Ford Sales Up 25 Percent In January On Fleet Buying Binge. Retail Numbers Down 5 Percent

by Edward Niedermeyer

February 2nd, 2010 2:08 PM

ford sales up 25 percent in january on fleet buying binge retail numbers down 5

Ford’s sales momentum continues unabated, as the Blue Oval has announced that its January sales were up 25 percent over January 2009 [full release in PDF format here]. Sales were led by a a strong performance from Ford-branded cars, which were up 54 percent as a category, with individual nameplates logging gains ranging from 33 percent (Focus, 10,389 units) to 121 percent (Taurus, 3,768 units). Ford Crossovers and SUVs were up 16.7 and 12.9 percent respectively, with most of the volume gains coming from CUVs like the Escape (+28.6%, 10,753) and Edge (+25.5%, 6,243 units). Ford truck sales were up 14.5 percent, with heavy commercial vehicles falling and the Ranger recording a strong 47.3 percent gain to 4,143 units.

Mercury saw a 5.8 percent increase, largely on a 112 percent jump in Grand Marquis sales (1,536 units), but with overall sales of 5,482, Merc still isn’t making a strong case for itself. Lincoln sales were up 15.5 percent, but again, much of the volume gains were from Town Car (+52.5 percent, 777 units), although MKX logged a 26.7 percent increase to 2,198 units. MKT is off to a weak start with only 715 units moved in January, while MKS and MKZ both fell by double digit percentages, to below 1,500 units. Volvo gained 42 percent, but managed a total brand volume of only 4,128 units.

Meanwhile, it’s important to remember that much of Ford’s bump this month likely came from less-profitable fleet sales. Ford’s release notes:

In January, Ford sales to fleet customers more than doubled last January’s depressed levels (up 154 percent) when most fleet owners deferred vehicle purchases due to the credit crunch and uncertain business and economic conditions.

Ford posted gains in every fleet market – commercial, government and rental. On an annual basis, a majority of Ford’s fleet sales are to commercial and government customers where the Ford F-Series truck and Econoline van have long been top sellers. Today, products such as Fusion, Taurus and Escape are popular choices among fleet customers.

#Fleets #Ford #Sales

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Ohsnapback on Feb 04, 2010

TriShield February 2nd, 2010 at 4:56 pm jaje, with expensive comes sticker shock. I was at a Ford lot not too long ago and was confronted with $40k Mustangs, $45k Flexes, $40k Tauri, $30k Fusions and $50k F-150s. Call me crazy but just about everything Ford offers is about $7k – $10k more expensive than I would expect them to be. Maybe this is why Hyundai is steamrolling everyone, including Ford. They charge a lot less for similar if not better quality products. ........ TriShield - I couldn't agree with you more.

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- SV on Feb 04, 2010
  
  By that same metric we should all by shocked at the prices of loaded Toyotas, Hondas, and yes even Chevys. All this hoopla about "$40k Taurii" is silly, because yes, it's a loaded model. A Toyota Avalon also tops out at $40k. And $30k Fusions are outrageous? Really? For a loaded 3.5V6 Sport Package or Hybrid model, well, yes, I would expect a price of around $30,000. If you can't pay $30k for a car then get a Fusion SE for $22k, which seems to be what most Fusion buyers are doing. The same thing applies to Mustangs and F150s - these examples of "outrageous pricing" are fully loaded models...yeah, a King Ranch or Platinum or whatever top line F-150 will be stupidly expensive, but Ford also has $25-30k XLT Crew Cab models and $20k XL extended cabs...and the Mustang can be had in V6 guise (with a near-GT-matching 306hp in a few months) for less than $25k.
  
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Geeber on Feb 04, 2010
Z71_Silvy: Umm…Big Al was there begging for money as well. He secured $9 BILLION dollars. Ford has $9 BILLION dollars sitting on retainer to add to the already received $5.9 BILLION of tax payer dollars. Ummm...wrong. He was there to support the request by GM, Chrysler and the UAW for a bailout. He did not request bailout money at those hearings, nor did Ford receive bailout money that will never be repaid. The funds you are talking about are completely different. You also need to keep your stories straight. First you post this: As for Ford’s outrageous pricing scam…yes…a vehicle with the Blue Oval on the front needs to be priced a bit lower than the competition…because buyers see that blue oval as a scab. But then you later post this: The ignorant public of this country…for some unreasonable reason…consider Ford different that everyone else…when really, nothing at Ford has changed. So...which is it? Do buyers see the Blue Oval as a scab, or are they ignoramuses who see that Ford is different from GM and Chrysler? Z71_Silvy: Why should I be banned? Because I don’t engage in the foolish “blowjobbery” of Ford at the current moment? Because I see them for who they are and what they make…rather than what I (personally) wish they were or wish they produced? Your posts are entertaining in a delusional sort of way. Although anyone who says that the mediocre Cruze will blow away competitors in its class has no grounds to accuse other posters of carrying water for a particular company. Might help you to actually read a review of the car in the countries where it has debuted. Let's just say that it will be a worthy successor to the Cobalt.

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