Ford Vietnam on Thursday announced its full-year sales for 2011 jumped 34% year-on-year to nearly 8,700 units, representing Ford’s all-time best annual performance in Vietnam.

The record sales helped drive Ford’s overall market share up to 6.3%, its highest full-year share since 2007, said Laurent Charpentier, managing director of Ford Vietnam, at a press briefing in HCMC on Thursday.

Ford finished the successful year by delivering its best monthly performance in December, with sales growing more than 24% from the previous year to 1,100 units. This gave Ford an overall market share of 8.6% for December.

Charpentier said that strong sales across the Ford lineup during 2011 were due to a significant boost in the second half of the year following the successful launch of the all-new Ford Fiesta, which finished its first seven months of availability in Vietnam with total retail sales of 1,810 units.

The Fiesta has quickly become one of the leaders in the small car segment, as Vietnamese customers increasingly appreciate its best-in-class combination of design, fuel economy, safety, quality, smart technologies and value for money. Ford Vietnam confirmed that in its first seven months of availability from May to December, the Fiesta captured an impressive 18.4% share of its highly competitive segment.

“Ford Fiesta has made an immediate impact in the market as a best-in-class offering,” said Charpentier, adding that “the immediate success of the Fiesta was complemented by strong performances across our Ford lineup during 2011.”

Ford Everest, the company’s best-seller in Vietnam since 2005, notched full-year sales of 2,121 units. Full-year Ford Escape SUV sales increased slightly from the previous year to its best-ever annual performance with 978 units.

Ford Focus saw last year’s sales increasing more than 33% to 1,728 units, while full-year Ford Ranger sales jumped more than 18% year-over-year to 1,151 units. Ford Transit sales also increased by nearly 5% in 2011 to 762 units.

Ford expects its 2011 momentum to continue this year, driven by the launch of the all-new Ford Ranger as part of the company’s plan to introduce eight all new One Ford vehicles to ASEAN by mid-decade.

"We are confident that we will build on our achievements and progress in 2011 by continuing to bring more class-leading One Ford products and services to Vietnam. The new Fiesta has enjoyed incredible success, which will continue in 2012, and we will go even further with the launch of the all new Ranger," said Charpentier.