Sponsorship Link
Ford Motor Co.'s European division registered a decline of 14 percent in sales in its 19 main markets in Europe. Ford sold 105,500 units in May, lower by 17,100 compared to same period in 2009. The company attributed the drop in sales to discontinuing scrappage schemes and continuing weakness in consumer confidence in the region. May is the second consecutive month of decline in the European new car industry.
Must Read
"We've long been prepared for the slowdown in the market and are not surprised that many of our competitors continue to react with the tactic of heavy discounting, which we believe is ultimately unsustainable and damages the brand," said Ingvar Sviggum, vice-president of Marketing, Sales and Service at Ford of Europe.
"In the face of such difficult market conditions, we have put in place a simple, consistent and effective plan: We will grow our volume and share where it makes good business sense to do so, such as in Turkey; we will reduce in a controlled way our share and volume in the areas of our business that are less profitable," Sviggum said.
The forecast maintained by Ford for European industry is 14-15 million units in 2010, down from 15.9 million in 2009. Ford Europe is expected to launch more than 11 new models in 2010.
Here are some highlights on Ford Europe’s performance in May:
Follow us
-- From January to May 2010, Ford registered 598,400 vehicles in its traditional 19 European markets, 4,700 units or 0.8 per cent below 2009.
-- Ford was top-selling brand for May and Year-to-date in Britain, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland and Turkey.
--Spain volume was up by 14.8 per cent versus the same month last year or 1,200 units to 9,200 – the highest increase in new car registrations in all of Ford's European markets in May.
-- Denmark's volume of 1,700 was up 91 per cent on May 2009 or 800 units - the highest equal May sales volume there since 1997.
--Turkey's market share in May was at 17.0 per cent, up by 0.2 ppts on May 2009.
-- Fiesta (31,400), Focus (22,100), and Transit (10,400) were Ford of Europe's three top-selling vehicles (19 main European markets).
-- In the first five months of 2010, new Fiesta sales were up 9,600 or 4.9 per cent on 2009,
To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail:
To contact the editor, e-mail:
