Ford reports a 6% sales decline in May versus a year ago, despite steady gains by its F-Series pickups and the all-new Ford Escape and Lincoln MKX CUVs.
But on a daily sales basis, the Dearborn automaker posted a nearly 2% gain in light-vehicle sales, according to WardsAuto data. May had 24 selling days, two fewer than May 2015.
Trucks, commercial vans and utilities continue to drive Ford sales, while cars saw deep declines for the month. WardsAuto data shows F-Series trucks up 18% while Escape and MKX grew 14% and 103%, respectively.
Meanwhile, both the Taurus fullsize sedan and subcompact Fiesta plummeted 29%, the Focus small car was off 21% and Fusion midsize sedan declined 15%.
“Customers are showing how much they value the fuel economy, towing capability and technology we offer in our trucks with F-Series sales producing another strong gain in May,” says Mark LaNeve, vice president-U.S. marketing, sales and service. “With strong demand for pickups, vans and SUVs, the Ford brand saw average prices grow almost $1,500 per vehicle in May – about 50% higher than the industry.”
LaNeve especially was encouraged by the F-Series, noting strong truck sales in the first half of the year bode well for the second half when truck demand typically grows. F-Series recorded 67,412 sales in May, up from 61,870 a year ago. Ford delivered 324,307 light-duty pickups through May, up from 302,009 for the same period last year.
Total Ford brand light-vehicle sales for the month came in at 226,190, up 4% for the year and topping the 1 million mark.
Lincoln saw its sixth month of sales gains, growing 16% for the month to 9,807 and 15% for the year, with sales totaling 44,488 through May compared with 38,786 in like-2015.
Overall, Ford sold 235,997 vehicles in May, driving year-to-date sales up 4% to nearly 1.07 million so far this year.
[email protected] @bobgritzinger
