Ford Sales Decline 31 Percent In April

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Ford’s sold 129,898 vehicles last month ( PDF) as overall sales declined by 31 percent compared to last April. Retail market share did increase, however, as Ford likely gouged its bailout-burdened Detroit colleagues. The big news though? Mercury outsold Lincoln! Which is more an indicator of Lincoln’s sorry situation (5,973 total sales) than Mercury’s success (7,662). But then even Volvo (4,503) makes Lincoln look good.

By vehicle class, SUVs were the big losers. Utes dropped 60.9 percent of sales with the Navigator (-78.4 percent) and Expedition (-72 percent) falling the fastest. CUVs fared best month-on-month, with only a 15 percent decline in sales. Flex had its best sales month ever (3,190 units) and Edge merely edged down (-26 percent) although its Mercury twin MKX was down over 42 percent (1,748 units). The newly redesigned Fusion saw a 21 percent sales increase over last April’s outgoing model, an achievement trumpeted by Ford PR. But another new product, the F150 pickup, dropped 35 percent. That’s over 16k fewer F150 sales than April 2008, or very nearly the same monthly volume as all of Ford’s non-Ford brands put together.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • BDB BDB on May 01, 2009

    And the MKX isn't a Mercury. It's a Lincoln.

  • NulloModo NulloModo on May 01, 2009

    Flex sales are certainly up, we have a lot of customers coming in from things they have heard from friends/neighbors who have purchased one. The more people who buy them, the more word of mouth, the more people will realize that even though it is a bit boxy, it drives like a dream, and the more will sell. The 2010 Fusion isn't any larger than the outgoing model (well, maybe a fraction of an inch here or there), the wheelbase and interior room are identical. It looks larger in person just due to the new styling, and the new interior gives a better sense of space. We are selling a good number of F150s through the retail channel, but fleet/commercial sales on trucks are way down because construction is way down. Chevy, Dodge, and Toyota are also all offering bigger incentives on their pickups, and while we are able get many customers to see the light that the F150 is a superior product, image buyers and price buyers are willing to sacrifice quality for payment during these times.

  • Juniper Juniper on May 01, 2009

    Fusion sales nearly equaled Corolla in April. A big improvement. Good news for Ford. Of course F150 sales crushed Tundra. Go Ford!

  • RobertSD RobertSD on May 02, 2009

    The Fusion is built on a stretched platform that originally debuted with the Mazda6 in 2002. Ford did significant work on it before launching it in 2005. It is longer, wider, and has better crash performance. The current Fusion is built on the previous Fusion's platform. There have been no significant changes to the basic arch from 2009 to 2010 - it is all cosmetic or internals. So, they made the car feel different/better for 2010 by investing in suspension, steering, NVH reducing elements, powertrain, materials and design; all things that can change around a platform architecture. The Mazda6 as it debuted in the U.S. for the 2009MY is based on Mazda's stretch of that same CD3 for the CX-9. CX-9 and 6 exceed their counterparts' (Edge and Fusion) wheelbase by about 2 inches and length by 14 and 4 inches, respectively, I believe. The next-gen Fusion (2013MY launching in early 2012) will be on the CD4 platform, which will look more like CD3 in terms of dimensions and weight than EUCD - although it is in fact a new platform. The Edge will follow suit. Mazda had initially joined this program as well, but it isn't clear if they will stay on the program (I suspect they will since it will save them some money).

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