COLOGNE, Germany, Feb. 15, 2012 – Ford’s January market share in its traditional 19 European markets increased to 8.4 per cent as the European industry continued to weaken. Ford share was up 0.2 percentage points compared with January 2011, while its total sales in these markets fell 5 per cent to 94,100 units, with total industry sales volume declining by 7.2 per cent.
The higher market share for Ford in its 19 traditional European markets follows three consecutive quarters of share gains for Ford, strengthening its position as Europe’s No. 2 best-selling vehicle brand. In total, Ford increased its market share in 10 out of its 19 traditional European markets in January.
Continued strong demand for the Focus and C-MAX, with up 41 and 10 per cent in January, respectively, helped Ford to outperform a weaker overall industry.
“I’m pleased we’re continuing to outperform the industry, which highlights that our products and brand are getting stronger across Europe. We have recently opened orders for the new Focus 1.0-litre EcoBoost with much more product to come this year,” said Roelant de Waard, Vice President, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe. “The further weakening of the European industry, however, is a concern and illustrates why decisive action is needed to restore economic stability and improve consumer confidence.”
In the UK, Ford’s largest market in Europe, Ford had registrations of 23,700, down by 600 units or 2.5 per cent on January 2011, with market share down 0.2 percentage points at 16.1 per cent.
January share for Ford in Germany, Ford’s second largest market by volume, was 7.3 per cent, the same as in January 2011. Sales volume was down 1 per cent – in line with the industry – at 17,000.
Ford continued to be the top imported brand in Italy, and the market was Ford’s No. 3 European sales market in the first month of 2012. New vehicle registrations were 12,300 compared to 16,000 units in January 2011, a 23 per cent reduction. In January, France – Ford’s fourth-largest market for the month – had a market share of 5.5 per cent, up by more than a half percentage point from 4.9 per cent last January.
Outside Ford’s 19 traditional European markets, Russia continued its strong sales momentum with total vehicle registrations of 6,500, up 80.2 per cent versus January 2011. Market share for Ford in Russia rose by 1.8 percentage points to 4.5 per cent. Russia was Ford’s fifth-largest market by sales volume in January.
Eastern European sales also continued to grow in January, by 16.6 per cent, with sales of 3,700.
Overall in January, new registrations for Ford in its total 51 markets European region markets were 4.3 per cent or 4,800 units lower, at 108,600 vehicles.
Best January sales volume for both the Ford C-MAX and Ford Focus since 2008
In January, 21,800 new Focus were registered, a 41 per cent increase year-on-year and the best January for the vehicle since 2008 and slightly behind the Fiesta with 23,600 units sold in January 2012. Over 210,000 Ford Focus cars have been sold since it was launched 10 months ago.
The Ford C-MAX continued its sales success in January with 9,800 registrations, up 10 per cent on January 2011 – the best January volume for the vehicle since 2008, with its share also being the best since January 2004. The C-MAX was also segment-leading in Italy and France in January. Since the vehicle entered the market in late 2010, 140,000 vehicles have been sold.
Notes to Editors:
Ford of Europe's market share refers to the 19 European markets (Euro 19) - excluding Russia, Turkey and Romania (as the other main markets) and excluding the 29 European Direct Markets (EDM), where we base our share on non-domestic sales volume and hence no total industry share figures are available. Sales data (reference: registrations) for specific car lines refer to Euro 19.
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), here however as retail sales (as total industry registrations numbers are not available).
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. Ford reports sales for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania through our Finnish National Sales Company, so sales data for the Baltic states is also included within Euro 19.
EDM 29 or 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, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.
# # #
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 164,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide, please visit http://corporate.ford.com.
Ford of Europe is responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 50 individual markets and employs approximately 66,000 employees. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company, Ford of Europe operations include Ford Customer Service Division and 22 manufacturing facilities, including joint ventures. The first Ford cars were shipped to Europe in 1903 – the same year Ford Motor Company was founded. European production started in 1911.