Ford will introduce the new Evos Concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
The launch of a flood of new vehicles is paying off for Ford Motor Co. as its European turnaround efforts take hold. At the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show the maker will reveal an assortment of new products and concept vehicles that should reveal whether it can continue to gain momentum.
The maker is earning a steady improvement in sales and market share in Europe – strong demand in Germany for the Focus and C-MAX helping Ford increase sales 19.3% in August to 72,200 vehicles, while its share rose 0.8 percentage points to 8.2% for the month, Ford’s best August share performance in Europe since 1998.
Ford is now the number-two best-selling brand in Europe behind Volkswagen for the year-to-date. Through the first eight months of the year, Ford European sales have grown 2.8% to more than 1.05 million units.
“We had a very strong August compared with a year ago and compared with the rest of the industry, which is a testament to our strengthened product lineup,” said Stephen Odell, Ford of Europe’s chairman and CEO, on the eve of Ford’s IAA Frankfurt Motor Show media preview.
“The economy remains very challenging and consumers are jittery – particularly in the Eurozone – but we remain optimistic given the response to our new vehicles and technologies and the new vehicles we have in the pipeline,” Odell added.
Ford sales in Germany rose 34% last month to 19,800, making it the company’s largest market by volume. Ford’s market share in Germany rose 0.9 percentage points to 7.6%, the company’s best August share result in Germany since 2006.
Ford’s market share in Great Britain was 15. 4%, while the automaker’s August sales in Russia totaled 8,400 vehicles, up 37%. Russia was Ford’s fourth largest market by sales volume in August.
The Fiesta, Focus and Transit were the best-selling Ford models in August and year-to-date. Total sales of the new Ford Focus which was launched in mid-March have now exceeded the 100,000 mark, making the car the No.2 best-selling Ford vehicle in Europe for both the month and year-to-date.
Seven Ford models recorded double-digit volume gains in August, led by Galaxy (up 49%), Transit (up 25%) and Mondeo (up 15.5%).
“Behind the numbers, we are seeing encouraging trends from our brand – particularly, the rising percentage of customers choosing our highest-spec Titanium models,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president of Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe. “Close to half of all Focus customers are purchasing Titanium models, and many are choosing advanced technologies, such as Active Park Assist.”
Ford said it plans to show an array of new vehicles and technologies this week at the Frankfurt Motor Show, including the Ford Evos Concept car, which heralds the future direction of Ford’s design and technology and the production-ready Focus ST sports sedan and Ranger pickup.