June 2006 Sales: Ford Motor Co.

[sciguy_0504]

- Ford's June U.S. sales totaled 269,404, down 7 percent.

- Car sales totaled 107,608, up 7 percent.

- Fusion, Milan and Zephyr pace Ford to higher car sales in 5 of the last 6 months.

- Truck sales totaled 161,796, down 14 percent.

- Land Rover sales were up 13 percent – 17 months in a row of higher sales.

DEARBORN, Mich., July 3 – Ford Motor Company's U.S. sales totaled 269,404, down 7 percent. Car sales were up 7 percent, but truck sales were down 14 percent.

In the first six months of 2006, Ford's U.S. sales totaled 1.55 million, down 4 percent. Car sales were up 5 percent and truck sales were down 9 percent.

"Our performance in the car market is cause for optimism," said Al Giombetti, president, Ford and Lincoln Mercury marketing and sales, "because it shows we can win in the industry's most competitive segment."

Ford's domestic brands (Ford, Lincoln and Mercury) have achieved higher car sales in five of the last six months.

Demand for Ford's all-new mid-size sedans (Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln Zephyr) remained strong with combined June sales of 19,149. In the last three months, sales for this trio averaged 19,655 a month.

Higher gas prices are contributing to lower truck sales, particularly in the large SUV and pickup categories. Traditional truck-based SUVs have declined industry-wide for four years in a row, but the decline in large pickups is a relatively recent phenomenon.

"After the sharp run-up in gasoline prices in April, some truck buyers delayed purchases," noted Giombetti. "Truck buyers are not as likely as SUV buyers to leave the segment, but some buyers are deferring purchases to balance higher monthly payments and higher fuel costs."

Ford's F-Series truck, America's best-selling vehicle, posted June sales of 65,452, down 10 percent compared with a year ago. In the first six months of 2006, F-Series sales totaled 400,177, down 2 percent from the same period a year ago. Nonetheless, Ford has outperformed the industry in the full-size pickup segment having increased its share of segment by over two percentage points.

Ford's best selling SUV experienced larger declines. Explorer sales were off 36 percent in June and Expedition sales were off 46 percent.

In the first six months of 2006, lower sales of traditional SUVs (76,322) more than accounted for the overall sales decline among Ford's domestic brands (56,703).

For charts visit http://media.ford.com/newsroom/release_dis...m?release=23686

[Drew Dowdell]

up 4% in the car market != win

[Flybrian]

Mark LT > Monterrey by almost twice as much. That's a sad, sad figure.

[Chicagoland]

Mark LT is no Blackwood. It is featured in MTV's 'Fast Inc.'

Some fanatics are still saying 'Taurus outsold Fusion', as if the old car should go on forever. But, Tauri was dwon 23&, the begin of the phase out. And, most if not all went to fleet.

And, combined Fusion/500 outdid Taurus, something analysts harped on before.

Edited July 3, 2006 by Chicagoland

[Igor2]

Mark LT is no Blackwood. It is featured in MTV's 'Fast Inc.'

Some fanatics are still saying 'Taurus outsold Fusion', as if the old car should go on forever. But, Tauri was dwon 23&, the begin of the phase out. And, most if not all went to fleet.

And, combined Fusion/500 outdid Taurus, something analysts harped on before.

yeah taurus is starting the Phase out

probably the increased Fie hundred sales are due to taking over some of the Taurus fleet sales (as was expected)

the fact that Freestar (the minivan) outsold the expedition is horrifying

Fusion is doing well - 13k is pretty good

oh and Five Hndred is outselling its archrival the Avalon again .... way to go.

Igor

[Chicagoland]

The Expedition is a comlpete 180 degree turn from 1997-99 when it seemed to be heading to Explorer #'s.

[Northstar]

Other than the F-Series, Mustang, and Fusion, what does FoMoCo have that's doing well?

[ehaase]

Other than the F-Series, Mustang, and Fusion, what does FoMoCo have that's doing well?

Escape and Econoline do OK for their markets.

[Northstar]

Escape and Econoline do OK for their markets.

True, but something tells me at least the Econoline has a lot of fleets sales. That's not bad however, since I'm sure they still make money on them; GM would love for those sales to be going to the Savana/Express I'm sure.

[Igor2]

Other than the F-Series, Mustang, and Fusion, what does FoMoCo have that's doing well?

well the Fusion siblings..

and Five Hundred siblings are doing OK

and escape et al are doing OK

Focus is also doing well, but with 30% fleet (a little more than cobalt)

but they do not really have much else on the lot: the Freestar and Monterrey minivans that will be cancelled, the Ranger, and the SUV's

Igor

[Northstar]

well the Fusion siblings..

and Five Hundred siblings are doing OK

and escape et al are doing OK

Focus is also doing well, but with 30% fleet (a little more than cobalt)

but they do not really have much else on the lot: the Freestar and Monterrey minivans that will be cancelled, the Ranger, and the SUV's

Igor

The Focus is actually doing okay for as old as it is, and the Five Hundred is doing alright. I don't really know how to judge the Milan and Zephyr because they didn't really replace anything, but the Milan sold 3400 units and the Zephyr 2200. Combined they sold less than the CTS, and the Milan starts at $19k.

[Igor2]

The Focus is actually doing okay for as old as it is, and the Five Hundred is doing alright. I don't really know how to judge the Milan and Zephyr because they didn't really replace anything, but the Milan sold 3400 units and the Zephyr 2200. Combined they sold less than the CTS, and the Milan starts at $19k.

well Ford's goal with the Zephyr/MKZ ad milan is to make sure they fill the capacity of Hermosillo factory, and with Fusion selling all over Latin America and Canada, and Zephyr also selling in Canada, they are well on the way there.

I noticed the Zeph sold less than CTS, but then CTS is RWD, well established as a performance sedan, and so it is likely not that much of a competition.. the real Zephyr competition is ES lexus and TL Acura since they are FWD/AWD and modestly powered and similarly priced..(really it seems Lincoln is being positioned more as a Lexus Acura I nfinity fighter, than a competitor in the real luxury performance market of Caddilac, BMW and Mercedes.

So separate models aside, with sub- 10% of fleet sales, Ford is perfectly set to run the mexican plant on 100% and that is all that matters to them right now.

Now with Five Hundred, the thing to watch is the performance of its archrival the Avalon. Five Hundred, up to now has had 10% fleet sales, but as Taurus is being spaced out, it will likely take up some of the voalume to run its factory full time. However not worrying about fleet sales for now, the Five hundred sold some 8k, while the Avalon had soly 7k... this is that Ford is watching with that car.

Igor

Edited July 3, 2006 by Igor2

[Satty]

Would have been 19,148 FuLanPhers if it weren't for me.

[Chicagoland]

Big problem is all the know it alls expect Ford to do a 1986 Taurus intro all over again. Well, that was 20 years ago and the markat has changed. The cars before the Taurus were so outdated, anything was a big improvement.

Now, it is pretty hard to have a new car be a 'super radical jump ahead'.

[Mule Bakersdozen LS]

I've hardly seen any Mercury's or new Lincolns, but maybe that's because the closest L-M dealer to me is in Henrietta. The Focus and Escape are aging fast-new platforms/major redesigns can't come soon enough. I've said it before, I'll say it again-Mercury's only hope from breaking away from Ford stylistically (or having any reason to exist at all) is to look to the 2003 Messenger and 2005 Ford of Europe Iosis concept cars. Lincoln-see the 2001 Mark IX, 2002 Continental, and 2003 Navicross concepts. Otherwise, Ford should just pull the plug on both those divisions-they're a waste of time and money. As for Ford, I don't know why it even has to think of what price class a subcompact car should be. Hmmm....let's think here...Aveo, Yaris, Fit-all in the $11,000-14,000 range, right? Bring the Fiesta over already and price/pitch it against those cars! NOW! Do something right for once that's not Fusion, Mustang, or the F-Series! And adapt the F-Series platform to fit a redesigned Econoline, use Explorer's for a new Ranger-its a year younger than the Grand Marquis, it needs a full redesign NOW! Ford's going to continue to see significant sales drops until they actually do something right and start making good decisions! The Fusion, Mustang, and F-Series can't pull all the weight....