Ford dealers need to be more involved in fleet sales, according to new Ford boss Mark Ovenden. Talking to BusinessCar, he said: “We’d like to get in a position where the dealers are the focus of Ford in local communities, and if they can deal with sub-100 fleets that would be great.

“There’s a big gap between retail and big companies. The more business we can do at a local level through our dealers the better.

He added that Ford continues to reduce its short-cycle business, due to its direct impact on RVs. At 45,000 vehicles a year currently, accounting for a third of fleet business, Ovenden said that as it decreases rental numbers it was important not to replace one channel of business before finding a clear alternative. But he added that the “rental market is important so we still want to play a part in it”.

Follow BusinessCar on TWITTER