JEDDAH: Ford Middle East expects to close 2010 on a high note with a 30 percent increase in its 2010 vehicle sales across GCC markets versus 2009. In Saudi Arabia, the company projects a staggering 40 percent growth in Ford and Lincoln sales at a time when the industry saw a 9 percent growth. The company is confident that this trend would go well into 2011 thanks to the strong products - launched at the Abu Dhabi International Motorshow (Dec. 7-11), and at the five-day Riyadh Motorshow that ended Thursday - including the new 2011 Ford Edge crossover, the new 2011 Ford Mustang in both V6 and V8 versions, the new 2011 Lincoln MKX and the all-new sub-compact B-segment contender - the new Ford Figo. "Ford continues its tremendous growth across the region, and I am pleased to say we now feature one of our most refreshed and youngest lineups ever, and we are confident that these new products will capture the hearts and minds of show visitors at first glance," said Hussein Murad, Ford Middle East's regional director of sales. Passenger cars led the growth, with sales up by 33 percent region-wide based on preliminary 11-month figures and forecasts to year-end, led by Taurus, Fusion and Focus. Trucks and SUVs also saw an upswing, showing an increase of 24 percent over last year, with Explorer, Expedition and Edge taking the lead. "It is evident that Ford in the region is reaping the benefits of our global One Ford plan," said Larry Prein, Ford Middle East's managing director. "The transformation in our products, Ford's industry-leading quality and class-leading innovations are clearly being appreciated not just by the experts, but most importantly by our customers," he added. Saudi Arabia posted the strongest regional growth, with a 40 percent boost over 2009, where trucks and SUV sales increased by 47 percent, and passenger car sales went up by 36 percent. Sales in the United Arab Emirates were up 10 percent over last year, with the Taurus, Fusion and Mustang contributing to nearly 10 percent increase in passenger car sales. Kuwait too enjoyed a healthy performance thanks to trucks and SUVs shooting up about 16 percent while passenger cars registered a 10 percent increase. "Ford continues to grow and expand in Saudi Arabia as we add more and more branches to our expanding network to connect with our customers wherever they are," said Sabah bin Abdullah Al Kraidees, Sales & Marketing director of Al Jazirah Vehicles Agencies Co, the Ford and Lincoln importer-dealer in the Kingdom. "The growth that we witnessed this year which clearly outperformed the industry four times, once again confirms that more and more customers prefer Ford and Lincoln products as they realize the industry leading quality, innovations, reliability, safety and above all, the great value. "Our drive to invest in further expanding our network stems from the increasing demand for our products. With new and strong products on the way, it is only natural that we expand in order to make these products available at close range to our growing customer base," he added. Murad further said "overall, 2010 has been a very successful year for Ford as we grew our market share and continued to outpace the industry across global and regional markets, and the best is yet to come as we roll out our latest products across the region."
