Auto Knight

Ford Sales Up For Focus And Edge

by Darren

Ford says sales of their Focus and Edge lines bucked a global trend, and were up.

Retail sales for the Ford Focus were the highest for any month since August 2005 — with retail sales up 36 percent in March and 35 percent in the first quarter compared with the same periods a year ago.

The new Focus has helped Ford increase its share in the growing small car market and is attracting younger buyers. Compared with the previous model, buyers are equipping the Focus with more features, like SYNC, Ford’s exclusive, in-car connectivity technology that fully integrates most Bluetooth-enabled cell phones and MP3 players by voice activation.

Edge sales were also up impressively for the same quarter. Edge retail sales were up 35 percent in March and 52 percent in the first quarter, thanks in part to stronger sales on the coasts. The
California region accounted for more than 10 percent of Edge sales in the first quarter of 2008, versus 7 percent in the first quarter 2007. The company did even better on the West Coast.

Ford is attempting to restore themselves to profitability. Ford employs 250,000 people worldwide.