Mustang jumps to the front

Ford Mustang has raced to the front of the sports car segment in New Zealand after local sales jumped 72 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, when compared to the same period a year earlier.

It sold 130 units between January and March this year, up from 76 in the first quarter of 2020, for a 71 per cent share of the sports market.

The surge in demand domestically comes as the pony car was crowned the world’s best-selling sports car for the second consecutive year. It has also retained the title of best-selling sports coupe for a sixth straight year.

Mustang, which celebrates its 57th anniversary on April 17, sold 80,577 units in 2020, according to data from IHS Markit.

This tally took out 15.1 per cent of registrations in the sports-coupe market, up from 14.8 per cent in 2019.

A surge in demand for high-performance Bullitt, Shelby GT350, Shelby GT350R and Shelby GT500 models helped lead the way. Ford adds sales of the Bullitt and Shelby variants increased 52.7 per cent year-on-year.

Hau Thai-Tang, chief product platform and operations officer at Ford Motor Company, says: “Mustang enthusiasts love their performance cars, and they showed that yet again.

“In a challenging year for the entire auto industry because of the global pandemic, Mustang performed very well, increasing its share in the global sports car segment.”

The US remains the strongest global market for Mustang and accounts for about three-quarters of total sales.

Ford reports the all-electric Mustang Mach-E also exceeded sales expectations in February and March to finish the first quarter with 6,614 registrations.

As well as Ford New Zealand lauding domestic Mustang sales, it has announced three new colours for the local stable – Grabber Yellow, Carbonised Grey and Antimatter Blue, pictured above.

FordPass is also now available on 2021 models, which allows motorists to use their smartphone to locate their Mustang, lock and unlock the doors, start the engine remotely, and make service bookings.