Ford, Lincoln and Mercury dealers reported total sales of 118,818 units this November, down 30 percent compared to a year ago. Ford’s spin on the news is that “estimated industry-wide sales” were down 35 percent, meaning Ford actually gained market share. But let’s look at the reality. The Ford nameplate is down 18.5 percent, with only the Fusion and Focus (+.9 percent, and +15.7 percent respectively) increasing sales compared to a year ago. Even the all-new F150 is down 25.4 percent. Lincoln is down 19.1 percent, and Mercury is down 28.5 percent, as neither brand has a single model that sold better than November of last year. Volvo is down 29.7 percent, with only the C70 enjoying a bump in sales compared to a year ago (+27 percent). Looking at the raw numbers, it’s hard to get too down on Ford’s PR flacks for trying to find something positive in this mess.
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Comparatively modest, fuel-efficient vehicles are selling? My God, what an unexpected development. It will be interesting to see if the Cobalt and Malibu far as well. I know the answer for Chrysler.
Well yeah, its possitive… Toyota was down 34% (read it on Yahoo finance earlier).
Edit: Just noticed it below to… my bad.
Could be worse, they could be GM, their sales were just reported, down 41% !!! Holy Bailout Batman.
Something wrong with the figures…
Ford brand – down 18.5%
Lincoln – down 19.1%
Mercury – down 28.5%
Volvo – down 29.7%
Are they counting Jaguar and Land Rover? Even so, surely they can’t have enough volume to result in a 30% total drop.
Silly me…and here I was told that the Flex and Lincoln Taurus were going to be Ford’s saviors.
Bold Moves.
This is some positive news for Ford. The entire new vehicle market fell into a swamp last month. Everybody is losing sales. It appears that Ford is losing less than anybody I have seen so far (Toyota, Honda, GM and Chrysler).
helius: Jag and Landie were sold to Tata Motors earlier this year.
Edward-
You need to correct one big thing; the F150 sales only included a modest number of 2009 models, because they haven’t quite hit their full production stride yet. Out of the F150’s 38,000 sales, only 5,000 were the new model.
P_71 Crown Vic—-everything is relative my friend. Ford hung in there better than any other major auto manufacturer for Nov.
Sit back—relax—and hopefully an American icon can turn it around with a solid business plan. Time (and cash) are not on Ford’s side—but they have a solid strategy and product plan moving forward. How can you not cheer for them to survive ?