FORD SALES IN EUROPE CONTINUE TO RISE IN APRIL; MUSTANG GERMANY'S NO.1 SPORTS CAR AMONG PRIVATE RETAIL BUYERS

May 13, 2016 by Ford

◾Ford's best April total vehicle sales since 2009; best passenger car sales since 2010; and best commercial vehicle sales since 1993*

◾Ford sales in April rose 6.3% to 113,400 vehicles in the European 20 traditional markets*, and up 4.7% to 129,600 vehicles in its European 50 total markets**

◾Sales channels: 72% of Ford passenger car sales in higher value retail and fleet segments – 1 ppt better year-over-year, and 3 ppts above industry average

◾CVs: Ford is Europe's No.1 CV through the first four months of the 2016; Ford CV sales rose 18.9% in April; best-ever Ranger sales ever for April

◾SUVs: Best-ever April sales for Kuga; EcoSport sales up 120%; nearly 2,000 Edge customer orders confirmed

◾Performance cars: Combined sales of Fiesta ST, Focus ST, Focus RS and Mustang up 62% in April and 91% year-to-date; Mustang was Germany's No.1 sports car at retail***

◾High series models: Titanium specification, Mondeo Vignale, Fiesta ST, Focus ST, Fiesta and Focus Red/Black Editions accounted for 58% of Ford passenger car sales in April****

◾More new Ford vehicles to come: ◾Recently launched: Transit Custom and Transit 2-tonne with all-new 2.0-litre EcoBlue diesel engine; Focus RS performance car; Edge large SUV

◾Coming this year: New Kuga SUV, upscale Vignale line expanding with S-MAX, Edge and Kuga Vignale; Fiesta ST200, all-new KA+, plus a freshened Ranger pick-up

COLOGNE, Germany, May 13, 2016 – Ford's total vehicle sales in April in its European 20 traditional markets* were its best in the month since 2009, with passenger car sales at their highest since 2010, and commercial vehicles achieving their peak April sales since 1993.

Ford total vehicle sales in its European 20 traditional markets in April rose 6.3 percent to 113,400 vehicles, with market share down 0.3 of a percentage point at 7.6 percent, and flat for year-to-date at 8.1 percent.

Across all of 50 European markets**, Ford vehicles sales increased by 4.7 percent to 129,600 vehicles. Market share was down 0.2 of a percentage point for the month at 7.4 percent, but up 0.1 of a percentage point to 7.8 percent for the first four months of the year.

'We are off to a fast start in 2016, especially with our new SUVs, commercial vehicles and incredible performance line-up,' said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe. 'With Mustang becoming Germany's top-selling sports car among retail buyers***, and Focus RS beating some of the German premium sports car brands in comparison tests, we are showing that Ford can compete and win against the premium brands when we play to our strengths.'

Ford's sales in higher value sales channels improved in April, with retail and fleet sales accounted for 72 percent of Ford's car sales in month, 1 percentage point up on the same month last year and 3 percentage points better than the industry.

Commercial vehicles:

Ford is Europe's No.1 commercial vehicle brand in the first four months of the year. Ford commercial vehicle sales in April rose 18.9 percent and market share rose 12.3 percent on increased demand for the expanded Transit range and the Ranger pickup. Ranger sales were up almost 56 percent, making April 2016 the best April sales result ever for the pickup since its launch in 1998 and making it the best-selling pick-up in Europe for the month. In total, Ford sold 26,040 commercial vehicles in April in its European 20 traditional markets.

Ford also launched in April a freshened Transit Custom and Transit 2-tonne with an all-new 2.0-litre Ford EcoBlue advanced technology diesel engine equipped with an SCR exhaust after-treatment system. The new engine improves fuel efficiency by up to 13 percent compared with the previous 2.2-litre TDCi diesel engine, whilst also delivering increased power and torque, with 20 percent more torque at low rpm (1,250 rpm) and enhanced driving refinement.

SUVs:

Kuga had its best-ever April sales with sales of 9,800 – a 14 percent increase on April 2015. EcoSport sales in the month stood at 4,900, equivalent to a 120 percent increase in sales compared with the same month last year. To date, almost 2,000 European customers have ordered a Ford Edge prior to the SUV being at their local Ford dealerships, while more than half a million people across Europe have built and priced their a new Edge online.

Performance cars:

Combined sales of Ford's performance line-up – the Fiesta ST, Focus ST, Focus ST diesel, Focus RS and Mustang – rose 62 percent in April and 91 percent year-to-date. Focus RS customer order take now stands at 6,832 since last September, while 17,707 orders for Mustang have been placed since the third quarter of 2015.

High Specification model sales:

April saw an increase in the sale of higher specification Ford models. Sales of top of the standard range Titanium specification models were up 6 percentage points in Ford's European 22 traditional markets****, from 36 percent of sales, to 42 percent. All Ford high series models – Titanium models, Mondeo Vignale, Fiesta ST, Focus ST petrol and diesel, and Fiesta and Focus Red/Black Editions – accounted for 58 percent of Ford passenger car sales in the month, up by 2 percentage points from April 2015.

More new Ford vehicles in 2016:

Ford continues to expand its line-up in key market segments in 2016:

◾Ford will bolster its SUV line-up with the launch of Edge this month and new Kuga in the second half of the year. Ford expects its SUV sales to grow by about 30 percent in 2016 compared with 2015, and expects to break the 200,000 sales barrier for the first time in Europe.

◾In the performance segment, the all-new Fiesta ST200 goes on sale later this year, and follows the recent launch of the Focus RS. In total, about 40,000 Ford performance cars are expected to be sold in 2016 – a 50 percent improvement on 2015, which itself saw performance car sales rise by 61 percent.

◾Ford is expanding its upscale Vignale line this year with three new models this year – S-MAX Vignale, Edge Vignale and Kuga Vignale – joining the Mondeo Vignale which went on sale in 2015. By 2017, Ford will have five Vignale models in the market.

◾The KA+ goes on-sale later this year to meet the growing demand for value-priced small cars.

* Ford of Europe reports its sales for the 20 European main markets where it is represented through National Sales Companies. The Euro 20 markets are: Austria, Belgium, Britain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.
** The 50 markets include the traditional 20 markets (see above), plus Turkey, Russia, as well as Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Gibraltar, Kazakhstan, Kyrgysztan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
*** According to data published by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority, the KBA.

****Ford of Europe's 20 main markets plus Russia and Turkey.

Photo credit: Ford
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