Ford extends lead in sales for may and year to date.

According to the official sales figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
(SMMT):

• Ford leads UK car and CV sales in May and for the year to date
• Ford Fiesta and Ford Focus top the sales charts in May and for the year to date
• Ford continues to extend its retail car sales lead over its nearest rival
• Ford B-MAX maintains segment leadership in May
• Ford CV sales and share up for the year to date

Mark Ovenden, Ford of Britain chairman and managing director, said:  "May car sales continued the positive UK market trend with Ford’s leadership position strengthened by private customers helping to drive up our share of more profitable retail sales.  The success of Ford’s best ever model range is epitomised by the Ford B-MAX achieving and maintaining segment leadership so soon after its introduction."

The official figures released by the SMMT show that total car sales in May were up 11.0 per cent to 180,111, compared with May 2012. Ford car sales of 25,674 were up from 23,255 in May 2012.  For the year to date (end May) total UK car sales were 948,666 up 9.3 per cent compared with 2012, while Ford car sales for this period were 132,199, up from 126,724 in 2012.

Ford’s retail car sales share increased by 3.5 percentage points to 13.2 per cent in May, compared with May 2012, and for the year to date Ford’s retail car sales share is up a full percentage point at 13.6 per cent, compared with the same period in 2012.

With a total of 9,316 registrations the Ford Fiesta was the UK best-seller in May and the Ford Focus secured the number two slot with 7,522 sales.  The Ford B-MAX maintained its segment leadership with a 23.2 per cent segment share in May.  Sales success across the Ford model range has seen the Ford Ka, Fiesta, B-MAX, Focus, C-MAX and Kuga all increase sales and share for the year to date, compared with the same period in 2012.

UK CV sales in May were down 6.5 per cent, compared with May 2012, whereas CV sales for the year to date were up 6.1 per cent.  Total sales of Ford CVs for the year to date were up from 27,806 to 30,028, compared with the same period last year, with share up from 21.8 to 22.2 per cent.

Ford medium commercial sales for the year to date, headed by the industry-leading Ford Transit, were up from 22,991 to 25,413 and Ford’s share of MCV sales was 31.6 per cent up from 31.3 per cent compared with the same period in May 2012.

Ford Transit leads the One Tonne, Two Tonne and 3.5-6.0 tonne CV segments, its share of the one tonne segment now supplemented by the introduction of the Transit Custom and the Tourneo Custom.  Ford Fiesta van also leads its segment by a clear margin, taking a 58.7 per cent share for the year to date.