Ford Motor Co. saw its European sales increase 12.8 percent year-over-year last month in the region's 19 key markets, where it gained another half-point of market share.
"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 of 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."
Year-to-date, Ford's market share stands at 9.1 percent. So far, the Dearborn automaker has sold more than 1.2 million vehicles in those countries -- 3 percent lower than a year ago, but significantly better than the industry wide decline of 8.1 percent for the same nine-month period.
In all 51 European markets, Ford has sold nearly 1.4 million vehicles this year.
Sviggum said Ford also is weaning itself off less-profitable fleet sales.
"We've also seen a dramatic increase in the quality of our sales. In October, 64 percent of our car sales were to retail customers, compared to 48 percent in October 2008. Last month, 80 percent of Fiesta, 75 percent of Ka and 70 percent of Kuga sales were to retail customers."
But he warned that the future remains uncertain for all automakers in Europe as scrappage programs run out of cash.
"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 and 14.5 million units. That's down roughly 2 million vehicles versus this year," Sviggum said. "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."
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