(August 13, 2016) COLOGNE, Germany — Ford posted its best July total vehicle sales since 2009, best July passenger car sales since 2011 and best commercial vehicle sales since 1993 in its 20 traditional European markets. Ford total vehicle sales in the Europe 20 markets rose 5 percent to 105,200 vehicles in July, with Ford’s market share up 0.5 percentage points to 8.1 percent for the month.

“The Ford vehicle range has never been stronger in Europe, and in July our CVs, SUVs, performance cars and high spec models all showed their strength by winning over more customers,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe.

“We still have more great new vehicles to come in the second half of 2016, including Vignale versions of the S-MAX, Kuga and Edge, the Fiesta ST200 performance car, the KA+ which is a new nameplate for us in the affordable B-segment market, plus a freshened Ford Kuga compact SUV.”

Ford sales in higher value sales channels were 76 percent in July, slightly down compared with the same month last year but 4.7 percentage points better than the industry average. Retail and fleet sales accounted for 78 percent of Ford car sales year to date, an increase of two percentage points compared with the same period last year, and 4.8 percentage points better than the industry average.

Commercial vehicles

Ford was Europe’s No. 1 commercial vehicle brand in July and year-to-date in its European 20 traditional markets, with sales in July rising 21 percent to 24,339 vehicles. Ford’s commercial vehicle market share was up 1.7 percentage points to 12.9 percent on increased demand for the expanded Transit range and the Ranger pickup. Year-to-date, Ford’s commercial vehicle sales volume is up 18 percent at 186,863 vehicles with a market share of 13 percent, up 0.7 percentage points.

Sales of the Ranger pickup increased 45 percent in July, on the back of strong demand for the new Ford Ranger, making it the best July sales since it was launched in in 1998. Ranger sales for the first seven months of the year were up 39 percent. Transit sales rose 23 percent in July, and 17 per cent year-to-date.

SUVs

In the mini-SUV segment, EcoSport sales rose 63 percent to 4,900 vehicles in July. In the compact SUV market, the Kuga had its best July sales with 10,018 vehicles sold – a 16 percent increase on the same period last year. Since going on sale in Europe earlier this summer nearly 5,500 European customers have ordered a Ford Edge. .

Performance cars

Combined sales of Ford’s performance line-up — Fiesta ST, Focus ST, Focus ST diesel, Focus RS and Mustang — were up 63 percent in July and more than doubled year-to-date. Since last September, 8,400 Focus RS customer orders have been taken and 2,921 units delivered to date. Customer orders for the Ford Mustang stands at now more than 19,500 since the car was launched in Europe in the third quarter of 2015.

High Specification model sales

Sales of higher specification Ford models continued to increase in July. Titanium specification model sales rose 36 percentage points in the Europe 20 markets to 72 percent of total sales in July, compared to the same period last year. Ford’s high series models — Titanium specification models, Mondeo Vignale, Fiesta ST, Focus ST gas and diesel, and Fiesta and Focus Red/Black Editions — accounted for 79 percent of Ford’s passenger car sales, up 22 percentage points on July 2015. The Fiesta ST-Line, the Focus ST-Line and Mondeo ST-Line sporty models are now available to order, with more ST-Line models to follow before the end of the year, including the Kuga ST-Line.