Ford Sales Growth Continues to Outpace the Market in Europe in First Quarter; Ford Claims No. 1 Spot in CV Sales

• Ford sold* 335,100 vehicles in first quarter – up 12.5 percent, outpacing industry growth of 9 percent
• Ford’s total vehicle market share in Europe rose 0.2 percentage points to 8.2 percent year-to-date
• Ford No.1 top-selling commercial vehicle brand in the first quarter for the first time since 1997; CV share at 13.3 percent, the best in almost two decades
• New models power sales gains: Mondeo up 34 percent year-over-year; Kuga up 31 percent; commercial vehicles up 42 percent
• Retail and fleet sales channels accounted for 73 percent of Ford passenger car sales – 4 percentage points above industry average
• 2015 one of Ford’s strongest years ever for new model launches, with about half of Ford’s sales volume coming from new or significantly freshened models

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COLOGNE, GERMANY -- April 14, 2015: Ford Motor Company’s overall sales in Europe continued to outpace industry growth in the first quarter of 2015 and the company has now become the European industry’s top commercial vehicle seller.

In total, Ford sold 335,100 vehicles in its 20 traditional European markets* in the first three months of 2015 – a year-over-year increase of 12.5 percent, closing Ford’s best first quarter sales performance since 2011. Ford continued to outpace industry growth which was 9 percent year-to-date.

Ford’s total vehicle market share reflected its successful new model introductions as it rose by 0.2 percentage points to 8.2 percent year to date, strengthening Ford’s position as  Europe’s No.2 best-selling total vehicle brand. Ford also recorded its best first quarter for passenger car sales since 2012, with 264,440 sold year to date, an increase of 6.5 percent.

“Our strategy of investing to create one of the freshest line-ups in the industry is paying off as we are seeing consistent gains in the passenger car market and huge growth in commercial vehicles,” said Peter Fleet, vice president, Sales, Ford of Europe. “We became the top selling commercial vehicle brand in the industry in the first quarter – up from No. 7 just three years ago – thanks to our completely refreshed and expanded CV line.”

Ford’s improvement was powered by strong demand for new models like the Mondeo and Transit vehicle lines, performance cars such as the new Focus ST and Focus ST diesel, as well as improved sales of the Kuga and EcoSport SUVs.

Ford also continued to improve its sales mix in healthier channels in the first quarter, outperforming the industry once again. Retail and fleet sales accounted for 73 percent of Ford’s passenger car sales in the first quarter, 4 percentage points better than industry. Ford’s retail market share was 8.6 percent in the first quarter, up 0.3 percentage points.

 “We expect our momentum to continue this year as we continue to roll out new vehicles,” Fleet said. “Overall, this is one of our strongest years ever for new vehicle launches, with about half of our sales volume coming from new of significantly freshened models being launched in 2015.”

Ford is now preparing to launch the new C-MAX and Grand C-MAX, the all-new S-MAX and Galaxy models, and the new Ford Vignale Mondeo in the coming weeks. This summer, Ford will begin selling the all-new Mustang fastback and convertible in Europe for the first time in the iconic car’s 50 year history. Near the end of the year, Ford will begin producing the Ford Edge SUV and Focus RS performance hatch.

Commercial vehicles
Ford continued to gain CV sales momentum and improve market share with its all-new and expanded Transit range, making Ford the No.1 top-selling CV brand in Europe in the first quarter, up from No. 7 in 2012. This was the first time since 1997 that Ford has held first quarter CV market leadership in Europe.

Ford CV sales were up 42.4 percent in the first quarter, selling 70,646 units. Market share rose by 2.8 percentage points to 13.3 percentage points – the best market share in almost two decades.

The Transit Custom one-tonne van was the best-selling nameplate with sales up 50 per cent year-on-year. The Ranger pickup also closed a strong quarter as the No.1 top-selling vehicle in its segment year-to-date, selling 6,578 vehicles.

March sales
In March, Ford sold 168,400 vehicles in total in its 20 traditional European markets*– a year-over-year increase of 14.4 percent. Ford continued to outpace industry growth which was 11.6 percent for the month. Total vehicle market share rose by 0.2 percentage points to 9.1 percent in March.
Ford sales in healthier sales channels – including retail and fleet – accounted for 70 percent of Ford passenger car sales in March, in line with industry average. Commercial vehicles market share rose by 2.9 percentage points to 14.3 percentage points in March.
The UK market closed a particularly strong month as total vehicle sales approached the 80,000 mark in March, recorded its all-time best-ever month for commercial vehicle sales. Ford’s UK market leadership remains unchallenged with its total vehicle sales share 14.2 percent, 4.3 percentage points ahead of nearest rival

Vehicle highlights in first quarter
First quarter sales and customer orders continued to be strong across Ford’s product portfolio, led by new model introductions.

Sales of the all-new Mondeo were up 34 percent year-over-year and customer orders were up 75 percent as the model is currently rolling out to Ford dealerships across Europe. Orders from private customers were almost four times more than in the first quarter last year.

Ford’s SUV sales continued to build momentum with Kuga sales up 30.7 percent, the best first quarter for the model since 2008, when the first-generation Kuga was launched. Sales of the EcoSport compact SUV also continued to gain momentum in first quarter sales.   

Volume across the Tourneo family of people movers more than doubled compared to the same period last year. 


* Ford of Europe reports its sales for the 20 European main markets where it is represented through National Sales Companies.  The Euro 20 markets are: Austria, Belgium, Britain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.