UK SALES OCTOBER - Decade follows Decade, and Ford continues to dominate the sales charts, in all sectors.

UK market leader Ford recorded 101,598 65-plate registrations during September and October, as it stretched its sales leads in total vehicle, car and commercial vehicles.  Ford commercial vehicle (CV) sales are more than double those of its nearest rival.

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

• Ford is the UK market leader in total vehicle, car and CV sales
• Fiesta is UK best-seller; Transit Custom and Transit first and second in CV sales
• Transit range is second in UK total vehicle sales
• Ford’s car sales lead increased 20 per cent, compared with October 2014
• Ford has five models in the UK Top 20 – Fiesta (1^st), Focus (4^th), Transit Custom (9^th), Transit (16^th) and Kuga (18^th)

Andy Barratt, Ford of Britain chairman and managing director, said:  "Ford is building on the strength of its core models in the UK market, while stretching into new segments with models such as Mustang, Mondeo Vignale and Ford Edge.

“Fiesta is in its seventh year as the UK market leader, while the success of our extended Ford CV family is demonstrated by Transit range sales exceeding those of any car – apart from Fiesta.  Our strong results are a direct result of the wider range of these exciting new models - delivered through our dealer partners, who make up the strongest network in the UK.”

The official figures released by the SMMT today show that total car sales in October were down 1.1 per cent to 177,664 units, compared with October 2014. Ford car sales were 22,081, 6,190 registrations ahead of its nearest rival.  For the year to date (end October) total UK car sales were 2,274,550, up 6.4 per cent compared with the same period in 2014.  Ford car sales for this period were 290,409, some 62,418 registrations ahead of its nearest rival.

Ford is also the clear leader in retail car sales, which most accurately reflect the preferences of private buyers.  For October, Ford’s retail car sales beat a shrinking retail market and increased 8.2 per cent, compared with October 2014.  At 13.1 per cent, Ford’s retail car sales share was 5.1 percentage points ahead of its nearest rival, and for the year to date, Ford’s retail car sales share was 12.3 per cent, a lead of 4.2 percentage points.

The Ford Fiesta is the UK’s top seller and in October it recorded 8,577 registrations, 3,516 ahead of its nearest rival.  With total registrations of 116,631 for the year to date, the Ford Fiesta is the UK best seller by a significant margin – 38,735 sales and 1.7 percentage points of market share ahead of its nearest competitor.

Ford’s broad customer appeal across its car range is demonstrated by Fiesta, B-MAX, Focus, C-MAX, Kuga and Galaxy all occupying top three places in their respective market segments. Ford Kuga sales are at the highest level since it was launched with October registrations of 2,343, up 12.0 per cent, compared with October 2014, and sales for the year to date of 27,948, up 33.1 per cent, compared with the same period in 2014.

UK commercial vehicle sales in October were down 3.6 per cent at 34,228, compared with October 2014.  At 8,344, total sales of Ford CVs were up 10.9 per cent, compared with October 2014.  For the year to date total UK CV sales were up 16.3 per cent at 360,168, compared with the same period in 2014.  Total sales of Ford CVs for the year to date were up 22.3 per cent at 89,177, compared with 2014.

Ford light commercials sales for the year to date were up from 14,589 to 19,539, compared with the same period in 2014 and Ford medium commercials sales for the year to date were up from 58,316 to 69,638, compared with 2014.

The full availability of Ford’s extended CV family has helped deliver this strong sales momentum.  Fiesta Van, Transit Connect, Transit Custom, Transit and Ranger all lead their respective market segments.