FORD OF EUROPE SETS SALES RECORD IN FIRST HALF OF 2008

  • In the first six months Ford of Europe sold a record 1,003,700 vehicles in its 51 markets
  • First half record also for Ford Transit commercial vehicle sales which soared to 99,400 in the Euro 19 markets
  • June market share in the Euro 19 markets was at 8.8 per cent, up 0.6 per cent vs the same period last year
  • Germany sales increased by 16.9 per cent in June

COLOGNE, July 15, 2008 – Ford of Europe's sales in its main 51 markets rose by almost two per cent to a record 1,003,700 in the first half of this year.

"Surpassing the one million mark after only six months of the year is confirmation of how well our products are being received by an increasing number of customers," said Ingvar Sviggum, vice president, Marketing, Sales & Service, Ford of Europe. "We are also very pleased that despite a general softening of the industry and the challenging economic environment we could increase to 8.8 per cent our market share in the Euro 19 markets.

"With the new Kuga compact cross-over currently arriving in European dealerships, and the all-new Fiesta going into production next month, we have prepared the ground to further improve our market position," he added.

June
The top selling models in June across the Euro 19 markets were the Focus (33,200), Fiesta (30,600) and Mondeo (14,300). The Kuga continued its strong start with sales of 2,800.

The Fiesta was the best-selling imported car in Italy, selling 6,700 units, and Ford was Italy's best selling imported vehicle brand, achieving a 7.9 per cent market share. In France, the Fiesta, S-MAX and C-MAX were the best-selling vehicles in their segments.

Britain was the company's top market in June, selling 37,200 vehicles for a market leading share of 15.3 per cent.

Sales in Germany increased by 16.9 per cent, to 23,900 while France improved by 9.5 per cent to 15,700.

Half Year
In the first six months of this year Ford of Europe sold 823,400 vehicles in the Euro 19 markets. Twelve of those markets posted increases. Britain was the company's top region, selling 235,500 vehicles for a share of 16.2 per cent. Among other successes, Germany sold 118,500 (an increase of 5.8 per cent) vehicles and France 80,900 (plus 13.7 per cent). Ford leads the market in Spain this year, with a share of 10.0 per cent, up by 0.5 per cent on 2007.

First half sales in Russia increased 19.8 per cent to 97,300. Turkey improved by 3.8 per cent, to 38,700, while sales in Ford's 30 European Direct Markets soared by 39.4 per cent to 44,400.

In the first half of the year, Transit retails were up 7,500, to a record 99,400 in the Euro 19 markets.

June and first half 2008 total sales volume 

June 08

June YTD 08

Euro 19 1 
changes vs. 07 

140,300
down 7,300 / (4.9) % vs. June 07 

823,400
down 10,800 / (1.3) % vs. June YTD 07 

Euro 21 (Euro 19 +. Russia and Turkey)
changes vs. 07 

166,800
down 2,200 / (1.3) % vs. June 07 

959,400
up 6,600 / 0.7 % vs. June YTD 07 

EDM 30 2 
changes vs. 07 

8,600
up 3,000 / 52.7 % vs. June 07 

44,400
up 12,500 / 39.4 % vs. June YTD 07

Total EURO 51 (EURO 21 + EDM 30)
changes vs. 07 

175,400
up 800 / 0.4 % vs. June 07 

1,003,700
up 19,200 /1.9 % vs. June YTD 07

1 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.
2 European Direct Markets are: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, Georgia, Gibraltar, Kazakhstan, Kyrgysztan, Libya, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.

June and first half 2008 total market share 3

June 08

June YTD 08

Euro 19 3 
changes vs. 07 

8.8 %
up 0.6 ppts. vs. June 07 

8.7 %
+/– 0.0 ppts. vs. June YTD 07 

Euro 21 (incl. Russia and Turkey)
changes vs. 07 

8.4 %
up 0.3 ppts. vs. June 07 

8.5 %
down 0.2 ppts. vs. June YTD 07 

3 Not available for EDM, where we base our share on non-domestic sales volumes.

June sales by vehicle line (Euro 19) 4

Model 

June 08 

o(u) June 07 

June YTD 08 

o(u) June YTD 07 

Ka 

5,700 

500 

30,600 

1,400 

Fiesta 

30,600 

(2,100) 

181,200 

(18,000) 

Fusion 

7,800 

100 

39,500 

(3,800) 

Focus 

33,200 

(3,200) 

204,500 

(13,200) 

Focus Coupé-Cabriolet 

1,500 

800 

7,200 

3,500 

C-MAX 

10,600 

(2,700) 

63,900 

(1,500) 

Kuga 

2,800 

2,800 

5,500 

5,500 

Mondeo 

14,300 

5,700 

91,700 

79,600 

S-MAX 

5,800 

(800) 

32,000 

(9,200) 

Galaxy 

3,200 

100 

18,100 

(2,200) 

Transit

17,100 

(300) 

99,400 

7,500 

Transit Connect

5,400 

(2,600) 

34,500 

(5,900) 

Ranger

1,300 

(700) 

9,700 

(400) 

4 Figures do not include vehicles such as the Fiesta van, Maverick, Explorer imports and Turkish- built Cargo heavy trucks.

Notes to Editors:

  • Ford of Europe's market share refers to the traditional main 19 European markets (Euro 19) - excluding Turkey and Russia (as the other main markets) and the 30 European Direct Markets (EDM), where we base our share on non-domestic sales volume.
  • We also report our sales performance (passenger cars and commercial vehicles) for the total region for which Ford of Europe is responsible (51 markets in total).
  • Sales data for specific car lines refer to the Euro 19 markets.
  • 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.
  • 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, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.