FORD IS KING OF CALIFORNIA

SAN DIEGO, CA, February 13, 2002 – Ford Motor Company extended its California sales leadership for the sixth consecutive year, led by Ford Division, the state's best-selling brand of cars and trucks combined for the 19th year in a row.

2001 proved to be Ford Motor Company's and Ford Division's second-best year ever in California, compared to the Company's and Division's records set in 2000.

For the sixth straight year, Ford Motor Company (including its Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo brands) earned the annual sales crown in California with 433,722 new car and truck registrations – 22,262 more than second place General Motors (411,460, including SAAB and Hummer) and 83,866 more than third place Toyota Motor Sales USA (349,856, including Lexus).

Ford Motor Company's share of the 2001 new vehicle market was 20.8 percent, in comparison to General Motors at 19.8 percent and Toyota Motor Sales USA at 16.8 percent.

Ford Division

In capturing their 19th consecutive California sales crown, Ford Division dealers delivered 365,150 Ford cars and trucks in California in 2001 – 20.7 percent more than second-place Toyota Division (302,432) and 58.3 percent more than third-place Chevrolet Division (230,686).

With this year's leadership position, Ford Division claimed the following achievements:

Number one vehicle in six different segments: Mustang, F-Series, Escape, Explorer, Expedition and Econoline Most far-reaching line-up of Sport Utilities in the industry with six models Four of the top 10 vehicles sold in California—more than any other automotive brand: F-Series, Explorer, Expedition and Focus

"2001 presented many challenges, but once again, our wide range of products and outstanding retailers helped us maintain sales leadership," said Drew Atkinson, Ford Division California regional manager. "Looking to the new year, the Ford Division product lineup will continue to strengthen with the introduction of the all-new 2003 Expedition, that will, once again, raise the standard for the full-size SUV segment."

Trucks continue to grow in importance in California, now achieving 48.4 percent of the market, and Ford Division's truck dominance has contributed to its overall success. Ford Division has captured 25 percent of the truck market (252,021 registrations), led by four of the 10 best-selling nameplates—F-Series, Expedition, Explorer and Ranger—and two other segment leaders—Escape and Econoline.

Ford F-Series expands its lead for the third consecutive year as the best-selling vehicle in California, with registrations of 92,332, up three percent over the same period last year and outselling its nearest truck competitor, Chevrolet C/K, by 20,069 units and its nearest vehicle competitor, Honda Accord, by 16,143 units.

Expedition continues as the Golden State's favorite full-size SUV with registrations of 31,611, making it a segment best-seller since its introduction in 1997. In fact, in 2001, Expedition celebrated a significant milestone, when its one-millionth vehicle was delivered to a Southern California resident. Explorer, assisted by the introduction of the all-new 2002 model, continues as the best-selling compact SUV in the state with registrations of 42,975, outselling its nearest competitor by 22,903, a lead of more than two-to-one.

Furthermore, in it first full calendar year of sales, the all-new Ford Escape expanded Ford's success story and became the subcompact SUV segment leader with 17,287 registrations.

On the car side of the equation, Ford Division posted total registrations of 113,129 units and claims three of the top 10 best-selling spots in the state for Focus, Mustang, and Taurus. The trend-setting Focus posted registrations of 31,533, while Taurus had registrations of 30,305. The ever-popular Mustang achieved registrations of 30,655, outselling its nearest competitor by 19,306, nearly three-to-one.