As the retail sector is more choice and less price-based than fleet sales, de Waard takes this as a positive reflection of the brand in terms of customer recognition.

“It is a very strong indicator of the strength of our product line-up,” he said. “We are selling a more favourable product-line mix.”

De Waard said the new Mondeo has increased brand appeal. “We have moved the Mondeo up market,” he said. This has resulted in sales of the model going up by 20 per cent from last year, according to Ford. With a Fiesta replacement coming later in 2008, de Waard is hopeful the trend will continue. Hopes are high for the 2008 Focus as well, which Ford aims to give a sportier image than its predecessor with new design features.

While new car sales in the UK were down for Ford by 4.75 per cent in October, according to the SMMT figures, the brand saw an overall upturn year-to-date in with a rise of 1.39 per cent. The outgoing Focus was the second best-selling model in the UK last month, behind the Vauxhall Astra. Ford is also concentrating on improving residual values in the used market. “We aim to limit the short-cycle business,” said de Waard. “We have limited the supply – there is an optimum volume.” De Waard said Ford had also eliminated low priced entry-level models to improve users' perception of the brand. According to de Waard, such tactics have paid off in the used vehicle sector: “We now have a clear gap between us and our leading competitor,” he said.