Ford Enjoys September European Sales Surge

The Ford Motor Company has been enjoying some success lately, with its hybrid models well received, the Taurus getting rave reviews, while several Lincoln models are performing quite well. On the home front, Ford is doing its best to separate itself from its chief competitors – General Motors and Chrysler.

Ford Improves Internationally

Internationally, Ford is beginning to see some strong improvements too with Asian and Latin American sales advancing. Importantly, sales in Europe are also on the rise, climbing by 12.3% for September 2009 as 152,600 vehicles were sold. That effort also means that Ford’s market share in Europe is up, hitting 10.1%.

Ford credits its success in Europe with the introduction of a pair of new models – its tiny Ka and subcompact Fiesta. In addition, aggressive car scrappage programs conducted in several companies helped to bolster sales, the first time since September 2001 that Ford’s share of the market was in double-digits.

“Traditionally we expect Ford to have a good month in September given the surge of new car sales in the UK due to the registration plate change, but September 2009 has surpassed expectations,” said Ingvar Sviggum, Ford of Europe’s Vice-President for Marketing, Sales and Service. This really was an outstanding performance. I’d like to thank Ford employees, our dealers and, most of all, our customers, for helping to achieve such a strong performance in September.

Three Biggest Sellers

Ford remains the market leader in the United Kingdom and was also top in sales in Ireland, Turkey, Denmark and Hungary for the month. Ford of Europe’s three top-selling vehicles (19 main markets) were the Fiesta (51,400), Focus (32,100), and Mondeo (13,300). 11,700 units of the Ford Ka were also sold last month.

“Our continuing success in gaining market share despite the difficult economic situation shows that customers are willing to place their faith in Ford because we are providing them with the exciting and innovative new vehicles that they want to buy. This is particularly true of the new Ford Fiesta, which achieved its highest September sales volume since 1994.”

Fiesta, Focus For America

The Fiesta along with the European Focus will go on sale in the United States next year. Right now, one hundred Fiestas are being tested across the country, in a bid to gain customer feedback and to promote the model. Following the Fiesta’s debut next Spring, the Focus is expected to arrive by the fall. The Fiesta and Focus are part of a “One Ford” strategy where the automaker will share models across all of its markets.

See Also — Ford C-Max North American Bound?