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In
January, Ford recalled around 4,500 Kuga SUVs sold in South
Africa after dozens of reports of the vehicles catching fire
spontaneously due to engine overheating.
With a total of 6,634 vehicles sold last month, Ford sales were
up 1.7 percent compared to the same month last year, while the
company's overall market share was 14.5 percent, Ford said in a
statement.
"We are encouraged by and grateful for the continued customer
confidence in the Ford brand... despite the challenges relating
to the safety recall announced in January for the 1.6-litre Kuga
sold in South Africa in 2013 and 2014," said Gerhard Herselman,
general manager for sales at Ford's sub-Saharan region.
He said Ford was committed to addressing customer concerns as it
sought to limit the impact among affected customers who complain
that Ford was tardy in its response to the Kuga problem.
South Africa's new vehicle sales rose 3.7 percent year-on-year
to 50,333 units in January, data from the trade and industry
department showed this week.
(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Adrian Croft)
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