REPORT: Ford continues strong sales in European Market
Ford's year-over-year sales were up nearly four percent for the month of October here in the United States, but the Blue Oval appears to be in even better shape across the Pond in Europe. The Dearborn, MI-based automaker saw its sales in the top 19 Euro nations rise by 12.8% versus October 2008, thanks in part to several government clunker programs. According to The Detroit News, Ford says its retail sales are up substantially as well, as 64 percent of all sales were of the non-fleet variety, compared to 48 percent in October 2008. Overall, this was the strongest October that Ford has had in Europe in 12 years.
While Euro scrappage programs certainly helped Ford's cause, the Blue Oval's Euro lineup holds up very well against some very stiff overseas competition. Auto sales are down 8% for the year in Europe, yet Ford has only seen a 3% decline. Ingvar Sviggum, Ford of Europe's Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Service, told the DetNews that Ford's recent sales push has made his company the "clear No. 2 best-selling brand in the European auto industry." But while Ford seems to be faring a bit better than the competition, Sviggum still feels the overall car market in Europe is on shaky ground, adding "further actions are needed at both the national and EU level to help bolster consumer confidence and demand."
[Source: The Detroit News | Image: Jamie McDonald/Getty]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
neutralgear 7:31PM (11/14/2009)
hint to Ford of US: stop designing and just bring the stuff from Europe.
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Aprime 7:37PM (11/14/2009)
Hint to you: brush up on your history.
neutralgear 8:03PM (11/14/2009)
who cares? They still F-ed up and they have not taken action quick enough for the past decade.
Paul 8:17PM (11/14/2009)
These are all silly comments. It takes time to prepare for new products to hit this market -- Tuning for American tastes, federalization, marketing, distribution and service all take time.
The fact is, Ford is making solid decisions and is on a serious roll. It's hard to see given how far down the whole industry is but in 24 months or so, I think the blue oval could well be a brand unleased. The products are perfect fits for imminent conditions here and the brand was not damaged by bankruptcy or bailouts, as others were. With any luck, I think they're going to be a serious Cinderella story.
Zoran 10:09PM (11/14/2009)
Yeah, because it worked so well for GM (Opel-Saturn) and Ford should do the same thing too ... if they want to go out of the business.
Trev 11:50PM (11/14/2009)
tell the US gov't to stop using FMVSS as a trade barrier and allow ECE spec cars, and I'm sure Ford would bring some of those cars over (and GM, and pretty much everyone else).
Rest of the world doesn't seem to have a problem with ECE spec. (note: ECE spec covers more than just headlights ...)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Forum_for_Harmonization_of_Vehicle_Regulations
Randy915 1:27AM (11/15/2009)
Aprime >> please explain further, I'm not familiar with this subject.
Aprime 6:54AM (11/15/2009)
Randy: Wiki Merkur, Opel by Buick followed by the old Fiesta's. Or if you want more recent stuff look at VW's "success" in the US market, coupled with Saturn's.
Volkswagen used to be successful at a time over here, admittedly, but I'm sorry, their pricing is entirely screwed up and so is their reputation for both quality and reliability this doesn't include my perception (although I test drove a Rabbit last year and its transmission was broken with less than 8 miles on the odo, I could not f*cking believe it).
Aprime 6:54AM (11/15/2009)
Oh - I forgot about the Cougar, Contour and to a certain degree the Focus.
John P. 7:37PM (11/14/2009)
Ford's got some interesting cars now, both in Europe and in the USA. I think they'll continue to gain market share for a little longer, at least.
Not taking Govt. money in the USA is helping on the PR front as well. Overall they seem 75% to where I think they should be product-wise. A huge step up from 10 years ago.
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Aven 7:42PM (11/14/2009)
A second hint to Ford USA: Work closer with Ford Europe in developing, share platform across both continents.
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Jim 7:46PM (11/14/2009)
Yeah, hi- that's been in progress for a couple of years now. I hope you don't think you've had an original thought, or something...
Aven 7:51PM (11/14/2009)
What I mean is that I think they should do more of it ;)
chconline 12:56AM (11/15/2009)
It's coming. Can't wait for the Fiesta!
Aven 5:09AM (11/15/2009)
I also hope they'll bring the S-MAX over to the US
Yaroukh 7:31AM (11/15/2009)
@Aven: I'm afraid that won't happen. It seems that the upcoming facelift is all future holds for S-Max. Most likely C-Max Grand will replace S-Max. :(
ebleyes 7:46PM (11/14/2009)
I'm always struck by the positive reporting on the European C4C, and the continuous stream of negative reporting on the US version. Is the European version better or less wasteful?
P.S. Congratulations Ford you deserve it...
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Jim 7:48PM (11/14/2009)
it's cultural. we pretty much hate it when the federal government gets involved in anything.
Well, depending on who you ask, and depending on which party is in control.
AMcA 9:07PM (11/14/2009)
Look, when you pour money into destroying useful goods (older cars) in order to stimulate the economy - and what you get is a boom in auto sales, followed by a corresponding bust - it's pretty easy to see they whole thing was a huge waste of resources.
Was it really worth $250,000 per added car sale (i.e., over and above what would have sold anyway), particularly when most of sales went to overseas manufacturers anyway?
That's not attitude. That's common sense.
Yaroukh 7:33AM (11/15/2009)
@AMcA: $250.000? One too many zeroes?