Ford plans incentives after European sales fall 17%

Ford Motor Co. is planning sales promotions after it lost market share in Europe last month when government incentive programs ended and competitors began offering discounts.

Deliveries in Ford's main 19 markets in the region fell 17 percent to 101,100 vehicles in April, the first decline in 11 months, its Cologne, Germany-based European division said today. Ford said its market share slid 1.1 percentage points to 7.8 percent as the company refrained from cutting prices.

Ford may offer discounts on options on some models rather than cash rebates "to protect as much profitable share as we can," Ingvar Sviggum, vice president of sales and marketing for the European unit, said in an interview. "We'll just have to watch that we have the right balance between share and volume and profitability and margins."

Discounts by rivals such as Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co.'s Opel unit will test Ford's price discipline, said Joe Phillippi, president of AutoTrends Consulting in Short Hills, New Jersey.

"If Ford can spin it properly with their advertising, it may sound better than the other guys' deal with cash on the hood," Phillippi said. "Then they might be able to battle through it without giving away the store."

Sviggum said that ‘the competitive pressure is tough. There are a lot of cash rebates and we try to avoid that."