Ford to Up Russian Sales by 50%

Ford Motor Company sold nearly 21,000 cars in Russia via its chain of official dealers in 2003, 3.1 times higher than the figure for 2002. As the company's press office announced yesterday, the most popular car was the Ford Focus (15,876 cars) followed by the Mondeo (2,770), the Transit (665 cars) and the Maverick (665 cars).

The number of official dealers also increased from 57 to 85 located in 65 Russian cities.

Ford President to Russia and the CIS Henrik Nenzen said Ford is planning to sell up to 30 thousand cars in Russia this year, which would mean a rise of 50% on last year's figure. Ford will also start delivering five new models to Russia in the first half of 2004 - StreetKa, Fusion, C-MAX, Expedition and Ranger.