January 2011 Sales: Ford Motor Company

[Drew Dowdell]

FORD'S BALANCED PORFOLIO OF CARS, UTILITIES, TRUCKS

DELIVERED 27 PERCENT INCREASE IN JANUARY RETAIL SALES

• Ford's January retail sales climbed 27 percent versus year ago – the largest retail sales increase to begin a year in more than a decade; retail sales were up 35 percent for cars, 22 percent for utilities and 24 percent for trucks

• Ford's total January sales (including fleet sales) were 127,317, up 13 percent, including a planned 27 percent decline in sales to daily rental companies

• Fresh off record-setting years, Fusion, Escape set January sales records

• 2011 Explorer, North American Truck of the Year, is Ford's fastest-turning vehicle; Explorer retail sales more than triple year-ago levels

• Ford's F-Series truck registers 30 percent sales increasePERCENT INCREASE IN JANUARY RETAIL SALES

DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 1, 2011 – Consumer demand for Ford's full family of cars, utilities and trucks continued to grow in January, as retail sales climbed 27 percent versus a year ago. Retail sales for cars grew 35 percent, 22 percent for utilities and 24 percent for trucks.

Ford's total sales in January (including sales to fleet customers) were 127,317, up 13 percent. Total sales comparisons included a planned 27 percent decline in sales to daily rental companies and the discontinuation of the Mercury brand.

"We begin 2011 in a strong position – ready to meet the needs of a wide range of customers with a full portfolio of high-quality, fuel-efficient vehicles," said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service. "We're off to a great start in 2011 with the largest January retail sales increase in more than a decade."

Cars

Fiesta posted January sales of 4,270. In 2010, Fiesta played a key role in helping Ford to achieve its highest retail share in California since 2006. The Los Angeles region continues to be the top-selling region for Ford's smallest new car.

Focus retail sales increased 41 percent. The Focus and Fiesta combined to boost the company's small car retail sales to a level almost double a year ago (up 99 percent). The all-new Focus arrives in dealerships this spring.

"Higher gasoline prices are factoring into vehicle purchase decisions," said Czubay. "Ford Motor Company is leading the way for consumers with the best or among the best fuel economy with every new vehicle we introduce. We also have four vehicles with 40 mpg or higher fuel economy – Fiesta, Focus, Fusion Hybrid and Lincoln MKZ Hybrid – more than any other automaker."

Fusion – Ford's popular midsize sedan – set a January sales record of 14,346, up 18 percent. Fusion retail sales were up 39 percent. In 2010, Fusion set a full year sales record of 219,219 – the first time since 2004 a Ford car has eclipsed the 200,000 milestone.

Ford Mustang retail sales were up 17 percent, and Lincoln MKZ retail sales increased 42 percent. In January, the new MKZ Hybrid accounted for 24 percent of MKZ retail sales – the highest since it was introduced in October.

Utilities

In January, the all-new 2011 Explorer was the fastest-turning Ford vehicle on the showroom floor. Recently named North American Truck of the Year, the 2011 Explorer offers customers full SUV capability with superior ride and handling, plus class-leading fuel economy. Explorer sales totaled 7,351, up 73 percent. Retail sales were more than triple year-ago levels (up 244 percent).

Ford Escape set a January record with total sales of 13,973, up 30 percent versus a year ago. In 2010, Escape set a full-year sales record of 191,026.

The redesigned 2011 Ford Edge posted a 36 percent increase in retail sales.

Trucks

Ford F-Series checked in with January sales of 35,806, up 30 percent. In 2010, F-Series sales totaled 528,349, up 28 percent versus 2009. In the commercial fleet market, where Ford's 'Built Tough' reputation is put to the test every day, F-Series outsells its nearest competitor by almost

2-to-1 based on 2010 November calendar-year-to-date registrations. F-Series has been the best-selling truck in America for 34 years in a row and the best-selling vehicle, car or truck, for 29 straight years.

Ford's Econoline and Transit Connect vans captured more than 60 percent of the commercial van market in 2010. In January, Econoline sales totaled 7,979, up 29 percent versus a year ago. Transit Connect sales totaled 2,072, up 78 percent.

Ford had six of the top eight vehicles registered to commercial fleet customers in 2010 and an industry-leading 38 percent share of the commercial fleet market, based on November calendar-year-to-date registrations.

"In addition to industry-leading quality and fuel efficiency, our broad range of products offer fleet customers strong resale values," said Czubay. "Resale value is a key factor in reducing vehicle operating costs, which puts Ford in a strong position as businesses continue to replace or add to their vehicle fleets."

FORD MOTOR COMPANY JANUARY 2011 U.S. SALES

January % Year-To-Date %

2011 2010 Change 2011 2010 Change

SALES BY BRAND

Ford 121,511 99,888 21.6 121,511 99,888 21.6

Lincoln 5,558 7,036 -21.0 5,558 7,036 -21.0

Mercury 248 5,482 -95.5 248 5,482 -95.5

Total Vehicles 127,317 112,406 13.3 127,317 112,406 13.3

SALES BY TYPE

Cars 40,905 41,050 -0.4 40,905 41,050 -0.4

Utilities 37,371 31,988 16.8 37,371 31,988 16.8

Trucks 49,041 39,368 24.6 49,041 39,368 24.6

Total Vehicles 127,317 112,406 13.3 127,317 112,406 13.3

FORD BRAND

Fiesta 4,270 0 NA 4,270 0 NA

Focus 9,014 10,389 -13.2 9,014 10,389 -13.2

Fusion 14,346 12,179 17.8 14,346 12,179 17.8

Taurus 2,896 3,768 -23.1 2,896 3,768 -23.1

Mustang 3,165 4,747 -33.3 3,165 4,747 -33.3

Crown Victoria 3,923 3,144 24.8 3,923 3,144 24.8

Ford Cars 37,614 34,227 9.9 37,614 34,227 9.9

Escape 13,973 10,753 29.9 13,973 10,753 29.9

Edge 8,918 6,243 42.8 8,918 6,243 42.8

Flex 2,003 2,452 -18.3 2,003 2,452 -18.3

Taurus X 0 0 NA 0 0 NA

Explorer 7,351 4,247 73.1 7,351 4,247 73.1

Expedition 2,611 2,598 0.5 2,611 2,598 0.5

Ford Utilities 34,856 26,293 32.6 34,856 26,293 32.6

F-Series 35,806 27,630 29.6 35,806 27,630 29.6

Ranger 2,848 4,143 -31.3 2,848 4,143 -31.3

Econoline/Club Wagon 7,979 6,177 29.2 7,979 6,177 29.2

Transit Connect 2,072 1,161 78.5 2,072 1,161 78.5

Low Cab Forward 0 7 -100.0 0 7 -100.0

Heavy Trucks 336 250 34.4 336 250 34.4

Ford Trucks 49,041 39,368 24.6 49,041 39,368 24.6

Ford Brand 121,511 99,888 21.6 121,511 99,888 21.6

LINCOLN BRAND

MKZ 1,574 1,340 17.5 1,574 1,340 17.5

MKS 601 1,280 -53.0 601 1,280 -53.0

Town Car 868 777 11.7 868 777 11.7

MKX 1,546 2,198 -29.7 1,546 2,198 -29.7

MKT 390 715 -45.5 390 715 -45.5

Navigator 579 726 -20.2 579 726 -20.2

Lincoln Brand 5,558 7,036 -21.0 5,558 7,036 -21.0

MERCURY BRAND

Milan 0 1,881 -100.0 0 1,881 -100.0

Grand Marquis 248 1,536 -83.9 248 1,536 -83.9

Sable 0 9 -100.0 0 9 -100.0

Mariner 0 1,746 -100.0 0 1,746 -100.0

Mountaineer 0 310 -100.0 0 310 -100.0

Mercury Brand 248 5,482 -95.5 248 5,482 -95.5

[regfootball]

taurus sales are rough. all lincoln sales are too. flex sales are rough.

[daves87rs]

I would think the flex would pick up soon..

[ocnblu]

The new Taurus, while very goodlooking, has some rather serious functional flaws. The intrusive center console, and lack of outward vision, both of which make the car less a pleasure to drive.

[Satty]

The Fiesta outsold the Mustang! How can that be? Americans consider small cars to be the most vile, reprehensible things ever. Hell, C&G told me compacts and subcompacts had disapproval ratings higher than both Sarah Palin and Hitler, yet the Fiesta sold better than the quintessential American car, the Mustang.

[regfootball]

I would think the flex would pick up soon..

I've noticed that Ford has upped incentives on the Flex, and a lot more of them on lots now have lesser trim.

One of our friends just picked one up, they finally got rid of their windstar. I'm surprised that there was still a Windstar on the road that hadn't blown up.

The new Taurus, while very goodlooking, has some rather serious functional flaws. The intrusive center console, and lack of outward vision, both of which make the car less a pleasure to drive.

Yet its a far better car than the Impala, which outsells the Taurus like 4:1.

Of course the Impala is a fleet whore, and GM gives you like 15 grand to buy one.

[Drew Dowdell]

I've noticed that Ford has upped incentives on the Flex, and a lot more of them on lots now have lesser trim.

One of our friends just picked one up, they finally got rid of their windstar. I'm surprised that there was still a Windstar on the road that hadn't blown up.

Yet its a far better car than the Impala, which outsells the Taurus like 4:1.

Of course the Impala is a fleet whore, and GM gives you like 15 grand to buy one.

I think the Taurus is a far better car to car enthusiasts..... but for the typical buyer who just wants a big car, doesn't care about "tech" like NAV or radar cruise control, the Impala is more car for the money you spend. You can step into an Impala for like $21k and the 3.5 will blow right on through it's 29mpg EPA rating up into the low 30s.

A Taurus starts over $25k and will probably just meet it's highway rating of 28mpg... if you're gentle.

There's nothing a Taurus offers that your typical upper middle age, working class guy nearing retirement that an Impala can't fill for $4k less.

[Lamar]

There's nothing a Taurus offers that your typical upper middle age, working class guy nearing retirement that an Impala can't fill for $4k less.

Except modernity. And the fact that you're not driving the same car as many cops.

And a more powerful engine than anything offered in the Impala. The average customer looking at the EPA numbers of a car isn't going to think "hey, I can get more out of that than the sticker says." They're gonna see that the Impala 3.5L is much weaker than that of the 3.5L and only barely gets better EPA numbers. And, to be fair, there's nothing stopping anyone from getting into the low 30s with a Taurus either... hence the term "your mileage may vary."

Considering the Impala (officially) starts at $24,395 and the Taurus starts at $25,355, that's only a $960 difference. I don't believe in comparing a sticker price to an incentive-discounted price.

[redbulloh]

taurus sales are rough. all lincoln sales are too. flex sales are rough.

I think Lincoln sales are getting hit by loss of foot traffic with the shutdown of Mercury.

However, a little perspective should be brought in to the Taurus/MKS sales. These vehicles are made in the Chicago Assembly plant, which, IIRC has a capacity of 200-250k vehicles per year. It used to team up with the Atlanta plant to produce Tauruses and Sables at a rate of ~500k per year at max rates. But those numbers are based on 3 shift production, and the Chicago plant is on a 1 shift schedule. That would put its production rate at 5,555 to 6,944 vehicles per month on a single shift.

In January 2010, Ford sold 3,768 Tauruses and 1,280 MKSs., for a total of 5,048 vehicles (about 1 shift)

However in December 2010, Ford added production of the Explorer on this line without adding another shift. In January, they sold 601 MKSs, 2,896 Tauruses, and 7,351 Explorers, for a total of 10,848 vehicles. Some of these were likely 2010 Explorer leftovers that were made in Louisville...

But you can see that they were likely constrained on capacity in the Chicago plant running a single shift, and may well have chosen to reduce supply of Tauruses/MKSs to support the Explorer launch, since the former have dealer stock available and the latter doesn't. (like all companies, Ford counts it as a sale when it leaves the plant, since it has been purchased by the dealer at that point). They're hiring and adding on a second shift, which should alleviate this constraint, and I would expect the sales numbers should recover once that happens.

[Drew Dowdell]

Except modernity. And the fact that you're not driving the same car as many cops.

And a more powerful engine than anything offered in the Impala. The average customer looking at the EPA numbers of a car isn't going to think "hey, I can get more out of that than the sticker says." They're gonna see that the Impala 3.5L is much weaker than that of the 3.5L and only barely gets better EPA numbers. And, to be fair, there's nothing stopping anyone from getting into the low 30s with a Taurus either... hence the term "your mileage may vary."

Considering the Impala (officially) starts at $24,395 and the Taurus starts at $25,355, that's only a $960 difference. I don't believe in comparing a sticker price to an incentive-discounted price.

I compared incentive to incentive. There is very listed for Taurus around here right now.

I think Lincoln sales are getting hit by loss of foot traffic with the shutdown of Mercury.

However, a little perspective should be brought in to the Taurus/MKS sales. These vehicles are made in the Chicago Assembly plant, which, IIRC has a capacity of 200-250k vehicles per year. It used to team up with the Atlanta plant to produce Tauruses and Sables at a rate of ~500k per year at max rates. But those numbers are based on 3 shift production, and the Chicago plant is on a 1 shift schedule. That would put its production rate at 5,555 to 6,944 vehicles per month on a single shift.

In January 2010, Ford sold 3,768 Tauruses and 1,280 MKSs., for a total of 5,048 vehicles (about 1 shift)

However in December 2010, Ford added production of the Explorer on this line without adding another shift. In January, they sold 601 MKSs, 2,896 Tauruses, and 7,351 Explorers, for a total of 10,848 vehicles. Some of these were likely 2010 Explorer leftovers that were made in Louisville...

But you can see that they were likely constrained on capacity in the Chicago plant running a single shift, and may well have chosen to reduce supply of Tauruses/MKSs to support the Explorer launch, since the former have dealer stock available and the latter doesn't. (like all companies, Ford counts it as a sale when it leaves the plant, since it has been purchased by the dealer at that point). They're hiring and adding on a second shift, which should alleviate this constraint, and I would expect the sales numbers should recover once that happens.

Thanks for your insight. Are there other constraints to Chicago adding more shifts? Supplier constraints is the first thing that comes to mind.

[regfootball]

I think the Taurus is a far better car to car enthusiasts..... but for the typical buyer who just wants a big car, doesn't care about "tech" like NAV or radar cruise control, the Impala is more car for the money you spend. You can step into an Impala for like $21k and the 3.5 will blow right on through it's 29mpg EPA rating up into the low 30s.

A Taurus starts over $25k and will probably just meet it's highway rating of 28mpg... if you're gentle.

There's nothing a Taurus offers that your typical upper middle age, working class guy nearing retirement that an Impala can't fill for $4k less.

most of the Taurus I see on lots too are Limited and many with sync, other tech stuff, all wheel drive.

the fusions are the cheap fords now and why its selling big. you can argue the fusion is a better car than the Impala even.

Ford is not selling as many Taurus but it's prob getting closer to 30 transaction price on most of em, and this particular taurus is not fleeted near the level of the Impala.

I think Lincoln sales are getting hit by loss of foot traffic with the shutdown of Mercury.

However, a little perspective should be brought in to the Taurus/MKS sales. These vehicles are made in the Chicago Assembly plant, which, IIRC has a capacity of 200-250k vehicles per year. It used to team up with the Atlanta plant to produce Tauruses and Sables at a rate of ~500k per year at max rates. But those numbers are based on 3 shift production, and the Chicago plant is on a 1 shift schedule. That would put its production rate at 5,555 to 6,944 vehicles per month on a single shift.

In January 2010, Ford sold 3,768 Tauruses and 1,280 MKSs., for a total of 5,048 vehicles (about 1 shift)

However in December 2010, Ford added production of the Explorer on this line without adding another shift. In January, they sold 601 MKSs, 2,896 Tauruses, and 7,351 Explorers, for a total of 10,848 vehicles. Some of these were likely 2010 Explorer leftovers that were made in Louisville...

But you can see that they were likely constrained on capacity in the Chicago plant running a single shift, and may well have chosen to reduce supply of Tauruses/MKSs to support the Explorer launch, since the former have dealer stock available and the latter doesn't. (like all companies, Ford counts it as a sale when it leaves the plant, since it has been purchased by the dealer at that point). They're hiring and adding on a second shift, which should alleviate this constraint, and I would expect the sales numbers should recover once that happens.

yes that chicago plant can make many models, and so Ford doesn't need to sell it's full size car for 21k just to keep the factory hummin.

Edited February 2, 2011 by regfootball

[Drew Dowdell]

most of the Taurus I see on lots too are Limited and many with sync, other tech stuff, all wheel drive.

the fusions are the cheap fords now and why its selling big. you can argue the fusion is a better car than the Impala even.

Ford is not selling as many Taurus but it's prob getting closer to 30 transaction price on most of em, and this particular taurus is not fleeted near the level of the Impala.

Fusion is the same size as the first generation Taurus.... it's not surprising that it's doing well. It's at a sweet spot in size.

yes that chicago plant can make many models, and so Ford doesn't need to sell it's full size car for 21k just to keep the factory hummin.

Oshawa builds - Impala, Equinox, Camaro, and soon Regal.

[regfootball]

Fusion is the same size as the first generation Taurus.... it's not surprising that it's doing well. It's at a sweet spot in size.

Oshawa builds - Impala, Equinox, Camaro, and soon Regal.

yes but they need the impala volume to be where its at just to keep the plant running. Ford doesn't need big volume out of the taurus for it to show profit.

[Lamar]

I compared incentive to incentive. There is very listed for Taurus around here right now.

And no such deals exist here for either car.

[redbulloh]

Thanks for your insight. Are there other constraints to Chicago adding more shifts? Supplier constraints is the first thing that comes to mind.

I don't know of any, but I'm a complete outsider. I know that they're hiring, but I don't know when that second shift is supposed to be added... The only supplier constraints I've read about were the ones that shut down their F-series plants recently

[vonVeezelsnider]

The new Taurus, while very goodlooking, has some rather serious functional flaws. The intrusive center console, and lack of outward vision, both of which make the car less a pleasure to drive.

I think the Taurus is a far better car to car enthusiasts..... but for the typical buyer who just wants a big car, doesn't care about "tech" like NAV or radar cruise control, the Impala is more car for the money you spend. You can step into an Impala for like $21k and the 3.5 will blow right on through it's 29mpg EPA rating up into the low 30s.

A Taurus starts over $25k and will probably just meet it's highway rating of 28mpg... if you're gentle.

There's nothing a Taurus offers that your typical upper middle age, working class guy nearing retirement that an Impala can't fill for $4k less.

Honestly I liked the Taurus when it came out but then I drove one, and I can say as a current Impala owner that despite the better materials I would still pick the Impala. Better outward visibility, more room for the driver to stretch out during long drives, less claustrophobic, I got 37MPG in the 3.5L V6 on a trip from Calgary to Vancouver recently. Also I don't like the "command seating". It feels like you sit unnaturally high in the Taurus for a car. Yeah more refined engine, more cogs in the tranny and better plastic... but still not enough to make me wish I had it instead of my Impala.