Ford Q1 sales go up 43% in Middle East

US-based automaker Ford Motor Company has bucked a global trend and reported 43 per cent growth in sales in the Middle East for the first quarter of 2010 against the corresponding period last year while the industry average was about five per cent.

Ford outperformed the regional industry in the first quarter of 2010, said Hussein Murad, Ford's Director of Sales in the Middle East.

Ford's GCC growth was mainly driven by demand across the range of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products, with nearly 30 per cent increase in passenger cars while utility vehicles were up by nearly 60 per cent across the range with star performers across the SUVs and crossovers alike.

In the UAE, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury sales saw a 25 per cent hike over the first quarter last year, with growth registered across passenger cars and utility vehicles alike, said a company official.

Other growth markets from the region included Saudi Arabia and Qatar which registered a 75 per cent increase over Q1 last year. In Kuwait, trucks and SUVs recorded a 40 per cent hike thanks to Explorer, Expedition, Mountaineer and Navigator, while the all-new Fusion and Taurus models proved to be among the favourites in the passenger car lineup, according to the statement.

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