Another Truckin’ Month at Ford

Ford posted a 4.2% gain in total volume to 1.32 million light vehicles for the first half of 2016, following a month in which sales bumped up 2.3% on a daily sales basis versus a year ago, according to WardsAuto data.

Trucks and SUVs continued to power Ford sales in June, with the F-Series recording a 25% increase while the Expedition soared 79% and the Escape saw a 15% uptick. June had 26 selling days, up from 24 in May.

Mark LaNeve, vice president-U.S. marketing, sales and service, says the F-150 performance was “sensational,” given that May is typically a stronger month than June for trucks and despite attack advertising from rival General Motors as it tries to grow sales for its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups.

F-Series sales totaled 366,497 units for the first half of the year, up 10% compared with like-2015, including 66,579 in May, up from 51,121 a year ago. Expedition recorded 27,758 sales through June, up 33% in total volume, including 7,507 in June compared with 4,032 year-ago. Escape finished the half-year with 155,378 sales, up 6.1% in total volume with 29,003 in June.

“Strong customer demand has helped us continue growing our truck leadership position, further

widening the gap with our nearest competitor versus last year,” LaNeve says. “Consumer demand for Ford SUVs also continues to surge to all-time highs, allowing us to introduce new levels of capability, versatility and technology to a whole new generation of SUV fans.”

Lincoln’s newest CUV, the MKX, also benefited from the surge in truck and CUV sales, posting a 72% increase in volume with 15,089 sales so far this year. Overall, Lincoln volume was up 13% for the period to 53,297 units. The brand saw a 1.7% uptick in DSR in June.

Meanwhile, the car business continued to struggle along with the segment, with only the Fusion midsize sedan showing a slight 0.4% increase in DSR among all car nameplates in the Ford brand portfolio. Fusion’s Lincoln stablemate, the MKZ, saw a 4.4% increase in DSR, but on one-tenth of Fusion’s volume.

LaNeve says the car side stumbles aren’t unexpected, given that the segment has registered a 2-point market-share decline per year for six years in a row.

Ford ended June with a 78-days’ supply of vehicles, up from 77 days in May and 70 a year ago.

[email protected] @bobgritzinger