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• Record 12.4% market share in 2014
• Ford's best results to date
• Sales up 20.9% compared to 2013
PRETORIA - Ford South Africa recorded its highest-yet monthly market share at 14.4% for December 2014.
According to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa, domestic new vehicle sales climbed by 10.7% to 51 461 compared to December 2013.
CAR SALES ON THE UP
The car segment reflected a year-on-year improvement of 9.3% for the month while light commercial sales grew by 14.7%.
Ford's vehicle sales reached 6654 for December, 815 or 13.95% more than December 2013. The automaker sold 70 878 vehicles through 2014, 21% more than in 2013 and, the company said “a remarkable achievement considering the overall market faced a 0.7% year-on-year decline”.
Ford said its market share for 2014 "was equally encouraging" at 12.4%, the company's best-yet result on the back of a year of double-digit share.
The Ranger bakkie - the country's top-selling vehicle in November 2014 – had its its third consecutive month with sales exceeding 3000 - 3003 were sold in December to make it the second-best seller in the dealer channel.
The Figo hatchback had its third-best month of 2014 with 1411 sales and strong demand continued for several of Ford's other key models, particularly the EcoSport which retains its status as SA's top-selling compact SUV.
NEW FUSION SHOULD KEEP TREND GOING
Gerald Hong, Ford SA’s sales planning and field services manager, said: "2014 was an exceptional year for Ford in South Africa. We continue to experience unprecedented demand for several models and have grown significantly in a market that actually declined in 2014.”
The positive trend, Ford says, should continue in 2015 as the brand launches a range of new products, starting with the Fusion later in January 2015.
Ford SA’s positive domestic sales were matched by exports. While the local motor industry's total export volumes for 2014 increased by a only 0.2% overall over 2013 there was “continued strong demand for the Ranger and Ford SA's exports climb by a 30.2% year-on-year”.