Ford Europe Mar sales down 13% to 163,000 vehicles

Ford Motor Co.'s European division said Wednesday that sales were down 13% on the year in March at 163,000 vehicles in its 19 core markets as record demand for its small Fiesta model failed to offset shrinking sales of its larger cars and vans amid a weak overall market.

"It is very encouraging to see Fiesta doing so well and also our market share developing so positively, given the declining market we are continuing to face in Europe," Ford Europe's vice-president marketing, sales and service, Ingvar Sviggum, said in a statement.

In the first quarter, sales were down 16% compared with the same period last year at 352,200 vehicles.

Ford said it sold 52,800 Fiesta cars in Europe last month, the "highest retail sales month ever" for this model and making it "once more the company's best- selling car" in its 19 main European markets.

Incentives schemes initiated by several European governments to trade in old gas-guzzlers for new, more fuel-efficient cars have sparked demand especially for small cars in recent weeks.

Ford said it increased its market share in Europe to 10% in March, up 0.2 percentage points compared with the same month last year, and for the first time since September 2001 reaching a double-digit figure.

"With 56% of our March sales generated by retail customers - up from 43% in March 2008 - we have clear evidence of consumer confidence in our Ford product range," Sviggum said.