With this volume, the EcoSport SUV places third in a ranking of best-selling Ford models on the Romanian market, after Ford Focus and Ford Kuga.
The new EcoSport has exceeded the Ford Fiesta model in terms of sales, in the second quarter of 2018, with the latter seeing 374 car registrations. The DPRCIV archive does not include data for the first quarter of 2018 or for 2017.
By comparison, based on data from the Automotive Manufacturers and Importers Association (APIA), 141 old Ford EcoSport cars were sold in 2017, while in 2015, sales of first generation Ford EcoSport cars stood at 224. Thus, within a single quarter in 2018, the number of Ford EcoSport cars sold nearly doubled compared with the whole 2017.
In May 2018, Ford said it will invest up to EUR200 million and creating an additional 1,500 jobs to manufacture a second vehicle at its assembly plant in Craiova. The new vehicle is in addition to the EcoSport small SUV currently built in Craiova, plus Ford’s 1.0 liter EcoBoost engine. The model and start date for production of the second vehicle will be confirmed closer to launch, Ford said in a statement at that time.
Ford’s overall investment in its Romanian manufacturing operations – including the announcement of the EUR200 million investment – is nearly EUR1.5 billion since acquiring the Craiova facility in 2008. Significant upgrades have recently been made to Craiova’s vehicle operations, with more than 550 robots installed at the facility to further improve efficiency and quality in the paint, trim and chassis, and body shops, the company also said.
The Craiova-built EcoSport, launched in 2017, is sold across Europe and features a sophisticated cabin, a powerful and fuel-efficient new 1.5-liter EcoBlue diesel, Intelligent All Wheel Drive and sporty ST-Line model.