• Mustang is the world’s best-selling sports car in 2015, according to IHS Automotive global registration data for the first half of the year
• More than 8,000 Mustangs sold in Europe; customers show preference for fastback body style, 421 PS 5.0-litre V8 engine, and Race Red and Magnetic Grey colours
• Global Mustang momentum continues to build as production of the right-hand drive model officially kicks off at Flat Rock Assembly Plant, Michigan for markets including the U.K.
  
• 2015 marks first year Mustang is available to customers around the world in more than 100 markets and the first time a right-hand drive model will be widely available 

COLOGNE,Germany, Sept. 8, 2015 – Customers around the world have made Ford Mustang the best-selling sports car across the globe during the first half of the year, according to global IHS Automotive registration data. 
Customers globally registered 76,124 vehicles during the first six months of 2015* – a 56 per cent increase versus the same period last year.
“Customers in Europe and right-hand drive markets around the world have been waiting more than half a century for the official Mustang experience, so it’s no surprise that we are seeing huge demand for Mustangs in these regions,” said Stephen Odell, executive vice president, Global Marketing, Sales and Service. “It’s taken the support of customers in every corner of the globe to achieve the position of the world’s best-selling sports car.”

Initial sales show that in Europe across both fastback and convertible body styles, Race Red and Magnetic Grey (both 21 per cent of total sales) are the most popular exterior paint colour choices. European fastback customers show a preference for Race Red (24 per cent) and convertible customers for Magnetic Grey (32 per cent).

Fastback models account for 3 in 4 sales in Europe to date (72 per cent) and 2 in 3 customers have opted for Ford’s 5.0-litre V8 engine delivering 421 PS (64 per cent).

Drivers in Europe are split almost evenly between six-speed manual (51 per cent) and six-speed automatic (49 per cent) transmissions. However, the automatic transmission is proving more popular with 5.0-litre V8 customers (57 per cent) and the manual option with 317 PS 2.3-litre EcoBoost customers (65 per cent).

First Mustangs with right-hand drive
Production of the right-hand drive Mustang model is underway at Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Flat Rock, Mich., U.S., continuing the car’s first-ever global launch.

The Ford Mustang is now available to customers in more than 100 markets around the world. The addition of a right-hand drive Mustang to Ford’s global vehicle lineup allows export to more than 25 additional markets around the globe, including the U.K., South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, as well as Cyprus, Malta and a smattering of Caribbean islands.
Global sales leader
Sales in the U.S. and Asia began last winter, and Mustangs first made their way to European markets this summer.
New buyers are driving U.S. sales growth, especially in regions such as Southern California – the largest sports car market in the country, according to IHS – where Mustang retail sales have more than doubled this year.

While Mustang is a new entry into the China market, it is already one of the nation’s top-selling sports cars, with hottest sales in Beijing, Guangdong and Shanghai.

Models are just starting to hit dealerships in Europe, with markets including the U.K. eagerly awaiting delivery of the first right-hand drive models. Almost 2,000 Ford Mustang orders have been taken in the U.K. since January. First customer deliveries are expected in November, with extra supply secured to meet the greater-than-expected demand.

Customer anticipation for Mustang in Europe was obvious last year when Ford opened pre-ordering for 500 Mustangs during the 2014 UEFA Champions League finals; customers filled the pre-order list in mere minutes. More than 8,000 Mustangs have been sold in Europe to date.

Another right-hand-drive market eagerly awaiting units is Australia, where nearly 3,000 orders already have been received. Four hundred orders have been received in right-hand-drive New Zealand, where customer deliveries begin this autumn.

* IHS Automotive global registration data includes all registrations in the IHS global sport segment, January-June 2015.