* Ford of Europe's 2007 sales rise 5.4 per cent to a record 1,833,600
* Car sales up 4.1 per cent and commercial vehicles 10.9 per cent
COLOGNE, January 10, 2008 – With demand increasing for its stylish new models, Ford of Europe's sales soared by an impressive 93,500 units in 2007 to a record 1,833,600, a rise of 5.4 per cent on the previous year. Market share improved to 8.9 per cent.
Ford of Europe sold 1,463,630 cars in 2007, an increase of 4.1 per cent across its main 21 markets. Commercial vehicle sales leapt 10.9 per cent to a record 369,985, beating the previous record of 333,570 set in 2006.
The Ford Focus and Ford Fiesta were the top-selling Ford models in Europe last year, retailing a total of 496,600 and 378,220 units respectively. The Transit continued to set a brisk pace in the medium commercial vehicle market and sold a record 224,915. Not to be outdone, its smaller sibling, the Transit Connect, also set a new record selling 109,900 vehicles.
"I am delighted with our performance in 2007," said Stephen Odell, vice president, Marketing, Sales & Service, Ford of Europe. "Including sales from our European Direct Markets, we sold close to 1.9 million vehicles last year. That's about 110,000 vehicles more than we sold in 2006. In 2006 we sold some 80,000 vehicles more than we did in 2005, so in the past two years we have added some 200,000 sales to our bottom-line.
"Selling over 100,000 more vehicles was a spectacular performance. Transit was up by 30,000 vehicles, Mondeo increased by 17,000 as we started to get full production of that model, S-MAX was up by 33,000 and Galaxy by more than 41 per cent to 10,000 units."
Around the markets, Ford of Europe sold more vehicles in Britain last year where it retained market leadership, than in any other single European market. Overall, UK sales rose 1.6 per cent to 444,390. The company there has been car market leader for 31 consecutive years and commercial vehicle market leader for 42 consecutive years. Sales in Germany totalled 235,050, with Italy close behind with 232,925. Spain sold 175,675, with France selling 133,600. In Russia, sales increased by more than 50 per cent, to 174,650.
"Our share in France was up to 5 per cent, which is a great recovery for us," said Stephen Odell. "Products like the C-MAX did very well, as did S-MAX and Galaxy. We also had a great year in Italy, selling 23,900 vehicles more than in prior year and increasing our share. We also did very well in Spain, especially with Mondeo and Fiesta. Turkey sold over 100,000 units, despite a lower industry in the first eight months of the year.
"To achieve record sales in a highly competitive market is testament to the strength of our product range," he added. "We have increased our sales every year since 2002 and it is clear that the performance, styling and quality of our cars and commercial vehicles are continuing to attract customers to the Ford brand. With more new models being launched this year, we are optimistic that we will maintain our sales momentum in 2008."
A strong performance in December contributed to Ford of Europe's 2007 sales record. In its main 21 markets, the company sold 152,680 cars and commercial vehicles in the final month of last year. Top-selling Ford models in December were the Focus (38,715), Fiesta (27,310) and Transit (22,440).
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 66,000 people. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company, Ford of Europe operations include Ford Customer Service Division and 22 manufacturing facilities, including joint ventures.
Source: Ford Motor Company
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