Ford Sales Slump Despite Strong Truck, SUV Demand

Ford suffered a second month of decline in February, down 7.2% on a daily-sales-rate basis, with car and SUV sales off 12.1% each while truck deliveries rose just 1.2%. The Dearborn automaker delivered 188,138 light vehicles in the month.

Ford and Lincoln brands were down 6.5% and 23.4% respectively, according to Wards Intelligence data, with only the F-Series pickup, Fusion sedan and Lincoln Navigator posting year-over-year daily sales gains. February had 24 selling days, same as 2017.

Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president-U.S. marketing, sales and service, says retail sales of the all-new Navigator and Expedition fullsize SUVs were up 60.1% and 41.4% respectively. Overall Expedition deliveries were off 26.2% on a daily sales basis, due to a 54.6% slump in fleet sales that LaNeve attributes to order timing.

The automaker is investing $25 million in its Kentucky Truck Plant to increase line speed and production of the SUV.

“We’re working hard to improve Expedition availability,” LaNeve says. “We’re selling everything we can get.”

F-Series trucks represented the Dearborn automaker’s other bright spot, with sales up 3.0% for the month on deliveries of 115,022 light-duty pickups. The Fusion gained 1.3% on sales of 32,027 units. The all-new EcoSport compact CUV posted 2,300 deliveries and is lasting just 18 days on dealer lots, LaNeve says.

On the downside, the refreshed Mustang suffered a 30.1% decline, C-Max dropped 35.3%, Escape was off 23.9% and the Taurus plummeted 33.4%.

Lincoln posted 6,700 deliveries, but only Navigator sales increased (+13.3%) while the Continental sedan was off 29.7% and MKC and MKX CUVs were down 20.9% and 24.2%, respectively.

Ford says its strong mix of high-trim SUVs and pickups continue to boost transaction prices, increasing $2,100 to $36,200 per vehicle in February while incentive spending declined $80 from year-ago levels.

[email protected] @bobgritzinger