SUVs/CUVs Fuel Ford’s February Sales Surge

Ford light-vehicle sales jumped nearly 20% in February, with strong growth in utility vehicles and solid increases for cars and trucks. The Lincoln brand posted a 30% gain, fueled by a whopping 109% leap in sales for the MKX midsize CUV.

Ford’s volume for the month totaled 210,803 LVs, skewed heavily toward trucks and utility vehicles at 144,190 units, with cars accounting for 66,613 sales, WardsAuto data shows. Lincoln sales accounted for 8,039 of the total.

Ford reported its 65,000 SUV sales for the month, a 28% increase year-over-year, were the best in company history. SUV sales were led by a 91% surge for Edge and a 20% bump for Explorer, which both added high-end Platinum-trim editions to start the year. Sales days were equal year-over-year.

On the car side, Taurus and Focus sales both saw increases of more than 30%, while Mustang posted an 18% gain on sales of nearly 10,000 sports cars, and Fusion grew 12% to 24,442 sales for the month.

Meanwhile, the company’s perennially best-selling F-Series kept chugging along with 55,455 light-duty pickup sales representing an 8% increase for the month. And vans remained solid, represented by Transit with a 70% jump on volume of 11,496 units, and Transit Connect with a 9% increase on 3,038 sales.

“We’re strong top to bottom,” says Mark LaNeve, vice president-marketing, sales and service, citing Ford’s gains across vehicle segments.

“We saw a solid industry last month and a strong month for Ford, as customer demand for our newest vehicles – including new high-end series on Explorer and Edge – helped Ford increase its average transaction prices at almost double the industry average,” LaNeve adds.

Ford’s fleet business is up for the year, but LaNeve says the higher percentage is due to front-loading commercial business early in the year. He says he expects the percentage to level out over the course of the year.

“Offering more high-end options for truck and SUV customers and having the capability fleet buyers value as they are reinvesting in their fleets are strengthening our business,” LaNeve says.

Lincoln saw growth across the board, with the MKX’s 2,375 sales leading the way. The MKC small CUV added 1,746 sales (+12%), while the MKZ midsize sedan chipped in 2,128 (+16%).

Ford ended the month with 759,000 vehicles in stock, an 87-day supply.

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