Ford of Europe benefited from strong growth in emerging markets like Turkey and Russia in 2005, with the company being able to set new production records and post all-time record sales and volume growth, according to a company statement.

Across Europe, Ford’s seven manufacturing plants produced a total of 1,726,900 passenger cars and commercial vehicles, an increase of 19,400 units over 2004.

In Turkey, Ford’s total sales rose nine per cent in 2005 to 121,400 vehicles, giving the company a 17.2 per cent market share – the highest for Ford anywhere in Europe.

This is the fourth year in a row that Ford has led the Turkish market.

Ford’s assembly plant in St Petersburg, Russia, produced a record 33,000 Focus units, a 11 per cent increase over 2004 that helped maintain the Focus as one of the best-selling cars in Russia. Total Ford sales in Russia rose an incredible 54 per cent to 60,600 units, up 21,900 units over the prev-ious year.

Apart from St Petersburg and Kocaeli, Ford also set a production record in Cologne, Germany, producing 403,300 Fiesta and Fusion models, 23,800 units more than in the previous year.

Ford of Europe vice-president James Tetreault said: “2005 was a successful year for our manufacturing facilities, especially for our newer plants in Kocaeli and St Petersburg. It is our aim for 2006 to break these records again. In addition to the expansion at Kocaeli, we have also announced a production capacity increase in St Petersburg from 40,000 now to 60,000 units in 2006.”

For 2005, Ford of Europe reported total vehicle retail sales of 1,492,800, the statement added.

Ford’s most successful markets in Europe in 2005 in terms of units sold were Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain and France. The company also reported a sales increase in Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Belgium.

Total vehicle sales in Ford’s European direct markets, representing 28 markets including Malta and other smaller countries in Eastern Europe and North Africa, grew from 10,000 units in 2001 to more than 30,000 units in 2005.

“Ford has held its own in a very competitive market where there is a lot of surplus capacity,” said Ford of Europe vice-president Marketing, Sales and Service Stephen Odell. “With our commitment to introducing further outstanding new products, like the S-MAX and new Galaxy in the first half of 2006, and the exciting new Focus Coupe Cabrio later this year, we are optimistically looking forward to continued business success in 2006,” he added.