OREANDA-NEWS. July 09, 2015. More customers can better manage the cost of owning a vehicle with the global expansion of Ford Extended Service Plans.

There are now 77 countries in which Extended Service Plans are offered through Emerging Market Services, but that’s only part of the story. The plans have been available in most of the markets for less than 10 years. The number of customers purchasing the plans topped 66,000 in 2014, up from less than 60,000 in 2013. This year, more than 45,100 ESP contracts had been sold through June 30.

One of the reasons for the increase in sales says Evan Hubenka, ESP sales manager, EMS, is an increasing awareness of the benefit to the customer. “Extended Service Plans help customers control the additional cost of owning a vehicle by protecting them against increasing maintenance costs, because it covers routine inspections and key maintenance.”

EMS offers four types of Extended Service Plans, and Hubenka says getting the word out about the benefits of each also has helped sales. “We’ve been working closely with the dealers on increasing customer awareness and creating marketing materials as appropriate.”

A key selling point is that all work is performed by Ford factory-trained technicians, providing peace of mind to the customers that the work will be done correctly. That’s particularly important as independent companies also offer extended service plans. “They tend to be less expensive than Ford,” says Hubenka, “but they don’t offer the high-quality coverage that Ford guarantees.”

One of the advantages to dealers is that the customers who return for service are more likely to purchase their next vehicle from the same dealership.

In addition to point-of-purchase materials, direct mail campaigns are being conducted in some countries. Eventually a web site will be developed to enable people to purchase the plans online.

While ESPs were previously limited to new vehicles, two types of used vehicle warranties were introduced throughout EMS July 1.