Cars and Drivers

Ford Sales Down 6% as F-Series Drops 11%

truck
Source: Ford Motor Co.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) reported that June sales fell 5.8% year-over-year from 235,643 units to 222,064 Ford and Lincoln cars and trucks. Part of the decline was due to two fewer sales days in June of this year than in June of 2013, but there were some glaring differences.

Some points of interest in the report:

  • Mustang sales down more than 1,500 year-over-year
  • Taurus sales down 30% year-over-year
  • Car sales down 1.4%, SUV sales down 7.5%, truck sales down 8.6% year-over-year
  • Focus and Fusion both up 13.5% year-over-year to 26,266 and 27,604 units, respectively

The biggest point is the drop of about 7,500 in this year’s sales of the company’s best-selling F-Series light trucks. Sales were down 11% year-over-year and year-to-date sales are lower by 0.5%. Chrysler’s Ram pickup truck sales were up 12% year-over-year in June and are up 20% for the first six months of 2014. Sales of General Motors Co.’s (NYSE: GM) Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups are also higher, up about 8% year-to-date.

ALSO READ: Jeep Sales Rise 28% to Drive Chrysler’s Sales 9% Higher

Looking just at pickup sales for the three U.S. carmakers, total sales through the first six months of 2014 are 903,555. Through the first six months of last year, the total was 868,024. That’s an increase of 4%. Market share changes are more dramatic: a year ago Ford claimed 42% of U.S. sales, GM/Chevy had 38% and Ram had 20%. This year Ford claims 40%, GM/Chevy get 37% and Ram 23%. This is not good news for Ford.

Also not good news for Ford is the lackluster performance of its Lincoln brand. The company has been trying to boost interest in Lincoln as a company as well as a brand, but the results so far have been less than modest. Lincoln car sales fell 12% year-over-year in June. SUV sales rose 8.7% from 3,383 to 3,679, but total sales for the brand were down 2.7% in June. Year-to-date sales are up 16%, but the numbers are small. Rome may not have been built in a day, but the Lincoln brand has been around a long time and should be performing better than this.

ALSO READ: Buick Sales Up 18%, Lifts GM 1% Higher in June

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