Ford sets fierce pace with a fantastic start to 2016

Ford sets fierce pace with a fantastic start to 2016

January 2016 Ford sales up 43 per cent from the same month last year
January Ford passenger vehicle sales increase 50 per cent from the same month last year!

New Mondeo is number one in its segment, New Ford Focus back in the top three, Mustang orders top 750
The Ford Ranger outsells its nearest competitor by more than 350 vehicles

NEW ZEALAND, 4 February 2016 – Ford has had a great start to the year with a solid rise in passenger vehicles sales and a 12.1 per cent total market share for the month of January. Ford’s January 2016 results are a 43 per cent increase from the same month last year and in particular passenger vehicle sales increased from 5.5 per cent market share in January 2015 to 8.4 per cent market share in January 2016.

Launched in 2015, the New Mondeo led Ford’s resurgence in passenger vehicles taking the number one position in its segment. Launched in late 2015, the New Ford Focus took out a top three finish in segment for January. And further bolstering Ford’s January numbers, customers took delivery of 130 recently-arrived Ford Mustangs.

Meanwhile the Ford Ranger continued its absolute dominance with 659 Rangers sold in January; 350 more than the closest competitor the recently launched Hilux.

Ford New Zealand Managing Director Simon Rutherford says the company’s January results are a sign of things to come.

“We believe 2016 is going to be Ford’s year,” said Rutherford. “Coming out of an incredibly busy 2015 with a record number of new vehicle launches we are prepared for 2016 with one of the freshest line ups of vehicles the industry has on offer. We went into 2016 very optimistic so it makes the performance in January all the more exciting as customers begin to experience the new vehicles. We and our retail partners believe that these results represent our focus on the consumer experience alongside great vehicles.”

Ranger Romp Continues
Overall the Ford Ranger was the dominant player in Ford’s portfolio in 2015, knocking off the Hilux in the ute segment for the second year in a row. The Ford Ranger also took the top spot from Corolla as overall best-selling new car in New Zealand in 2015.

In January, the Ford Ranger continued its romp over the competition, striking out in the first month with a huge lead in the commercial segment – more than 350 vehicles ahead of the nearest competitor and a whopping 22 per cent market share in the commercial segment.

“We are very proud of and celebrate Ranger’s success every month,” said Jerry Delaney, Ford New Zealand National Sales Manager. “At the same time, we’ve been preparing for and anticipating a rise in Ford’s passenger segment performance. Throughout the Ford network, we are excited to have so many great new vehicles to offer Kiwis – from the new Focus, Mondeo and Mustang to the brand new Ford Everest.”

Ford’s Focus on Focus
Simon Rutherford says 2016 for Ford is all about a balanced portfolio, a healthy business and recognising the strength of the Ford retail network.

“What we are particularly happy about as both dealers and manufacturer is the fantastic performance in passenger vehicles; in particular the all new Ford Focus and all new Ford Mondeo,” said Rutherford. “The Ford Ranger has done very well again but the big opportunity for us is to share some of that spotlight and success across our entire line up of smart new vehicles. Now that we have the launches behind us and the vehicles on the roads, Kiwis are taking notice. The January results show we are on the right track.”

Unmistakeably Mustang!
Ford continues to deliver newly arrived All New Ford Mustangs to customers around the country. In January, 130 New Mustangs were registered.

To date, an unprecedented 750-plus Ford Mustang have been pre-ordered in New Zealand.

The most popular variant in New Zealand is the Mustang GT Fastback auto in Magnetic. Race Red, globally the number one colour choice, comes in at number two with Kiwi Mustang fans. Manual GTs now account for 13 per cent of orders. Convertibles make up 15 per cent of total orders.

The big mover with the most recent analysis of Kiwi’s preferences for Mustang is the Mustang EcoBoost. Mustang EcoBoost orders have doubled and now make up more than 20 per cent of the total.

“What we’ve seen in other markets around the world is the Mustang EcoBoost tends to increase its share once the vehicles arrive and are out on the road,” said Jerry Delaney. “In Southern California for example, the Mustang EcoBoost grew to 47 per cent of their total sales in 2015 and what’s particularly interesting is the sales of Mustang EcoBoost were largely to customers new to Ford as well as younger drivers in the 16-to-35 demographic.”

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