Ford’s recent European sales successes have given the company its highest market share since 1999.
Year-on-year European new car sales in its 19 key markets were up five per cent in July to 125,200, a rise that saw Ford’s market share increase by 0.6 per cent to nine per cent.
Pan-European scrappage schemes have helped to boost Ford’s sales, with the Fiesta and Ka models proving particularly popular.
Ingvar Sviggum, Ford of Europe's head of marketing, sales and service, said scrappage incentives should be phased out gradually to avoid a big drop in demand.
“Despite the positive impact of various national vehicle scrappage schemes, the overall trend is still negative and the underlying market weak," he said.
"We strongly believe that these incentive schemes should continue for as long as practically possible, and then be phased out in an orderly manner to avoid any dramatic reduction in market demand that could damage the still-fragile improvement we have seen in recent months.”
In the first seven months of the year, Ford’s European sales were down 7.3 per cent in its core 19 markets, against an industry drop of 12.2 per cent. It is Europe’s second-biggest car manufacturer, behind the Volkswagen Group.
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