Fiesta flies high in Europe

In the key Euro 19 markets, Ford sales have increased by 0.5 percentage points to 8.8 percent.

And since it went on sale two months ago, Ford has sold more than 42,200 new Fiestas, making it the second most popular model in its European range, behind the Focus.

In November, the Fiesta, including both new and previous model, was the best-selling car in Britain, where its market share was the strongest since January 1998. 

“We’re proud that in such a difficult economic environment we could further increase our market share,” says Ford of Europe sales boss, Ingvar Sviggum.

“And we’re particularly pleased that through the year we’ve steadily reinforced our position as the number two brand in the main 19 European markets.”

But though its market share is improving, Ford’s sales are down on 2007. In November it sold 95,700 vehicles in the Euro 19 markets, a 21.4 percent drop on last year. Across 51 European markets, Ford sold 117,000 vehicles, down 24.8 percent on November 2007.

Those percentages graphically demonstrate the speed of the new car sales decline. Ford sold 1,353,100 vehicles in Euro 19 markets in the first 11 months of 2008, down 6.4 percent on the same period in 2007. In the 51 European markets, the company has sold 1,664,900 units so far this year, down 4.4 percent on 2007.

The strikingly-styled new Fiesta is due to hit the New Zealand market around March 2009.