OREANDA-NEWS. June 18, 2015. Ford of Europe’s vehicle sales increased again in May on the back of strong demand for its all-new and updated models, led by the all-new Mondeo, EcoSport SUV and Transit commercial vehicle range. 

Ford sold 99,900 vehicles in total in its 20 traditional European markets last month, and 541,900 vehicles in the first five months of the year – a year-over-year increase of 1.5 percent and 9.3 per cent, respectively.

The company’s total vehicle market share was flat at 7.8 per cent in May and rose by 0.2 percentage points to 8.1 per cent year-to-date. Ford remained the No. 2 best-selling brand in Europe for both passenger car and total vehicle sales for both periods.

“New products are driving our sales growth in 2015 and we expect to continue building momentum as the year goes on and we launch even more new models,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe. “Our new Mondeo and new Transit commercial vehicle line-up are helping us to reach new customers. Now we are shipping all-new S-MAX, new C-MAX, Mondeo Vignale and Mustang to dealers.”

Ford said nearly 5,000 customers in Europe have already ordered the all-new Mustang, which will go on sale this summer for the first time it its 50-year history.  

Ford’s positive momentum in Europe is largely driven by sales in higher value sales channels including the private retail and the fleet segments. The company’s combined sales in the retail and fleet market accounted for 72 per cent of its passenger car sales in May and in the first five months, 3 percentage points better than industry average for both periods.

Vehicle Highlights in May

Ford’s momentum comes on the back of growth across the company’s product range, led by new model introductions.

Sales of the all-new Mondeo were up 75 per cent year-over-year and customer orders were up 14 per cent in May. Customer orders for the new Focus grew by 45 per cent in May. This includes 4,700 new Focus ST models, 40 per cent of which were the new Focus ST diesel.  Customer orders for the Fiesta – Europe’s best-selling small car in 2012, 2013, and 2014, were up by almost 23 per cent in May.

Ford’s SUV sales also are growing. Kuga sales in May and year-to-date were the highest since the launch of the first-generation Kuga in 2008. The EcoSport compact SUV saw a three-fold increase in customer orders in May. 

Thanks to strong demand for its completely new and expanded Transit range – including Transit, Transit Custom, Transit Connect and Transit Courier – Ford continued to grow its commercial vehicles sales and market share. Ford is now Europe’s No 2 best-selling commercial vehicle brand year to date, a position it gained earlier this year, up from No 7 in 2012. Demand for the Ranger pick-up continued to grow with May volume being the best since the model’s launch in 1999. 

Ford’s total commercial vehicle sales were up 16 per cent in May and 36 per cent year-to-date. Commercial vehicle market share rose by 1.1 and 2.5 percentage points to 11.5 and 12.7 per cent in May and year-to-date, respectively, the best shares in almost two decades. May customer orders for Ford commercial vehicles were up 73 per cent year on year.