OREANDA-NEWS. July 15, 2015. Ford of Europe sales growth outpaced the overall industry in June and the first half of the year on the back of strong demand for its new models, led by the all-new Mondeo sedan, Kuga and EcoSport SUVs, and Transit commercial vehicles.

Ford sold 126,800 vehicles in total in its 20 traditional European markets* last month, and 668,800 vehicles in the first six months of the year – a year-over-year increase of 15.8 per cent and 10.5 per cent, respectively. This compares to an industry growth of 15.1 per cent in June and 8.6 per cent in the first half of the year.

The company’s total vehicle market share was 8.1 per cent both for June and the first half of the year, up 0.1 percentage point and 0.2 percentage points, respectively.
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 71.3 per cent of its passenger car sales in in the first six months, 2.3 percentage points better than industry average for the period. Sales to fleet customers improved particularly with the introduction of the new Mondeo and new Focus.

“We delivered a strong first half of 2015 and expect to continue our momentum with a host of new vehicles – including S-MAX, Galaxy, C-MAX, Mondeo Vignale and Mustang -- reaching dealerships this summer,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe. “This historic product push is well timed as we have started opening a network of flagship FordStores in cities across Europe, offering a truly modern and world class experience for customers.”

More than 100 FordStores have now opened across Europe, and Ford and its dealer partners are on target to open another 100 FordStores by the end of 2015. Ford plans to grow the network to 500 FordStores over time.

Sales Highlights and Order Bank
More than 6,700 customers in Europe have ordered the all-new Mustang, which is going on sale in Europe this summer for the first time it its 50-year history.

Sales of the all-new Mondeo rose 55 per cent year-over-year in the first half and custom orders were up almost four-fold in June compared to the same period last year.

Customer orders of the new C-MAX grew by 42 per cent, and of the Fiesta – Europe’s best-selling small car in 2012, 2013, and 2014 - by 24 per cent in June.

Ford’s SUV sales also continue to gain momentum. Kuga sales were up 24 per cent year-to-date - the highest since the launch of the first-generation Kuga in 2008. Sales and customer orders of the EcoSport compact SUV, available now in an enhanced version, more than doubled in June compared to the same point in time last year.

Ford continued to grow its commercial vehicles sales and market share, leveraging its redesigned and expanded Transit range – including Transit, Transit Custom, Transit Connect and Transit Courier – and the Ranger pick-up.

Sales of the Ranger reached the highest level since the model’s launch in 1999.
Ford’s total commercial vehicle sales climbed 19 per cent in June and 33 per cent year-to-date.

Commercial vehicle market share rose by 0.2 and 2.0 percentage points to 11.8 and
12.5 per cent in June and year-to-date, respectively, the best shares in almost two decades.