SHAH ALAM: Sales of Ford vehicles in Malaysia rose 25 per cent to 6,520 units in the first six months.
Franchise holder Sime Darby Auto Connexion Sdn Bhd yesterday said Ford Malaysia’s sales had gone up 270 per cent from 2010 to 2013, with the latter year being the company’s best annual performance in 20 years.
Last year, Ford Malaysia’s total sales rose 50 per cent to 10,660 units.
Ford Ranger pick-up truck made up half of that sales figure, while the Fiesta accounted for 30 per cent and remaining models were made up by the Focus, Focus ST, Kuga, Mondeo, S-Max and Everest.
Sime Darby also announced the availability of the locally-assembled Ford Transit full-sized van and a network of nine specialist Ford commercial vehicle (CV) centres.
The Transit is available in two variants, a panel van and a window van with seating capacity of 13 passengers, including the driver, and retails for RM139,888 for company commercial registration and RM146,000 for individial private registration, respectively.
Assembled at the Inokom plant in Kulim, Kedah, the move marks the restart of assembly operations for Ford in Malaysia.
Both variants are powered by a 2.2-litre Duratorq TDCi engine
mated to a six-speed manual
transmission.
Ford Motor Company regional fleet sales manager, Brion Gopigian said the 2.2-litre Duratorq TDCi is the same engine found in the Ford Ranger 2.2 XLT that offers exceptional fuel consumption from as low as 8.9L per 100 kilometres.
Both variants come mainly in manual transmission only as it offers commercial business and fleet owners both improved reliability and fuel economy as well as the ability to hold in gear for steep hill climbs, Gopigian said at a briefing here yesterday.
Ford Transit is currently sold in six continents and 116 markets with over seven million units sold worldwide.
The Ford CV centres, meanwhile, function both as a sales point for the Transit vans as well as to manage warranty, quick maintenance and light repair work to ensure minimum vehicle downtime and reduce overall cost for fleet customers.