KUALA LUMPUR – Ford Motor Company expects its sales growth momentum to continue in the second half of the year (2H 2022) across ASEAN and Asia Pacific Distributor Markets (APDM) as consumer confidence gradually improves.

Ford ASEAN and APDM president Yukontorn Wisadkosin said the company recorded a strong performance across the region in the first half of 2022, registering sales growth of nine per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) with 8,335 units sold as of June.

She said the Malaysian market contributed three per cent of the total sales growth in the region, recording an increase in sales of 31 per cent y-o-y with 2,603 units sold as of June.

“Of course, there are some challenges in our operations, for instance the currency exchange rate and global supply chain disruptions that continue to affect Ford’s plants – along with other automakers and industries around the world.

“We have teams working on how to maximise production, with a continued commitment to building every high-demand vehicle for our customers with the quality they expect,” she told Bernama in an exclusive interview after the launch of next-generation Ford Ranger here, on Friday.

Among regional markets, Ford also posted good showing in the Philippines, where its best-selling Ford Territory was the leader in the small sports utility vehicle (SUV) segment, commanding an 80 per cent market share.

In Thailand, the company’s half-year sales totalled 14,929 units, while in Vietnam, Ford Ranger is the number one pickup with more than 60 per cent segment share.

According to Yukontorn, Ford’s key priorities across ASEAN this year included the successful launch of its next-generation Ford Ranger and Ford Everest.

“These next-gen Ford vehicles are equipped with segment-leading features and capabilities that are attuned to cater to the current and future needs of our customers.

“We will also continue to strengthen our commitment to ‘Treat Customers Like Family’ and deliver an enhanced ‘next-generation ownership experience’ with differentiated innovative services to keep an ‘always-on’ relationship with our customers,” she said.

In the meantime, Yukontorn noted that as a global company, Ford continues to make big shifts towards developing electric vehicles (EV) and has already invested in its development process.

“We continue to look at the market readiness, whether its infrastructure, the support from the government and policies that allow us to make the right investment.

“In the future, when we have something more concrete towards the development of our EV, we will make an announcement accordingly,” she added. – Bernama / pic Bloomberg