DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 2, 2012 – The new Ford C-MAX Hybrid – America’s most fuel-efficient and affordable hybrid utility vehicle – is now the best-selling hybrid utility vehicle after outselling Toyota Prius v, 3,182 units to 2,769 units, in just its first full month of sales in October.
The new C-MAX Hybrid led Ford in achieving its best October hybrid sales month ever with a total of 4,612 sales, up 142 percent over October 2011. C-MAX Hybrid sales helped Ford deliver its best October for small car sales in 11 years. Ford sales of Focus, C-MAX and Fiesta were up 54 percent to 25,493 units year over year.
“The new C-MAX is off to a fast start in the heart of the hybrid market, not only outselling Prius v, but drawing a lot of interested Toyota customers who chose our new hybrid instead,” says C.J. O’Donnell, manager, Ford Electrified Vehicles. “Customers now come into our showrooms for fuel economy, and we’re delivering with six vehicles that offer 40 mpg or better, including the new C-MAX Hybrid at 47 mpg combined, with another two on the way by year’s end.”
C-MAX Hybrid’s leading EPA-rated fuel economy – up to 7 mpg better than Prius v – is already helping attract new customers in key coastal markets that own import vehicles. One in four C-MAX Hybrids sold in October were sold in California, with Los Angeles as the best-selling region and San Francisco following in second.
Additionally, initial conquest data show that more than 70 percent of C-MAX Hybrid buyers traded in a competitive model or added it without trading in another vehicle. And one third of C-MAX Hybrid customers in October said they cross-shopped the Toyota Prius and Prius v.
“The C-MAX Hybrid is winning over customers with its best-in-class passenger room, smart technologies and leading fuel economy,” says O’Donnell. “And its $25,995 price tag gives customers the value they are looking for without having to make the typical compromises that have defined most hybrids until now.”
Customers are demonstrating that even in a hybrid vehicle, they are looking for “real car” features. More than 60 percent of sales of C-MAX Hybrid are the SEL model, which offers Intelligent Access with push-button start, rain-sensing wipers, heated seats, SYNC® with MyFord Touch®, ambient lighting and the Reverse Sensing System standard. Early sales of the SEL model are running about 20 percent higher than expected.
Ford’s first production plug-in hybrid C-MAX Energi – America’s most fuel-efficient and affordable plug-in hybrid vehicle – is now available at Ford EV-certified dealers in half the states across the country. As Ford’s first production plug-in hybrid, C-MAX Energi provides customers with an all-new electrified vehicle offering that delivers a class-leading 108 MPGe city EPA rating, “real car” horsepower of 195 (versus Prius plug-in’s 134 horsepower) and a leading EV-only speed of 85 mph, 20 mph above the Prius plug-in.
According to a Pike Research report, Ford’s electrified vehicle offerings will help the company join Toyota as leaders in electric vehicle sales by 2020. The report projects plug-in hybrid sales will reach nearly 48,000 units in 2012, and sell faster than the early days of conventional hybrids by later this decade.
Maximum power of choice The all-new C-MAX Energi joins Ford’s all-new electrified vehicle offerings, including the 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid, America’s most fuel-efficient sedan, which is on sale now. The new Fusion will also give customers the power to choose across three powertrain options – gasoline, hybrid and plug-in hybrid.
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