6:02 pm, September 5, 2008
NOT everyone is having a nightmare.
Despite yesterday’s headline-grabbing doom-and-gloom news about August new car sales, Ford seems to be rather chuffed.
Last month, the maker not only won 16.1 per cent of the market, but also boosted its profitable retail share to 9.7 per cent. That’s up from 7.1 per cent compared to August 2007.
And the brand’s overall market share of 16.4 per cent is 0.2 per cent up on 2007 YTD, too.
This indicates that as Ford pulls back from daily rental and other high-volume sales channels, private sales are easily filling in the gaps, and helping it grow overall. The results aren’t quite as grain-defying as Ford would have you believe, but it’s still a very positive result in a market seemingly embedded with doom and gloom.
It’s also been winning in the cars that matter, too – high-profit Mondeos and Galaxys, which all boasted improved sales. The Transit was up as well – and there’s even a green element to things. Sales of Fiesta, Fusion and Focus models emitting less than 120g/km of CO2 are up an astonishing 42 per cent.
And as Ford is super-keen to remind us, that’s before the all-new Fiesta arrives next month!
Roelant de Waard, Ford of Britain chairman and managing director, said: ‘Ford is improving its market share, particularly in the retail market, thanks to our strongest and most appealing product line-up yet.’
‘The new Ford Fiesta will give us another boost, thanks to its striking new design and leading fuel efficiency. Ford is meeting the imperatives of family motoring: lower fuel costs and CO2 emissions from stylish, affordable vehicles.’
