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Making hay rsquo18 F150 picks up Ford sales load
<p><strong>Making hay: &rsquo;18 F-150 picks up Ford sales load.</strong><br /> <br /> </p>

F-Series Carries Ford in August

Ford sales struggle in August, with F-Series as the bright spot amid otherwise dismal car, SUV and fleet business.

Declining car, SUV and fleet deliveries continued to weigh down Ford sales in August, with car volume off 18.9%, offset by light-truck volume that grew 1.8%, according to WardsAuto data.

The performance marked a 6.0% drop in the daily sales from like-2016, with one more selling day this year than last. On a daily-sales basis, cars were off 12% while light trucks fell 4.1% on deliveries of 47,652 cars and 156,766 trucks. Overall, the Ford brand was off 5.9%, while Lincoln dropped 9.3%.

Ford reported a double-digit spike in F-Series deliveries, including medium- and heavy-duty pickups, compared with the same period last year, providing a bright spot amid declines that included an 11.3% drop in SUV sales. Light-duty F-150 pickups saw a 4% increase, Ford says.

“We are seeing high demand overall for our F-Series lineup this year, outpacing fullsize-truck

segment growth two to one with a 15% increase for August,” says Mark LaNeve, vice president-U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service.

Besides F-Series, the only Ford models seeing upticks in August were the C-Max (+4.1%) and Focus sedan (+5.1%). The Expedition, which will be replaced by an all-new ’18 model later this year, plummeted 52.6%, while the Mustang, due for a mid-model makeover later this year, was down nearly 36%.

Lincoln’s only bright spot was the Continental sedan with 816 deliveries in August, bringing its year-to-date total to 8,020.

LaNeve says fleet numbers, off 0.2% on sales of 45,830 units, should begin picking up in September and will continue strong through year end. The Dearborn automaker projects fleet sales at 29% of total volume for the year, similar to 2016.

Overall, the automaker reports transaction prices exceeding the industry average, while incentive spending is down compared with July and year-ago levels. Despite downward pressure on truck pricing, F-150 incentives are down $266 since July and $280 compared to year-ago, LaNeve notes.

While the full effects of Hurricane Harvey are still undetermined, LaNeve expects impact similar to Hurricane Katrina, with a sales boost coming in the next three to four months as dealers replace lost inventory and consumers begin replacing flood-damaged vehicles,

So far, Ford estimates its dealers lost a few thousand vehicles in the storm. The company has 110 dealers in the Houston area and all but 13 have re-opened for business, with 10 of those recovering from significant damage.

“We’re hoping for a speedy recovery and this includes our dealers in the area,” LaNeve says, noting Ford has pledged some $3.5 million to assist in disaster relief.

Ford ended August with 630,801 vehicles in stock, equal to an 81-day supply, up from 616,824 (77 days) at the end of July but down from 639,967 (78) year-ago. Car inventory stood at an 85-day supply, with utilities at 75 days and trucks at 83.

[email protected] @bobgritzinger

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