Ford sales in PH continue to dip due to impact of Thai floods

Ford Philippines is still reeling from the floods that inundated Thailand late last year with the American carmaker reporting that it sold only 415 units in February 2012. In the same period last year, Ford Philippines moved 818 units out of its showrooms.

The downturn in Ford Philippines' sales was inevitable as its three best-selling models in the Philippines--the Fiesta, Ranger and Everest--are all built in Thailand where many industries, including automotive, are still working to fully restore supplier networks and get back to pre-flood production schedules.

The Fiesta continued to lead Ford Philippines's retail sales with 239 units being sold for the month. As if to further strengthen the Fiesta's popularity in the market, Ford Philippines also launched three new variants in February, including the 1.6-liter Fiesta Sport Plus hatchback and the 1.4-liter Fiesta Trend with automatic transmission in both hatchback and sedan forms.

"The All-New Fiesta is one of the clear leaders of the small-car segment, and with the addition of three new variants for our Filipino customers plus improving overall stocks across dealerships this month, we are confident that Fiesta will continue its growth in the segment," said Randy Krieger, president of Ford Group Philippines. "We are still working through the supply disruptions that were caused by the Thai floods, but are looking forward to getting things fully back on track, starting later this month with the introduction of the all-new Ranger and all-new Explorer 2.0L GTDi at the Manila International Auto Show. We fully expect our sales volume to strengthen through the year, with the launch of the all-new Ford Focus giving us another boost later this year."

With so many launches ahead, it certainly looks like 2012 could be Ford Philippines’s year.