There’s been an unprecedented surge in demand for the new Ford Mustang since the order books opened late last year. Unprecedented, well, because the Mustang hasn’t been sold in Europe since 1979 – when they were rebadged as the Ford T5 because German truck manufacturer Krupp owned the Mustang trademark.
The company says that 1.1 million people visited Ford’s websites and nearly 500,000 people looked at the various options, priced and personalized the Mustang from mid-January to mid-February. Though we’re not entirely sure how many actually placed orders, it gives us a little bit of insight into the tastes of potential customers for the iconic Pony car.
Of the five largest European sales markets – UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain – Race Red and black are the top colors, each accounting for 20 percent popularity amongst would-be customers. The most popular color choices in the UK were Race Red (22%) and Deep Impact Blue (17%), and prospective customers in France also preferred Race Red (24%) followed by black (19%).
In Germany, Italy and Spain the reverse was true. Black was more popular (21%) than Race Red (18%) in Germany, Italians preferred black (27%) nearly twice as much as Race Red/Deep Impact Blue (13%) and Spaniards placed Race Red (19%) second to black (27%).
There isn’t much contrast in the color preferences for the Chinese and US-market consumers either. In China, where more than five million consumers have visited the Ford site to learn more about Mustang, Race Red is the leader, accounting for more than one third of Mustang orders. Black is the number one color in the US.
Europeans also spend a bit more time looking after themselves. The Ebony leather interior was chosen by 61% across Europe and 28% of people chose to specify the Custom Pack, which includes the ‘shaker pro’ audio system with navigation; climate controlled seats and reverse parking sensors; ‘lustre nickel’ multi-spoke 19-inch alloys and chrome rear window surrounds on the fastback.
Data for the first month also indicated that half of all models were configured with the 310hp 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine and the other half with the 412hp 5.0-liter V8. Two thirds chose manual transmissions, with the six-speed and Ecoboost four cylinder accounting for 37% of models specced.
Unsurprisingly, the V8 engine was most popular in Germany (60%) and the UK (54%), with the EcoBoost engine’s popularity more apparent in Italy (61%), Spain (59%) and France (55%). With the UK and Germany’s economy clearly stronger than that of other European countries, the results accent the fact that the Italians, Spanish and French like the muscle car’s looks but don’t want to pay too much out of pocket for the privilege of being seen in one.
The new Ford Mustang will be available to customers in more than 100 markets globally. First shipments are headed for Asia, with vehicles arriving in continental Europe mid-year and in the UK (with right-hand drive) in the second half of the year.
