Ford sales surge 123%

MANILA, Philippines - Sales of Ford Philippines surged 123 percent year-on-year in January due to strong demand across the firm’s vehicle line-up.

In a statement, the company said its sales in January jumped to 820 units from 367 units in the same month last year. “The exceptional month was driven by strong sales across the growing Ford lineup,” it said.

Compared to December’s 1,298 units however, sales in January declined by 37 percent.

Accounting for the bulk of the January sales is the Ford Everest sports utility vehicle with 239 units sold.

The all-new Ranger pick-up came in second with retail sales of 178 units.

Strong demand for the five-door hatchback Fiesta was also seen in January with 167 units sold.

Also contributing to the company’s sales were the Explorer with 123 units sold, the Focus with sales of 95 units and the iconic Mustang with 18 units.

Apart from the introduction of new Ford vehicles, the company continued the expansion of its nationwide dealer network in January to further improve customer experience.

Last month, Ford Philippines inaugurated a new sales and service outlet in Makati which is the sixth of the 12 new dealerships scheduled for opening by the middle of the year.

Since October last year, Ford Philippines has opened dealerships in Cainta, Butuan, Naga, Tarlac and Isabela.

The company intends to put up dealerships in Bohol, General Santos, Laoag, Zamboanga, Manila Bay and Baguio over the next six months.

“With more segment-leading One Ford vehicles coming to the Philippines and a growing network of authorized Ford dealerships, we remain absolutely committed to our One Ford plan and confident that we will take this even further in 2013,” Ford Group Philippines president Randy Krieger said.