- New Mondeo sales increase 66 percent
- Ford Ranger sales jump 200 percent
COLOGNE, Germany, March 12, 2008 – Ford of Europe's growth momentum continued in February with year-over-year sales in its main 21 markets increasing by 5.4 percent to 125,500 units. The company's market share was 8.1 percent.
This strong performance, driven by its acclaimed new models, boosted the company's year-to-date sales by 3.3 percent to 267,900 vehicles.
The Focus was Ford's most popular model in February with sales totaling 32,800. This was followed by the Fiesta with sales of 24,900, while the Ford Fusion added a further 9,950 units.
Sales of the new Mondeo continued to accelerate, increasing 66 percent to 13,370 versus February 2007. The Ford Ranger compact pickup truck also performed strongly during the month, with sales surging 200 percent, to 1,760. The popular Ford Transit medium commercial vehicle also continued to win sales, rising 13 percent to 15,470.
Ford sales in February improved in virtually all of its main markets. Britain was the best-selling market, with sales of 14,650, slightly ahead of Germany, which increased by 870 to 14,630 units.
Spain and France also turned in strong performances: Spain improved by 935 units to 14,390, while France climbed 770 units to a total of 11,620.
The largest increase came in Russia, however, where Ford sales surged over 11 percent to 13,900. Sales in Turkey also continued to move ahead, rising by 9.3 percent to 5,400.
In percentage terms, the largest increases were posted in Portugal (up 44 percent to 1,935), the Czech Republic (up 34.9 percent to 1,065) and Poland (up 33.6 percent to 2,470).
“Our strong performance in February, coupled with an outstanding reaction to our new models at the Geneva Motor Show, keeps us on course to maintain our growth momentum in the coming months,” said Stephen Odell, vice president, marketing, sales & service, Ford of Europe.
“The media and public reaction to the new cars we revealed at Geneva, particularly the all-new Fiesta and Kuga crossover, was outstanding. This demonstrates clearly that we are keeping our promise to deliver products that appeal to the heart as well as the head. This year alone we will introduce more than 20 individual new models and derivatives across our entire portfolio,” Odell said.
Ford's sales data includes both passenger cars and commercial vehicles from its 21 major European Sales Companies, including Russia and Turkey. Market share excludes Russia.
Ford of Europe is responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 47 individual markets, including Russia and Turkey. The first Ford cars were shipped to Europe in 1903 – the same year Ford Motor Company was founded. Ford of Europe now employs approximately 67,500 people. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company, Ford of Europe operations include Ford Customer Service Division and 21 manufacturing facilities, including joint ventures.