Pickups Boost Ford March Sales by 8%
Ford on Tuesday reported a U.S. sales increase of 8% year over year in March, boosted by strong demand for pickup trucks.
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) on Friday reported a U.S. sales increase of 8% year over year in March, to 254,711 Ford and Lincoln vehicles, compared with March 2015 sales of 235,929. Truck sales rose 11.4% for the month, and sales of F Series pickups rose by more than 9%.
Total sales compare to an estimate of 256,194 by analysts at Edmunds.com. Kelley Blue Book also reported that Ford’s average transaction price in March was $36,444, up 0.3% month over month, and up 2.6% compared with March of last year. KBB transaction prices do not include applied consumer incentives.
Sales of the Ford F-Series pickups rose 9.1% in March to 73,884. In February Ford sold 60,697 F-Series trucks following a January sales total of 50,540. Ford noted that this is the earliest month since 2007 for the F-Series to sell more than 70,000 units.
Truck sales comprised about 39% of all Ford sales in March, and the F-Series pickups accounted for about 29% of total sales in March. Both totals are a few points above the February percentages.
[recirclink id=323779]
Where Ford saw its biggest sales boost for the month in sport utility vehicle (SUV) sales, which rose 16% year over year. Escape sales rose 8.4% and Explorer sales were up 4%. The Expedition saw a sales decrease of 0.8%. Sales of Ford utility vehicles, including SUVs but not pickups, are up 13% year over year.
Sales of the all-new Transit and Transit Connect totaled 18,514 units in March, up 52.8% and down 25.6%, respectively, year over year. For the quarter, Transit sales were up 57.4% and Transit Connect sales were down 11.3%.
Sales of the Lincoln brand rose 11.4% year over year in March, as sales of Lincoln utility vehicles rose by 28.2%. Car sales totaled 3,261 units in the month and utility vehicle sales totaled 6,428 units. Car sales fell 11.4% year over year.
The stock traded down about 2.5% Friday morning, at $13.15 in a 52-week range of $10.44 to $16.11.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
