Ford To Raise UK Prices For Fourth Time This Year

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Thu, 26 Nov 2009

Ford has announced it will hike prices up once again next month in a bid to maintain a viable business.

The carmaker said prices will rise by an average of 2.7 per cent in December, meaning that an extra £250 to £500 will be added to the cost of the most popular models in the range including the Fiesta, Ka, Focus, Kuga, C-Max and Mondeo .

Buyers can also expect to pay an extra £600 for larger Ford models like the S-Max and Galaxy from November 30.

The latest price hike is the fourth time Ford has increased its prices this year, sending costs up by an average of around 14 per cent since January.

The company blamed the weakness of the pound, which it said has fallen in value against the euro by 30 per cent since 2007.

Nigel Sharp, managing director of Ford UK, said: "To combat the continuing weakness of the pound against the euro, Ford has reduced costs across its entire UK business, including personnel reductions in its central operation and across its dealer network."

"However, price rises are still required to maintain a viable business and to recover the relative cost increases caused by the weakness of the pound over an extended period."

A Ford spokesman added that price rises have been "a characteristic of the UK market" all year.

In addition to increasing prices, car buyers are preparing themselves for a rise in VAT with the rate going up from 15 per cent to 17.5 per cent in January, sending the cost of a £20,000 car up by an extra £500.