Falcon Number One In April

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Falcon Number One In April

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, 4 May 2006

The Ford Falcon was the most popular passenger vehicle in New Zealand in April assisting the Ford Motor Company to number two overall in new vehicle sales.

"265 sales of the popular BF Falcon made it the number one passenger nameplate in New Zealand and increased its share of the large car segment to 33%, up 1.5 percentage points from April 2005," said Richard Matheson, Managing Director of Ford New Zealand.

Ford finished April in second place overall with 14.3% of the total market.

"This result is due to the extensive range of vehicles that Ford offers in New Zealand and genuine improvements in fuel efficiency customers can enjoy in our larger cars, Falcon and Territory."

"Once again, four of the most popular 14 passenger vehicles in the country this year bear the Blue Oval, the Falcon, Territory, Focus and Mondeo."

"Sales of the German-engineered Focus more than doubled from April 2005 capturing 10% of the small car segment – customers appreciate the combination of excellent value for money with class-leading driving dynamics and superb build quality."

"Drivers of the SY Territory value the increased fuel efficiency, car-like handling and off-road capabilities of this award-winning SUV – it captured 24.9% of its segment, and maintained its position as New Zealand's favourite crossover vehicle."

"New vehicle industry sales in April were down 10.9% from 2005, and there were significant shifts in the segments – sales in the light car segment increased 16.7% from 2005 while large car sales were down 28.2%."

"Ford was also second in the light commercial vehicle segment with 17.2% share – we have also recently announced our 2006 National Fieldays campaign which features extremely competitive pricing on Courier and Falcon with customers also receiving $1000 worth of Swanndri merchandise."

ENDS

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