'77 looks good
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ANDY THOMS, Ford of Britain's truck sales director, has forecast that 1976 would prove to be a record year for Ford commercial vehicle production.
"With four months still to go," he said, "we are expecting to produce more than 150,000 vans, trucks and buses for the first time in any year." This figure compares with the record of 143,519 in 1972 and last year's total of 128,502. The increase is due entirely to a sharp upsurge in export markets which are scheduled to take at least 85,000 commercial vehicles this year, or 57 per cent of the total output. The existing export record of 67,743 was set last year.
"At the same time," he added, "there are signs that the market has bottomed out and that the recovery is under way. We are confident now that sales will strengthen further towards the end of the year and that this upsurge will continue into 1977 giving a market of more than 230,000, which will be 10 per cent higher than this year."