SEPTEMBER SALES - FORD - The blue oval celebrates record sales.

UK market leader Ford hit record registration numbers in the bumper September month, when sales increase significantly due to the registration plate change.  Ford’s commercial vehicle (CV) sales in September were the best ever for a single month and Ford total vehicle sales approached 70,000 – the highest since 2007.

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

• Ford is market leader for cars, CVs and total vehicle sales.
• Fiesta and Focus are number one and two in September and the year to date.
• Ford Transit Custom is 10^th in total vehicle sales, ahead of most popular cars.
• Transit nameplate sales of 13,959 place the brand second in UK total vehicle sales
• Ford’s total vehicle sales lead of 93,539 over its nearest rival for the year to date would place it 9^th in overall UK vehicle sales

Mark Ovenden, Ford of Britain chairman and managing director, said:  "In the high volume September sales month, Ford beat the overall UK market volume increase and maintained its strong sales momentum to secure record sales.

“Fiesta and Focus are at the core of this achievement and our extended Ford CV family, which now has full availability, is selling better than ever, while the constant stream of new model introductions, including EcoSport, Focus and Mondeo, with Mustang and Edge to come, is adding to Ford’s stronger, and broader, brand presence.

“Delivering this success relies on our dealer partners, who make up the strongest network in the UK and are themselves investing to transform their businesses in parallel with the ongoing product investment by Ford.”

The official figures released by the SMMT today show that total car sales in September were up 5.6 per cent at 425,861 compared with September 2013. Ford’s September car sales were 54,322, up 6.3 per cent compared with September 2013.  For the year to date (end September) total UK car sales were 1,958,196, up 9.1 per cent compared with the same period in 2013, while Ford car sales for this period were 262,754, up from 249,017.

With total registrations of 106,930 for the year to date, the Ford Fiesta is the UK best seller by a significant margin – more than 44,000 sales and 2.0 percentage points of market share ahead of its nearest non-Ford rival.

The strength in depth of Ford’s car range is demonstrated by Fiesta, B-MAX, Focus, C-MAX, Kuga and Galaxy all being placed in the top three in their respective market segments.

UK commercial vehicle (CV) sales for the year to date were 274,210, up 12.3 per cent, compared with the same period in 2013.  Total sales and share of Ford CVs were up in September and for the year to date (compared with 2013), at 15,503 and 28.3 per cent (10,766 and 21.7 per cent in September 2013) and 65,378 and 23.8 per cent (55,589 and 22.8 per cent, same period 2013), respectively.

The full availability of Ford’s extended CV family enabled Ford light commercial sales and share increases in September (3,145 and 21.5 per cent versus 1,305 and 9.0 per cent in September 2013)  and for the year to date (12,643 and 17.2 per cent versus 8,115 and 11.2 per cent for year to date 2013), bolstered by the recent launches of the Ford Transit Connect and the Ford Transit Courier, which join the segment-leading Ford Fiesta Van.