Ford unit upbeat on PH vehicle market

MANILA, Philippines–Ford Philippines has sustained its strong growth momentum in 2014 as it posted a new high in vehicle sales at 20,341 units.

This translates to a 53-percent surge in the number of vehicles Ford sold last year from 13,285 units in 2013.

For December 2014 alone, Ford Philippines posted a 56-percent jump in sales to 1,903 units, the company said on Friday.

“It’s been a remarkable year from beginning to end, and we’re extremely proud of how the Ford brand and our full lineup of global Ford vehicles continues to connect with and be valued by so many Filipino customers,” said Ford Philippines managing director Kay Hart.

The Ford Ranger, with its 13 variants, was the Philippines’ top-selling pick-up truck in 2014, with full-year retail sales soaring 70 percent to 7,996 units.

For December alone, sales of the Ford Ranger rose by 87 percent to 956 units, the highest monthly sales figure so far recorded by the company.

The Ranger was also  honored with a total of six awards in 2014. The Ranger Wildtrak was named for the second consecutive year “the 2014-2015 Truck of the Year” by the Car Awards Group Inc. (Cagi).

“It’s an honor and a source of pride for our team to have both the 4×2 and the 4×4 Ranger variants recognized with these prestigious industry awards.  The Ranger continues to be regarded as the benchmark among pick-up trucks in the market today and our record sales is a testament of this,” Hart said.

The EcoSport compact urban SUV quickly became Ford’s second-best selling nameplate in the Philippines on its first year in the market, with total sales reaching 5,203 units in 2014. Sales of the Everest SUV stood at 3,137 units, while that of the  Fiesta reached 2,099 units.

Ford Philippines was also able to sell 1,083 units of the premium Explorer SUV and 139 units of the Mustang.

The company further committed to expand its nationwide dealers network, which is now composed of 36 full-service dealerships. These include Ford Alabang, one of the largest Ford dealerships in the Asean.

The Philippines has been deemed one of the healthiest automotive markets in the Asean by US-based Ford Motor Co., as vehicle sales are seen to continue its robust growth over the next several years.

Matt Bradley, president for Asean of Ford Motor Co., earlier disclosed that the Philippines ranked second-largest Ford markets in the Asean in terms of volume, next to Thailand.

“The Philippines is one of the fastest-growing markets in the Asean. We’ve had a big (growth) and things are happening here. That’s why we’re bringing in new products since the Philippines has proven to be one of the healthiest markets. We’re pretty optimistic about the future here,” Bradley has said.

David L. Schoch, group vice president, and president for Asia Pacific at Ford Motor Co., earlier said the company was “anticipating continued growth in the Philippines,” as it continued to beef up its product and service offerings in the country, which were said to be at par with global standards.

Schoch noted that the strong vehicle sales could be attributed to the growth of the middle-income class, wherein more consumers now have the disposable income to move from two-wheeler vehicles to four-wheeler units. This is why Ford continues to expand its market coverage through more dealerships to ensure that it is able to match its capacity with demand.