The situation in Europe continues to affect Ford that saw its year-to-date sales through October drop 12 percent in the Euro 19 region, 11 percent in the Euro 22 region (plus Russia, Turkey and Romania) and 10.5 percent in the Euro 51 region (includes European Direct Markets – see list below for more details).
In October, Ford sold 88,200 cars (-7.9%) in the Euro 19 area, 105,400 vehicles (-11.2%) in the Euro 22 region, and 109,700 (-10.9%) in Euro 51.
In all cases, the Blue Oval performed worse than the industry average.
Ford’s market share in October in its Euro 19 markets was 7.8 per cent, down 0.2 percentage points from October 2011, while it year-to-date share is 8.0 per cent, down 0.4 percentage points.
Nevertheless, Ford officials were able to put a somewhat positive spin on the results.
“We were able to deliver a solid month in sales and share while successfully maintaining margins in a very competitive market place,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe.
“While the market remains very weak, we can now really gain some momentum with the strong start for the new B-MAX and Transit Custom and the impending launch of the new Fiesta and new Kuga,” he added.
Ford has already initiated a restructuring plan in Europe that will see the company closing down three plants including one in Genk, Belgium, resulting in the loss of up to 6,200 jobs.
Market Definitions:
-The Euro 19 markets are: Austria, Belgium, Britain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Ford reports sales for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania through our Finish National Sales Company, so sales data for the Baltic states are also included within Euro 19.
-The Euro 22 markets are: Euro 19 plus Russia, Turkey and Romania.
-Total Euro 51 composed of EURO 22 registrations and EDM 29 retail sales, as total EDM 29 registrations figures are not available. Industry retail sales data not available. EDM 29 or European Direct Markets are: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, Georgia, Gibraltar, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
