Strong Sales of Focus, Fiesta and commercial vehicles lift Ford of Europe sales in June

COLOGNE, July 11, 2005 – Ford brand vehicles in Europe, led by double-digit gains of the new Ford Focus and the Ford Fiesta, reported June retail sales of 151,700 units, an increase of 5 per cent, or 7,900 vehicles, above the prior year.

Focus sales were 42,300, up 3,900 units or 10 per cent, versus June 2004. Fiesta sales climbed 13 per cent to 32,300 units, an increase of 3,800 units versus the prior year. Commercial vehicle sales, including Transit and Transit Connect, were up 2,000 units or 9 per cent to 24,700, compared to June 2004.

Ford's passenger car market share in June reached 8.4 per cent, a slight decrease of 0.2 points, while the company's commercial vehicle share climbed to 9.9 per cent, up from 9.6 per cent in 2004. Ford's total share for June was 8.7 per cent, a decline of 0.2 points.

Total Ford retail sales between January and June 2005 were 815,491 units, 2.6 per cent lower than last year, mostly due to the 4.8 per cent decline of the British vehicle industry in the first half of 2005, by far Ford's most important market.

The Focus remained Ford's most successful model in Europe in the first half of 2005, with 243,800 units sold, up 13,000 versus the prior year. The second best-seller was the Ford Fiesta, which achieved 179,100 registrations, more than 3,100 units above a year ago.

There was good news too for Ford's commercial vehicle range, with Transit, Transit Connect and Ranger, reaching more than 125,000 registrations for the period, an increase of 7,500 units versus 2004.

Ford's most successful markets in Europe in the first half of 2005 were Turkey , Britain , Ireland and Spain . However, Ford also showed an increase in market share in Greece , Portugal , Finland , Norway , Denmark , Switzerland and Hungary .

"In a European market that remains volatile, Ford's performance was primarly driven by our small and compact car range", said Geoff Polites, vice president marketing, sales and service, Ford of Europe. "Our new Ford Focus is gaining sales and share against a challenging line-up of competitors and so does the Ford Fiesta. But one of the biggest strengths of our performance so far this year has been our improved commercial vehicle share, spearheaded by the iconic Ford Transit, a market leader in Europe for so long that it seems as if the vehicle has become synomous with the word van."