Ford Sales Results For January 2011

UK market leader Ford is celebrating its centennial by boosting shares across its range in a weakened January market.

Ford's top-selling vehicle range secured 16.4 per cent of the total January market, up 0.7 percentage points compared with January 2010. Ford commercial vehicles (CVs) performed especially strongly, as highlighted in the official sales figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT):

• Ford is selling five CVs for every three CVs sold last year.
• More than one in four medium commercials sold in the UK are Fords.
• Ford Focus is the UK best seller with Ford Fiesta No 2.
• Ford Focus, Ford C-MAX, Ford S-MAX and Ford Galaxy all had increased sales and share, compared with January 2010.
• Ford Transit increased sales and share, compared with January 2010.

The official figures released by the SMMT today show that without the benefit of the scrappage incentive scheme operating in January 2010, total car sales last month were down 11.5 per cent to 128,811 units.

Ford car sales of 19,657, were down from 22,128 in January 2010, although Ford's overall share of car sales was up from 15.2 to 15.3 per cent. Significantly, Ford's retail car market share in January 2011 was 13.1 per cent, 0.9 percentage points up from the same month in 2010.

Ford Focus was the UK car sales leader in January, pushing the Ford Fiesta into 2nd place for the first time since May 2010. Ford Focus sales were 7,582 up from 6,953 in January 2010 and it also increased its share of car sales from 4.8 per cent to 5.9 per cent. There were similar increases in sales and share for the new Ford C-MAX range, the Ford S-MAX and the Ford Galaxy.

Ford commercials performed strongly in January with the range registering five sales for every three that were recorded in the same month last year.  Sales of Ford commercials in January were up from 2,779 to 4,675 and the Ford share of commercial sales increased from 20.6 to 23.4 per cent, compared with January 2010.

Ford medium commercials, headed by the industry-leading Ford Transit, accounted for more than one-in-four sales in that segment in January.  Ford Transit made the same gains in the medium commercial sector and Ford Transit Connect increased sales and share in the light commercial sector. Ford Transit sales were 3,636, up from 1,775 and its share of medium commercial sales was 24.3 per cent, up from 19.2 per cent in January 2010. Ford Transit Connect light commercial sales were 295, up from 225, and its share of light commercial sales was 13.5 per cent up from 9.7 per cent in January 2010. In the medium commercial segment Ford Transit Connect sales were 284, down slightly from the same period in 2010.

Nigel Sharp, Ford Britain managing director, said: "We have kicked off our centenary year with a strong sales performance right across the Ford range of cars and commercials. The all-round appeal of our vehicles is more evident than ever, supported by an unrivalled dealer network. Importantly though, Ford is maintaining its discipline in an intensely competitive market by strengthening the quality of our market share, as indicated by increases in our retail and commercial sales, and we expect another uplift from the launch of the exciting, new Ford Focus in March."