Popular SUVs drive Ford Philippines sales by 15%

Ford Philippines continued its strong performance in the first seven months of the year, as it posted a 15 percent jump in sales to 12,132 units, due largely to the rising demand for its popular Ranger and EcoSport models.

For July alone, Ford Philippines reported vehicle sales reaching 1,705 units.

“We’re pleased that our momentum continued through July as Filipinos showed their confidence in the Ford brand and appreciation for the way our global Ford vehicles, particularly the Ranger and the EcoSport, are meeting their lifestyle and transportation needs,” said Kay Hart, Ford Philippines managing director.

Ford said its EcoSport nameplate hit record sales of 833 units in July, the best month for the said model since its launch in the Philippines last year. Cumulative sales for the compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) have reached 4,966 units from January to July this year.

The Ranger, meanwhile, remained the country’s best-selling pickup truck as retail sales in July reached 557 units, bringing its year-to-date performance up 24 percent to 4,884 units.

Ford Philippines disclosed it will unveil this month a new Ford Ranger, which is poised to set a new benchmark in the pickup truck segment. Customer deliveries will start in September.

“The new Ford Ranger brings a whole new level of refinement and comfort to its segment without compromising on the rugged and tough capability that our Filipino customers expect. With our proud truck heritage and global expertise in the utility segment, we’ve made what is great even better,” Hart said in a statement.

Other Ford nameplates also showed continued growth. The sales for Fiesta, for example, rose 10 percent to 153 units in July. Year-to-date sales for this model have reached 867 units.

Meanwhile, Ford is also set to start retail sales for the all-new Everest in the first week of September.

“Arguably one of the automaker’s widely-popular SUVs, the all-new Everest marks a bold new direction for Ford in the mid-size SUV segment and is set to challenge what customers can expect from their traditional SUV. The seven-seater SUV blends strength, smart features and style to bring consumers a tough and versatile SUV with true off-road capability,” the company added.

Ford said it is on track with its dealership network expansion plan to open 40 locations by the end of the year.