OREANDA-NEWS. Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) has carried the strong sales momentum it achieved throughout last year into 2016, recording its best-ever January with a total of 6,524 vehicles sold and its best-ever market share for the month of 14.7%.

The January volume represents a 15% increase compared to the corresponding month last year, and 2.8% up on the December 2015 results – once again a positive growth trend for Ford in the face of weak overall market trends.

“The local motor industry has been under significant pressure over the last year, but we are delighted that Ford has been able to achieve significant and consistent gains, which has continued into 2016,” says Neale Hill, Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa Director of Marketing Sales and Service.

“Along with the new sales records for January, it’s also important to note that Ford was the second best brand through the retail channel. This means individual customers are spending their own money on our vehicles, and we aren’t relying heavily on rental, fleet and government sales.

“This ensures that our dealers remain profitable, and is the greatest testament to the exceptional quality, performance, efficiency and outright value offered by our current product range,” Hill adds.

*According to the figures released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA), aggregate new vehicle sales at 48,615 units registered a decline of 6.9% compared to January 2015. At 34,936 units, the new car market fell by 6.1% year-on-year, while domestic sales of light commercial vehicles dropped by 8.3%.

Ford’s main highlights in January, were spearheaded by the Ford Fiesta which notched up 1,206 sales – its best result since August 2015.

The Figo proved extremely popular too, recording 826 units for the month, while the EcoSport remained the undisputed leader of the compact SUV category with 917 units sold. The Ford Ranger was the second-best selling vehicle in the LCV sector and the third-best overall, with a final tally of 2,348 units for January.

*Includes Associated Motor Holdings (AMH) and Amalgamated Automobile Distributors (AAD).