Ford delivers Focus #500,000

A red, 1.8-litre five-door second generation model was the 500,000th Ford Focus sold in Russia since the first generation was launched there in 1999.

As KHABAR KHODRO reports ,The milestone car was sold to a customer in St. Petersburg, home of the assembly plant where the car was built.

“This milestone shows how far we have come in Russia in the past 12 years,” said Mark Ovenden, president and managing director, Ford of Russia. “We are very proud the Focus is the most popular foreign branded vehicle ever with Russian customers.”

Ford sold just 47 units in Russia in launch year 1999. Sales peaked at 97,060 in 2007 and last year topped out at 67,040.

"It’s fitting that the 500,000th Ford Focus was sold right before the start of sales of the next-generation which features a range of intelligent technologies previously found only in luxury cars,” Ovenden said. “The new Focus will once again redefine what Russian consumers can expect of a volume car."

Russian production (first generation) started in 2002 at the Vsevolozhsk plant near St Petersburg – the first foreign-owned car factory in the country. Ford has since been joined in the region - now known as 'Russia's Detroit' by rivals including Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai and a PSA-Mitsubishi Motors JV.

The third generation Focus goes on sale in Russia in June.

The St Petersburg plant has capacity for 125,000 vehicles a year and also builds the Mondeo.