"In a difficult economic environment, we were able to improve our overall
market share last year thanks to the strongest product line-up in our history,
and the early success of our new Fiesta," said
"We believe this strength is a key factor in helping us to deal with the challenge of the deep economic crisis for as long as it lasts, and will allow us to take full advantage of an upturn in demand when it does arrive," said Fleming.
The company increased its market share in 15 of its main 19 European
markets. Even with a deep industry decline in traditionally strong Ford
markets like the UK and
The new Fiesta has gotten off to a particularly strong start. Two months after going on sale in late 2008, more than 61,000 new Fiestas have been sold in the main 19 European markets, making it the second best-selling Ford car behind the Focus.
As soon as it went on sale in the UK, the Fiesta became the best-selling car for both November and December.
"This gives us real confidence that the Ford brand will emerge even
stronger when the economy rebounds," said
December Sales Down, Market Share Stable
In
However, Ford's market share in these countries remained stable at 8.4
percent versus the same month the previous year. Contrary to the overall
industry trend, the company increased sales in four of its 19 main European
markets:
Top selling Ford models in the 19 main European markets were the Focus
(20,300), new Fiesta (18,600) and Transit (10,500). In
Across its 51 European markets, Ford sold 118,300 vehicles, down 25.6 percent versus the same month last year.
Among other sales highlights for the month, three of the company's five biggest markets achieved market share gains:
-- Despite a challenging economic environment, Ford improved its share in Spain for December by 0.4 percentage points to 8.1 percent -- In Italy, market share increased by 0.8 percentage points to 7.5 percent -- Market share in France rose by 0.6 percentage points to 5.3 percent.
Ford of
Ford of Europe Established as Second Best-Selling Brand in 2008
With an 8.6 percent market share, Ford in its main 19 European markets
established a solid position as
Sales volume, however, was down for the full year in these 19 markets by 7.4 percent compared to the same period in 2007. This compares to a 7.6 percent overall decline for the industry. In total, Ford sold 1,443,800 vehicles, and 10 out of these 19 markets had sales gains in 2008 compared with 2007, despite the difficult industry conditions.
Ford sales in the European Direct Markets were at 80,500 in the full year 2008, a 23.6 percent increase over 2007. Across all of its 51 European markets, the company sold 1,783,500 units in 2008, down 6.1 percent when compared to the same period in 2007.
Ford's popularity among private retail customers in the UK made
In
For the first time since 1995, Ford was the best-selling passenger car
brand in
Although sales in
Full Year and December 2008 total sales volume December 08 December YTD 08 Euro 19 (1) 90,500 1,443,800 changes vs. 07 down 22,200 / down 115,200 / (19.7)% vs. 12/07 (7.4)% vs. Dec. YTD 07 Euro 21 (Euro 19 114,900 1,703,000 +.Russia and Turkey) down 38,400 / down 132,000 / changes vs. 07 (25.1)% vs. 12/07 (7.2)% vs. Dec. YTD 07 EDM 30 (2) 3,400 80,500 changes vs. 07 down 2,400 / up 15,400 / (40.7)% vs. 12/07 23.6% vs. Dec. YTD 07 Total EURO 51 (EURO 118,300 1,783,500 21 + EDM 30) down 40,800 / down 116,600 / changes vs. 07 (25.6)% vs. 12/07 (6.1)% vs. Dec. YTD
(1) The
(2) European Direct Markets are:
Full Year and December 2008 total market share (3) December 08 December YTD 08 Euro 19 (3) 8.4% 8.6% changes vs. 07 +/- 0.0 ppts. vs. up 0.1 ppts. vs. Dec. 07 Dec. YTD 07 Euro 21 (incl. Russia 8.6% 8.4% and Turkey) down 0.3 ppts. vs. down 0.1 ppts. vs. changes vs. 07 Dec. 07 Dec. YTD 07
(3) Not available for EDM, where we base our share on non-domestic sales volumes.
Full Year and December sales by vehicle line (Euro 19) (4) Model December 08 o(u)December 07 December YTD 08 o(u)December YTD 07 Ka 700 (2,700) 43,500 (8,700) New Ka 2.000 2,000 4,300 4,300 Fiesta 5,600 (18,400) 266,100 (89,900) New Fiesta 18,600 18,600 61,400 61,400 Fusion 3,600 (1,500) 66,500 (11,600) Focus 20,300 (6,500) 353,200 (35,900) Focus Coupe- Cabriolet 700 (800) 11,700 1,400 C-MAX 6,000 (3,100) 107,200 (16,900) Kuga 3,900 3,900 27,000 27,000 Mondeo 9,200 (3,000) 162,500 69,100 S-MAX 3,500 (800) 54,900 (16,300) Galaxy 1,600 (600) 30,900 (3,800) Transit 10,300 (5,000) 173,100 (8,800) Transit Connect 3,000 (2,700) 56,500 (21,800) Ranger 1,000 (900) 15,700 (5,200)
(4) Figures do not include vehicles such as the Fiesta van, Maverick, Explorer imports and Turkish-built Cargo heavy trucks. Notes to Editors:
-- Ford of
-- We also report our sales performance (passenger cars and commercial
vehicles) for the total region for which Ford of
-- Sales data for specific car lines refer to the
-- The
-- European Direct Markets are:
SOURCE Ford of