Ford Motor Co. (F) achieved the No.1 spot in the main 19 European markets by posting a sales gain of 16.1% to reach 192,500 vehicles in March. The automaker’s market share also hit a 12-year high in the continent at 10.4%.
The 19 European markets (Euro 19) include Austria, Belgium, Britain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Ford’s success in Europe was mainly attributable to Fiesta’s highest-ever sale for any Ford model on record in a single month in Europe. As many as 68,800 units of Fiesta were sold during the month. The other models that upheld Ford’s position in Europe are the Focus (23% sales increase), Ka (27%) and Kuga (33%).
In the first quarter of 2010, Ford’s car registration in Euro 19 went up 9.1% to 391,100 vehicles. This compared to an increase in industry average of 9.2%. The automaker’s market share remained unchanged at 9.4% during the quarter, ranking it second in Euro 19.
In the U.S., Ford lapsed behind General Motors in absolute sales after overtaking the latter as the top automaker in February. The automaker witnessed a staggering 43% rise in sales to 178,546 vehicles. Its market share improved 2.5 percentage points to 16.5%.
Ford’s car sales were up 53%, utilities 46% and trucks 30%. Among the brands, Ford sales rose 46%, Lincoln 19% and Mercury 26%. Meanwhile, Volvo, which is to be sold to China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, clocked a 17.6% decline in sales to 5,237 units.
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