(November 12, 2009) COLOGNE — Ford achieved its highest October market share and car sales volume since 1997 with total sales of 121,000 new vehicles and a market share of 8.8 per cent in its 19 main European markets.

"This is the strongest October we've had in Europe for 12 years, and it shows we must be doing the right thing in the eyes of our customers," said Ingvar Sviggum, Ford of Europe's Vice-President for Marketing, Sales and Service. "The key is having the right products at the right time for our customers, and this is why we're now the clear No.2 best-selling brand in the European auto industry."  

"What's more, we've also seen a dramatic increase in the quality of our sales. In October, 64 per cent our car sales were to retail customers, compared to 48 percent in October 2008. Last month, 80 per cent of Fiesta, 75 per cent of Ka and 70 per cent of Kuga sales were to retail customers." 

Ford sales in October increased by 13,800 units, or 12.8 per cent, compared to October 2008, whereas total industry sales in Ford's main 19 European markets improved by 6.8 per cent. Ford's market share rose by 0.5 percentage points in comparison to October last year.

"Ford Ka sales continue to rocket in 2009 – year-to-date they’ve more than doubled.  We've sold a total of 90,500 units this year, up by 48,300 compared to the first ten months of last year. Fiesta sales are now more than 500,000 units globally since the car was first launched in Europe last year," continued Mr. Sviggum.

"Ford was market leader in the UK, Ireland and Hungary, and import leader in France and Italy.  Germany had its best October since 1998, with sales up 33 per cent, or 6,000 units, last October – a really terrific performance given the backdrop of the ending of the scrappage scheme in the country."

"But we do need to balance this positive news with concerns for the future. Next year is still something of an unknown quantity, but our current forecast is for an industry between 13.0 and 14.5 million units. That's down roughly two million vehicles versus this year.  Given the ongoing weakness in the European market, further actions are needed at both the national and EU level to help bolster consumer confidence and demand," Sviggum added.