– Ford Middle East revs up to celebrate an outstanding year of sales in 2023, marking a 63% rise over 2022 across the region. This impressive achievement was fueled by the stellar performance of vehicles such as the Ford Territory, Ford Taurus, Ford F-150, and Ford Expedition.
The standout success of 2023 was powered by Ford’s remarkable growth in Saudi Arabia, where sales soared by an outstanding 77% year-on-year. The Ford Territory was the top-selling small SUV in its first year of sale, while the Ford Taurus remained a mainstay as the second-best-selling vehicle in its segment, putting Ford in pole position to become the fastest-growing automotive brand in the kingdom.
“In many ways, 2023 was a milestone year for Ford in the Middle East,” said Ravi Ravichandran, President of Ford Middle East. “This is not the result of one year, but the efforts made over two; we developed a strong strategy for our product offerings, working hand in glove with our distributor partners and taking care of our team, all of which contributed to our record sales across the region – and Saudi Arabia in particular.
“Saudi Arabia’s growth story has been phenomenal to witness as it pursues the ambitious Vision 2030 agenda. Driven by substantial public and private sector investment, the kingdom’s non-oil growth is expected to have been close to 5% last year. At Ford, we are deeply committed to Saudi Arabia, as proven by our actions through 2023 – whether through supporting our distributor partners with visits to Ford plants and hosting regular conferences; strengthening our always-on relationship with customers through initiatives such as the Ford Guest Experience; or hosting media ride-and-drive events and large-scale launches, as we did with the Ford Territory in Riyadh, and the Ford Ranger in King Abdullah Economic City.”
“For Ford Middle East, distributors are the face of our brands in the customers’ eyes, so it’s imperative that they feel fully supported by us, and we’re proud of our high satisfaction score,” explained Ravichandran. “”
In addition to the remarkable success in Saudi Arabia, Ford Middle East also achieved a strong year of sales growth across the border in Kuwait and the UAE, with retail figures surging by an impressive 52% over 2022.
The brand has ambitious plans to build on last year’s success through 2024. Besides driving further growth in sales and parts revenue, a pivotal aspect of Ford Middle East’s vision for the future is the continued rollout of the Ford Guest Experience in collaboration with its distributor partners, to redefine service standards in line with Ford’s firm commitment to treating customers like family.
“Through 2024, we aim to capitalize on our strengths and a strong 2023 as we continue to focus on our core refreshed product portfolio, lay the groundwork for bringing electric vehicles to the region in 2025, and deliver flawless launches of the All-New Lincoln Nautilus, Ford Mustang, Ford F-150, Ford Taurus Hybrid, Ford Explorer, and Lincoln Aviator,” added Ravichandran.
“The Middle East region is committed to the Ford+ values of creating must-have products and services that our customers love and appreciate, turning around automotive operations, caring for our teams, and treating our customers and partners as family. I’d like to thank our hard-working distributor partners, Al Jazirah Vehicles Agencies and Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors for making 2023 a huge success in the kingdom and look forward to even greater achievements in 2024.”
