m immensely proud of our achievements to date, 2008 is going to be a bumper year for us - I can honestly say that I do not recall a year in which Ford of Europe will have so many new products to launch. By the end of the year, we will have brought to production our new small car range, the all-new Ford Kuga crossover and numerous individual new models across our entire portfolio.
For us 2008 is very much the year of the small car, and it starts with the all-new
Ford Fiesta.
Following the incredible worldwide reception to our three Verve Concept vehicles, we're proud and excited to reveal how the all-new Ford Fiesta turns the design concept into production reality.
With over thirty years of success, the new model will challenge perceptions of what small cars stand for and also attract a new generation of customers to the Fiesta brand around the world. We're proud to keep the Fiesta name for the new model, as it is one of the most recognised small car brands in the world.
I'm also delighted that we've kept all of the style, sophistication and excitement of the Verve Concept, and all of the driving quality and technology features you'd expect from a new Ford.
Significantly, the new Fiesta is also the next step in our global product development process, and tailored versions of the car will be launched between 2008 and 2010 in markets across Asia, South Africa, Australia and the Americas.
The new Ford Kuga crossover is the latest addition to our C-car lineup and appears in Geneva alongside our entire new Focus range, including, for the first time, the new Coupé-Cabriolet.
Kuga combines our acknowledged on-road driving dynamics with surprising all-wheel-drive off-road ability in a bold and stylish package. It will take Ford into an exciting new segment and I believe that, like the S-MAX, it will bring new customers to the Ford brand.
For customers looking for ultra-low CO2 models, the new Mondeo ECOnetic joins the class-leading Focus ECOnetic as we continue to push the efficiency of conventional fuels, while our Flexifuel range grows in both choice and popularity with customers. Over 17,000 Flexifuel models were sold in 2007 and 2008 sees the new Focus, the Mondeo, S-MAX and Galaxy models available as Flexifuel derivatives. In the future, we will continue in our commitment to what we do best: bringing efficient and affordable new technologies to the mass market.
I hope you can now appreciate why I am excited about 2008. With great news across our entire car range, there has never been a better time to be a Ford customer."
John Fleming,
President & CEO,
Ford of Europe
March 2008
