Ford rides Fiesta to record sales

Thanks to increasing popularity of its Fiesta subcompact and the launch of its new Ranger pickup truck, American auto-maker Ford has achieved record sales in February.

Distributor Ford Thailand announced that its streak of record sales continued in February with overall retail sales rising 54 per cent year on year to 3,404 units – topping its record January performance for another all-time monthly high.  

The record in February was led by continued strong demand for the class-leading Ford Fiesta and class-defining All-New Ford Ranger pickup, the company said. 

Retail sales of the Fiesta surged 61 per cent in February to 2,048 units, with the five-door Fiesta finishing the month as the best-selling hatchback in its highly competitive segment. 

Ford expanded the Fiesta’s class-leading lineup in February with the launch of the five-door Fiesta 1.6L Sport Ultimate – the new top-of-the-line Fiesta series model. It comes with a first-in-class seven-airbag configuration, as well as cruise control, features that are not usually offered in this segment.

“We continue to expand consumer choice for Fiesta in Thailand, offering an unmatched lineup that is connecting with Thai consumers in so many  different ways with a class-leading combination of design, safety, fuel efficiency, quality, smart technologies and value for money,” said Saroj Kiatfuengfoo, vice president, marketing, sales and service, Ford Thailand.

Saroj said the recently launched Ranger pickup has seen extraordinary demand in its first two months of availability, with February retail sales increasing 59 per cent year on year from the previous generation truck to 1,119 units.

Ford has delivered more than 2,100 All-New Rangers to Thai customers across the country to date, and incredible demand for this class-defining pickup has led to overall bookings of more than 9,600 units.

“We developed the All-New Ford Ranger to literally transform the compact truck ownership experience in so many ways,” explained Saroj. “It’s clear from the incredible response so far that Thai customers appreciate the All-New Ranger as representing a new standard for capability, versatility, comfort, quality, and fuel efficiency.”

Sales of the Focus compact car rose 51 per cent to 175 units in February. Ford is preparing to unveil the All-New Ford Focus at the Bangkok International Motor Show later this month – the latest of eight all new global One Ford vehicles that Ford will launch in Asean by mid-decade. 

The new Focus will be the first vehicle built at Ford’s new US$450 million (Bt13.5 billion) Ford Thailand Manufacturing facility in Rayong, and will be launched for the Thai public in the middle of the year.  

Ford Thailand is rapidly expanding its customer service network this year, opening 30 new dealerships in key locations across the country this year, Saroj concluded. 

Meanwhile, Mazda is also enjoying continued sales growth, thanks to the Mazda2 and the new BT-50 pickup.

Mazda said that combined sales of every model in February reached 4,451 units, a growth of 33 per cent. 

Choichi Yuki, managing director of Mazda Sales (Thailand), said Mazda enjoyed continued sales growth in February, with an aggregate of 4,451 units, equivalent to a growth of 33 per cent compared to the same period last year. 

The Mazda2 range, comprising the 5-door hatchback Sport and 4-door sedan Elegance, has the largest chunk with 3,327 units, up 60 per cent, while sales of the new Mazda3 2.0 are still going strong at 269 units.

“Most importantly, the all-new Mazda BT-50 PRO has changed the face of the pickup industry and is enjoying higher market acceptance than expected. Slightly over a month after the official launch, more than 7,000 orders have been placed for the BT-50 and Mazda targets to deliver all the vehicles within a few months,” he said.

Sureetip La-Ongthong Chom-thongdee, the company’s marketing director, said, “Mazda is doing everything we can to deliver the best pickup truck to them as soon as possible.”

“Due to the unique and outstanding character of the all-new BT-50 PRO, which has been designed with a passenger-car theme both inside and out, it is able to effectively respond to the requirements of the target customers. It also fills in the gap where customers want the comfort of a passenger car but want to maintain the versatility of a pickup truck. This has made the all-new BT-50 PRO highly popular in a very short period of time. 

In addition, the staging of marketing and sales events in various regions of the country during the past one month has also increased the level of acceptance of the all-new Mazda BT-50 PRO across the country,” Sureetip added.