Ford registers 31% first-half GCC sales growth

Ford Middle East continues full speed ahead with GCC-wide sales growth of 31 per cent during the first six months of 2010 over the same period last year.

SUVs and trucks led the surge with 46 per cent increases, while cars posted 18 per cent growth in sales across the region driven by the new Ford Fusion and Taurus, the company said in a press release on Tuesday.

The company is strongly positioned and set to end the year on an upbeat following the arrival of new models in the third quarter, according to Hussein Murad, Ford’s Director of Sales in the Middle East.

The Middle East results reflect Ford’s strength globally with the company posting nearly $4.7 billion first-half net income after tax, an impressive $3.85bn improvement over the same period last year.

Ford Motor Company’s second-quarter income after tax was registered at $2.6bn, an increase of $338 million against $2.2bn in the second quarter of 2009.

In the Middle East, SUVs continued to be favourites among Ford vehicles, with 97 per cent increase in sales for Expedition, followed by Explorer at 83 per cent and Flex at 58 per cent while Ford F-150 led the truck sales with 486 per cent over the same period last year.

In the passenger car segment, Fusion led the growth, recording a 105 per cent sales increase in first half. The Taurus was up by 75 per cent. Mustang also continued to increase in popularity, with sales growing by 16 per cent.

Ford was recognised for having the highest quality among all non-luxury brands in the JD Powers and Associates’ 2010 Initial Quality Study.

In Saudi Arabia, sales were up by 56 per cent. Qatar follows with 22 per cent increase year-on-year and the UAE recording a rise of 15 per cent.

Ford's product drive remains on track for 2010 with a host of new models making their way into the region including the new Mustang V6 and V8 models, and the all-new crossovers Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX.

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