Volkswagen Overtakes Ford In Global Sales
Volkswagen have leap-frogged ford in the global sales rankings to be labelled as the worlds 3rd largest car manufacturer based on car sales. According to recent figures for the first half of 2008, Volkswagens global sales rose 7.2% to 3.31 million cars and trucks, while Ford sales dropped 11% to 3.09 million units.
Ford used to be number 2 in the world until 5 years ago when it was overtaken by Toyota. Now it's fallen to 4th place as American sales have dropped drastically due to the credit crunch and petrol has risen strongly on the back of higher oil prices. These have combined to hit hit sales of the large SUV's and pick-ups, a traditional market for Ford. The F150, for years the biggest selling vehicle in the U.S. has been overtaken by the small fuel efficient Honda Civic.
Ford volumes also dropped due to recent sales of Jaguar, Land Rover to Tata motors, and to a lesser extent Aston Martin, who all contributed to overall sales numbers. Company boss Allan Mulally has said Ford will put more emphasis on selling more efficient vehicles, whilst VW has revealed some ambitious plans to increase growth in the American markets by building a factory in Tennessee - see our earlier story:
Volkswagen To Start Production In US
