And Now for Some Good News…

by Robert Farago

Published: November 8th, 2007

Ford is kicking ass in the UK. Just-auto [sub] reports that private sales of the recently redesigned Ford Mondeo are up by over 20 percent year-on-year. Even better, high-profit top variants account for more than half of these retail orders. "Since the latest Mondeo went on sale in June, more than 16,500 have been registered in the UK and almost 52% of customers have specified top trim levels such as Titanium," Just-auto reports. "This compares with a share of under 35% for equivalent high series Mondeos two years ago." But wait, there's more! The new Focus is also a hit with private buyers. Non-fleet sales are up more than seven percent compared to last year. And more! Galaxy minivan and S-Max' retail registrations doubled in the same time frame. Clearly, someone within the Ford empire knows what they're doing…

Robert Farago

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4 of 35 comments

Geeber on Nov 09, 2007

Katie, you're welcome. Boy, I would love it if America had that many real choices in the family sedan market.

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Cammy Corrigan on Nov 09, 2007

Hang on a minute, In America, you've got, Volkswagen Passat, Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Camry, Toyota Prius (yes, it falls into this category), Nissan Altima, Mercedes-Benz C Class, Ford Taurus, Jaguar X-Type (Superb car!), Volvo S40 AND S60, Mazda 6 (Closest match to a Euro Focus) Lexus IS, Chevrolet Malibu (if you can find one), Saturn Aura, Chrysler Sebring (Sorry! Killing myself laughing!) SAAB 9-3, Buick LaCrosse, Mitsubishi Lancer and Galant, BMW 3 series, Audi A4, Lincoln MXZ, Mecury Milan, Sable AND Grand Marquis. You've got loads to choose from! In fact, I wouldn't mind a drive in the Cevrolet Malibu. It looks rather nice...... Incidentally, I was looking at the Mitsubishi website and there was a sports car called the "Mitsubishi Eclipse" and the tag line was: "you've practically lost your licence just looking at it!" Made me chuckle!

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Lichtronamo on Nov 09, 2007

Just think - Ford Motor Company can go bankrupt because of its NA operations and be reborn as a European company that exists along the lines of Volkswagen in the US!!!

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Sajeev Mehta on Nov 09, 2007
It’s a bad way of doing business, but that’s Ford’s decision! Ms Puckrik, thanks for the debate. We'll see the long term implications of their discounting. Relative to the mothership, they are doing quite fine indeed. FWIW, one way that Toyota gained market share so rapidly in the States is with the same gimmicky advertising, similarly mouth-watering incentives, and high pressure sales tactics of its American counterparts. That's the name of the game, I can't find a way around it. More to the point: if the converse was true, Saturn would rule the market. :)

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