Germany overtook the U.K. in February to become Ford of Europe's biggest European sales market, the company said Thursday.
Ford sold nearly 10,000 more cars in Germany than in the U.K. last month.
The 43.7 percent increase in February boosted Ford’s German sales to 36,500 in the first two months, while the U.K. was at 35,500.
Germany’s scrapping bonus is sparking the sales surge.
It "is proving extremely popular and generating a lot of additional showroom traffic," Ingvar Sviggum, Ford of Europe's vice president of marketing, sales and service, said about the incentive.
In Germany, people who scrap cars that are at least nine years old and then buy new vehicles receive certificates worth €2,500 ($3,221). The German government has put aside €1.5 billion to fund the progam, enough for 600,000 payouts.
Falling sales in France, Spain and Italy contributed to Ford’s volume declining 14.2 percent to 91,100 in its main 19 European markets last month.
But the company did improve its market share in its 19 main markets by 0.8 percentage points to 8.5 percent in February.
"The underlying trend we face is still one of an overall sales decline across the industry as a whole," Sviggum said. "We will continue to do all that it takes to stay competitive and protect the flow of our exciting new products."
