- Confidence in the Ford brand despite challenges around Kuga 1.6 safety recall
- Ford’s locally built models fly the flag in South Africa:
- Ranger the best-selling vehicle for January in LCV segment and overall
- Second-highest sales for Everest
- Highest sales to date for Ford Mustang, EcoSport continues segment domination, Fiesta remains popular
PRETORIA, South Africa, 3 February, 2017 – Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) wrapped up the first month of sales for 2017 with strong showings from its locally produced Ranger bakkie which dominated the market in January, as well as the expanded Everest range which achieved its second-highest sales to date.
On the sporty side of the scale, consistently high demand for the Mustang saw it achieve its best-ever sales of 128 units in January, while the EcoSport remained the undisputed compact SUV segment leader.
With a total of 6 634 vehicles sold in January 2017, Ford sales were up 1.7% on the corresponding month last year, while the company’s overall market share ended on 14.5%.
“We are encouraged by and grateful for the continued customer confidence in the Ford brand and our current range of products, despite the challenges relating to the safety recall announced in January for the 1.6-litre Kuga sold in South Africa in 2013 and 2014,” said Gerhard Herselman, General Manager, Sales for Ford Motor Company Sub-Saharan Africa Region.
“Ford is actively addressing the issue of the Kuga 1.6 safety recall, and we are absolutely committed to doing right by our customers in South Africa. We will do what it takes to address customer concerns and maintain confidence in our products and the company.
“We appreciate our customers standing by us through this difficult period, as we focus on resolving these issues and delivering vehicles that are designed and manufactured with the highest standards of safety, technology, reliability and value for money,” Herselman added.
Industry
*After a downward trend experienced throughout 2016, the January 2017 new industry sales results, released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA), revealed a welcome upswing in demand to reach a total of 50 333 units – 3.7% higher than January 2016.
According to NAAMSA, 35 379 units or 70.3% represented dealer sales, 23.8% were to the vehicle rental industry, 3.1% to industry corporate fleets and 2.8% to government.
For the first time in fourteen months, the new car market had registered an increase compared to the corresponding of last year. The total of 36 794 cars sold in January 2017 units reflected a fairly substantial improvement of 1 661 cars or a gain of 4.7% compared to the 35 133 new cars sold in January 2016. The car rental industry made a strong contribution and accounted for 31.8% of new car sales.
Domestic sales of new light commercial vehicles, bakkies and mini buses at 11 977 units gained 1.6% compared to January 2016.
Passenger cars
There were several notable results for Ford in the passenger car segment, with the Everest SUV notching up its second-best sales to date on 365 units, motivated by the expanded model line-up introduced in December last year.
The Mustang enjoyed another record-breaking month on 128 sales, as consistently strong demand for this legendary model continues to far outstrip supply.
In the compact segment, the Fiesta once again hit the high notes with 1 707 units sold, while the EcoSport maintained its unrivalled class dominance on 828 units in January.
Commercial vehicles
The Ford Ranger pick-up, assembled in Pretoria and exported to markets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, remains one of the most popular vehicles sold in South Africa.
This reputation was further entrenched in January as it topped the LCV segment and emerged as the best-selling vehicle in South Africa on 2 677 units.
*Includes Associated Motor Holdings (AMH) and Amalgamated Automobile Distributors (AAD).
