Ford Philippines Continues Record Sales Performance in August 2009

MANILA, Philippines - Ford Philippines recently reported a 17% increase in retail sales in August versus the same period last year, as customer demand for Ford’s high quality and fuel-efficient cars, crossovers, trucks and SUVs enabled the company to post record-high performance only shortly after its record-breaking sales in June 2009. Total sales from June to August were up 25% versus the same period a year ago.

Ford’s record sales in August comes hot on the heels of June’s retail results which represent the highest sales FGP has posted since March 2008.

“We have one of the freshest lineups of new products in the country,” said FGP President Rick Baker. “Our product portfolio now boasts of new and significantly freshened vehicles that are class-leading in quality, fuel-efficiency, safety and value. Our sales results reflect that our Filipino consumers continue to appreciate Ford’s efforts to produce vehicles they want and value.”

A total of eight new vehicles have been added to FGP’s portfolio in the last year. These are (in order of introduction): the new Escape in September 2008 and Focus in November 2008, and over the past nine months, the 2009 Expedition, the new Explorer and E-150 Club Wagon, the new Ranger, Everest, and most recently, the Ranger Wildtrak.

Since its introduction, the 2.0L Ford Focus TDCi with its Dual Clutch Transmission technology, known as Powershift, has made strong inroads with the Filipino consumer. “The 2.0L Ford Focus TDCi with Powershift Dual Clutch Transmission is today the sales leader in the premium 2.0L compact car segment which includes some of the strongest and more established Japanese competitors,” says Steven Tan, FGP Vice President for Marketing and Sales.

The Ford Focus’ PowerShift transmission introduces to the local compact car segment an innovative six-speed double-clutch automated transmission available with the 2.0-litre DuraTorq TDCi commonrail turbo diesel engine in the Focus Sport five-door hatch. For all of these and more, the Ford Focus turbo-diesel variant landed in the top 10 most fuel-efficient vehicles in the country following a fuel economy run initiated by the Department of Energy (DOE) earlier this year. The first of only two 2.0L variants that made it to the DOE list, its 2.0L variant ranked sixth, chalking in 21.39 kilometers/liter, consuming gasoline at a rate of only P2.15 per kilometer.

Ford’s record performance continues with newly launched Everest. Sales of the new Ford Everest are up 39% from June to August versus the same period last year. The vehicle achieved its best-ever monthly sales when the new model was launched this June since it was first introduced in 2003, selling a total of 324 units. June 2009 sales represent an 80% increase versus the same month in 2008. Notably, June sales of the Everest were FGP’s highest single month sales for any nameplate since the Company started local operations over a decade ago.

Ford Escape continues its robust performance through 2009 as well with sales for the first 8 months of the year up 26% from the same period last year, with customer demand often outstripping supply. It posted a notable increase in June, with a 92% lift versus the same period last year. The Ford Escape now ranks third in the Small SUV Segment.

The recent launch of the new Ranger Wildtrak is expected to further boost sales of Ford’s pickup lineup, building on the Ranger’s June sales which were up 11% versus the same period last year, boosting its share of the pickup segment increase to 9.3%.

Ford Expedition sales are up 11% year-to-date in August versus the same period last year. In the first half of the year, sales of the vehicle increased 27% versus 2008, helping nearly double its share of the full-sized SUV segment to 26.5 percent through June.

To help sustain sales momentum, FGP expanded its dealership network with new dealerships set up in key provincial cities that include San Pablo, Batangas, Pampanga, Dagupan, Cabanatuan, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Davao. In the coming months, Ford targets to launch three new dealerships (Ford Balintawak, Ford SM Marilao, and Ford Subic), while Mazda Batangas is set to welcome its customers in October. The company’s dealerships now total 21 Ford dealerships and 7 Mazda dealerships.