Ford Europe Sales Up 9.8 Percent To 88,700 Units In January 2015

Ford of Europe increased sales volume and market share in January 2015 in the 20 traditional European markets.

Sales of Ford vehicles in the region totaled 88,700 during January, an increase of 9.8 percent compared to the same period last year, outpacing industry growth of 6.5 percent. Because of that, Ford’s total vehicle market share rose 0.2 percentage points to 7.7 percent.

Strong demand for ford vehicles enabled The Blue Oval to maintain its strong position as the No. 2 total vehicle and passenger car brand in Europe behind Volkswagen. It was also the No. 2 commercial vehicle brand in January.

Ford commercial vehicle sales surged 33 percent in January, giving the company a market share of 13.2 percent, up 2.5 percentage points. The results represent the highest January commercial vehicle market share for Ford since 1995, underscoring the success of Ford’s completely new and expanded commercial vehicle range in Europe.

It’s important to note that the automaker achieved these results through improved sales on the retail side of the business, according to vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe, Roelant de Waard. This is significantly more valuable than other elements (such as fleet and corporate sales).

“Our investment in new product and technologies is really paying off, and we will see much more to come on this front in what will be one of the busiest years ever for Ford in terms of new vehicle introductions in Europe.”

Ford’s sales in the “healthier sales channels – including private retail and fleet customers” – accounted for 77 percent of its passenger car sales in January; that’s seven percentage points better than industry average.

Per Vehicle

On a vehicle basis, customer demand continued to grow across the board for Ford’s vehicle range:

• The Kuga (sold as the Escape in North America) had its best Europe sales since the launch of the first-generation Kuga in 2008
• The EcoSport sub-compact SUV had the highest sales for any month since it launched in the middle of last year
• The Transit family – including Transit, Transit Custom, Transit Connect and Transit Courier – achieved its highest January sales since 2008
• The Ranger pickup also achieved its best January sales volume since the nameplate launched in Europe in 1998
• Sales of the all-new Mondeo, which is now being rolled out to Ford dealerships across Europe, were up 29 percent year-over-year; orders were up 60 percent

20 European Markets

The 20 European markets discussed here include Austria, Belgium, Britain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.