Surprise: The New Ford Mustang Is A Hot Ticket

Timothy Cain
by Timothy Cain

Ford reported in November 2014 the largest number of Mustangs sold in any November since 2006. With 8278 sold last month, year-over-year Mustang volume jumped 62%.

It was also the best month for the Mustang since May of this year, when monthly U.S. Mustang volume jumped beyond 9000 units for just the third time in 23 months.

Yet, “best since 2006,” doesn’t sound nearly as good to the Mustang fan base as, “nearly twice as popular as Camaro,” does it?

Although sales of the Chevrolet Camaro are up 5% through the first eleven months of 2014 and will rise beyond 80,000 units for the fifth consecutive year, Camaro volume slid 13% in November as the Mustang’s big gains were accompanied by a 51% Dodge Challenger sales increase.

2014 looks to be the Camaro’s year again – the Mustang hasn’t outsold the Camaro since 2009 – as the Ford would need to outsell the Chevrolet by nearly 6600 units in December to top the year-end standings.

AutoNovember2014November2013%Change11 mos.201411 mos.2013%ChangeChevrolet Camaro4,3855,068-13.5%79,66975,5525.4%Dodge Challenger4,1572,75750.8%46,67348,590-3.9%Ford Mustang8,7285,37662.4%73,12471,4592.3%—— —————Total17,270 13,20130.8% 199,466195,6012.0%

The Camaro’s 13% November decline resulted in 4385 sales, just 228 more than the Challenger managed. The Mustang didn’t quite double up the Camaro’s total – the Ford’s sales were only 89% stronger than the Chevrolet’s.

But the conclusion, a predictable one, is obvious: a brand-new new sixth-generation Mustang was wildly more popular than a fifth-generation Camaro that’s been around since 2009. Inevitably, the Mustang is a hot ticket: Ford says Mustangs spent an average of just eight days on dealer lots in November 2014. It’s currently America’s 29th-best-selling car. The Camaro ranks 26th.

And what about those eight-year-old figures? Ford sold 10,230 Mustangs in November 2006, a 7% decline from the 11,030 sold in November 2005. Oh, the blissful state of going it alone. The Camaro and Challenger were nonexistent back then.

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures.

Timothy Cain
Timothy Cain

More by Timothy Cain

Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 29 comments
  • VenomV12 VenomV12 on Dec 16, 2014

    Not surprised, it is a great looking car inside and out, especially in yellow GT guise. A much better and cohesive design compared to Chevys, especially that mess of a design that is the Corvette. This should do pretty well in Europe also. The Shelby GT350 should do very very well.

  • Stuki Stuki on Dec 17, 2014

    A friend's son who went shopping for a new Mustang (he wanted a V8), came back from the Ford dealer with a Fiesta ST, after recognizing payments on a Mustang that msrp'ed a bit over 50% higher than the FiST, would have cost him over 3x as much pr month, due to dealer markups, lack of incentives etc. So, the Ford complex is currently either losing their shirt on the Fiesta, or they're making mint on the Mustang.... Pretty smart for a 25yo, the kid got a cheap ass 24mo lease on the Fiesta, anticipating a much more favorable environment for Mustangs at lease end time...

    • Mnm4ever Mnm4ever on Dec 17, 2014

      A Fiesta ST is probably a much better car for a 25yo so I am sure he made a good choice. But your numbers are skewed dramatically since "he wanted a V8". The Mustang GT is pretty fairly overpriced for what you get. There also isn't any dealer markups on the new Mustang, I haven't heard of anyone paying over MSRP and most people are getting X-plan or credit union pricing. There is even rebates available... I got $1500 in rebates on mine. Just playing around with Ford's build and price tool, you can see the lease price for a Fiesta ST is around $210/mo. All things being equal he could have gotten a V6 Mustang that still outperforms the Fiesta ST for about $50 more per month whether he leases or finances, the Ecoboost with the Perf Pack would have bumped him about $75 or so. A GT doesn't have any lease programs, but with discounts and cheap financing you should be able to get one for around $400/mo... not triple the price and that's to buy it, not rent it. Frankly, the fuel and insurance savings alone make the ST a better choice than any of the Mustangs. But if I was a 25yo single guy and I could afford a Mustang, I'd never have chosen the Fiesta. Its still a Fiesta, which isn't much of a panty dropper. But that's just me, the ST is a fine car, I'd love one as a commuter/daily driver.

  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
Next