Ford Sales Reflect Richer Taste
- From: "captain." <spammersmustdie@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 09:38:55 GMT
Ford Sales Reflect Richer Taste
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=16567
By Yekaterina Dranitsyna
Staff Writer
Sales of Ford cars in Russia increased from 39,241 in 2004 to 60,564
in 2005, the company said Friday in a statement. Some analysts have termed
the growth remarkable, while others suggest that overall demand was not
adequately reflected by the company's hitherto limited production
facilities.
As foreign carmakers increase sales to come in line with demand for
expensive and high-quality cars, analysts are eager to see if such a growth
in sales will continue after local production reaches its planned output.
"Having switched to the production of the new Focus in May 2005 its
immediate popularity proved once again that Russian buyers are interested in
modern, quality and comfortable cars and new technical solutions," president
of Ford in Russia Henrik Nenzen said in a statement.
According to UFG, Ford is now the second foreign carmaker after
Hyundai in terms of sales, while Ford Focus became the most popular foreign
car, outstripping last year's leader Mitsubishi.
"Ford is well-placed in the Russian car market. If it wasn't for
changing the line of model, sales figures could have been even better," said
Yelena Sakhnova, automotive industry analyst at UFG.
Another notorious issue Ford faced last year - a workers' strike - had
an insignificant effect on sales figures, Sakhnova said.
Ford official dealers sold 39,774 Ford Focus cars in 2005.
"More than 22,000 clients ordered Focus to be delivered this year.
After increasing the annual production of our Russian plant up to 60,000
cars from Jan. 1 we expect to deliver the Focus to customers without delay,"
he said.
However another expert said that present sales growth exceeded the
industry average because "so far sales have not adequately reflected demand
for Ford cars as a result of limited production facilities at the Ford plant
in Russia."
"It would be interesting to see how the company sales grow in coming
years," Sakhnova said.
Ford invested $30 million into expanding the production facilities of
the Vsevolozhsk plant opened in 2002.
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, in the next three years the
number of cars sold in Russia will exceed two million, compared to 1.596
millions in 2004.
"Consumer interest is growing in more expensive and higher-quality
cars, with imported brands the primary beneficiaries. This reflects the
growth in disposable incomes, the aggressive sales strategies of
international brands, the increasing prices of Russian vehicles and the
gradual development of credit for the purchase of cars," Stanley Root,
partner at PwC, said in an automotive industry report released in 2005.
Cars costing between $8,000 to $20,000 would be the fastest growing
market segment, he said. The development of the car retail sector and the
emergence of Western quality chains, offering modern showrooms and a full
range of services, also contributed to focusing customers on quality of
service, Root said.
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