Ford Oct. sales up 12.8% in Europe

• Source: Global Times
• [16:16 November 12 2009]
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Ford Kuga

Ford Motor Co. said its European sales in October increased 12.8 percent from a year earlier, but the company is still uncertain about the future.

Ingvar Sviggum, Ford Europe's vice president of marketing, sales and service, said the company is doing the right thing in the eyes of the customers. "The key is having the right products at the right time for our customers, and this is why we're now the clear No.2 best-selling brand in the European auto industry."

Ford has sold almost 1.4 million vehicles this year in all 51 European markets, including the 1.2 million units sold in the region's 19 key markets. Sviggum said 64 percent of car sales were to retail customers, compared to 48 percent in October last year.

"We do need to balance this positive news with concerns for the future. Next year is still something of an unknown quantity, but our current forecast is for an industry between 13 and 14.5 million units. That’s down roughly 2 million vehicles versus this year," Sviggum said. "Given the ongoing weakness in the European market, further actions are needed at both the national and EU level to help bolster consumer confidence and demand."

Agencies and Shi Jierui contributed to this story