The year 2018 was a special one for Ford India. Not only did it celebrate its 20^th anniversary on our shores but also surpassed 10 lakh deliveries of cars since its inception. Apart from those two celebratory moments, the Indian arm of the American carmaker also saw a record-breaking sales count in the 2018 calendar year. With a total sale of 97,804 cars in 2018, the carmaker grew by 12 per cent over 2017. Those numbers make 2018 the best-ever year for Ford India.

In December 2018, the carmaker sold 5,840 vehicles in India and shipped 18,580 vehicles to other markets. That takes the total sales to 24,420 units. Those numbers, in the same flow in December 2017, stood at 5,087, 24,708 and 29,795 units respectively. Do the math and you’ll notice that while the carmaker’s domestic sales grew by 14.8 per cent, the exports dropped by 24.8 per cent. In 2017, Ford India’s total sales were clocked at 2,62,784 units. That figure last year was 2,65,714.

Here’s what Anurag Mehrotra, who is the president and managing director at Ford India, said in an official release:

“2018 was a turnaround year for Ford in India as we consistently delivered on our strategy of Strong Brand, Right Product, Competitive Cost and Effective Scale to strengthen our commitment to India. Despite headwinds due to regulatory and economic changes in India and export markets, we are confident of keeping the momentum in 2019. In India, we are confident of growing better than the industry and bringing many more customers to the Ford fold to experience the promise of transparency and differentiated experience.”

Last year, Ford India introduced upgraded variants of the EcoSport as well as the FreeStyle Compact Utility Vehicle (CUV). The year also saw the launch of the mid-life update of the Aspire sub-4 metre sedan. Last month, the company ran a campaign by the name of ‘Midnight Surprise’ and also unfolded some staggering findings from its road safety study. In 2019, Ford India will launch the refreshed versions of the Mustang, Figo and the Endeavour.