Fiesta Remains Ford's European Best-Seller

Ford is getting more powerful in Europe, a market in which Fiesta and Ka continue to lead their segments and drive the company's revenues forward. Specifically, Fiesta was again the best selling car in Ford's European product range, with 39,200 sold in May, raising the total figures to 252,000 Fiestas delivered since market launch last autumn. This means Ford has become the second European best-selling automotive brand, with the market share up in 11 of the 19 main European markets.

Additionally, Ford was crowned the market leader in the UK, Spain and Ireland, as well as number 1 import brand in Italy.

"Despite the rapidly evolving industry, economic and political environment, we are very pleased to be Europe's No.2 best-selling vehicle brand for both May and the year so far," said Ingvar Sviggum, vice-president marketing, sales and service, Ford of Europe. "We have our strongest-ever vehicle range, and we thank our customers for continuing to show such great confidence in the Ford brand."

Only a few weeks after it was officially launched, the new Ford Ka sold a total of 9,400 units in May which means the mini car became the segment leader in the UK in May with a share of 14.8 percent.

"It's clear, however, from the continuing volume decline that the market is still weak, and it is therefore very important that the scrappage schemes introduced by some countries are continued to support market demand and reduce overall fleet CO2 emissions," said Sviggum.

"We are already seeing promising signs that the scrappage bonuses introduced in Spain and the UK in mid-May are beginning to gain traction, and we hope they will further stimulate demand in those markets in the coming months. We'd like to see other countries following suit and, where necessary, existing schemes expanded to include commercial vehicles in addition to cars."