Ford received a huge boost from Cash For Clunkers, with Fusion (+131 percent), Focus (+55.9 percent), Flex (+106.5 percent), Escape (+49.3 percent) and Ranger (+57.4 percent) seeing huge sales increases. Taurus didn’t see a big boost from its new-model rollout, logging only 3,398 units of sales, a nearly 24 percent decrease. Edge edged up by 8.9 percent and Mustang dropped by 23 percent.
Mercury snagged a bit of the C4C business, with Milan and Mariner up by 111.7 percent and 50.3 percent respectively. Otherwise, Merc models were off by 28 percent (Mountaineer) to 76 percent (Sable). Lincoln didn’t see a single nameplate improve its sales, with results ranging from bad (MKX -19.6 percent) to worse (MKS -43 percent).
Volvo had some rare sales success, improving S40 sales by 80 percent, V50 by 202 percent and C30 by 62 percent. Too bad no Volvo nameplate sells more than 1k units per month.
Attaboy, Ranger! There’s life in you yet.
Any stats on which engine sold the most? I’m betting the Duratec 2.3-liter mill. It’s got the fuel efficiency that makes sense for most of us who just need a truck bed occasionally.
Strip out Ford’s share of the 7ook sales Cash for Jalopies generated, and all does not appear well.
It’s simple math.
This is going to turn out to be an ugly, ugly remainder of the year for all automakers.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aTPMWckSNdkI
Auto dealers whittled their inventory after purchases of almost 700,000 vehicles through the Car Allowance Rebate System. Sustaining August’s sales pace will be a struggle for the rest of the year now that the government cash is gone, Casesa said.
“Dealers are saying as soon as the program ended everything stopped dead,” he said. The demand was “a total pull-ahead” of sales that would have been made in future months, not a permanent rebound in the market, Casesa said.
Ford’s increase was nowhere near what analysts expected. They were expecting a 39% increase.
It really doesn’t matter though…because these sales numbers are meaningless. They don’t accurately indicate anything.
ohsnapback is right…again. The rest of the year will be horrid for the automakers. And if the Fusion and Focus can only muster these numbers with Government assistance…then the rest of the year will be rough.
Attaboy, Ranger! There’s life in you yet.
No…the Ranger is too reliable and makes too much money. It doesn’t fit Ford’s business model of planned obsolescence.
I have an question; can the B&B answer it?
To what do we ascribe the difference between Fomoco’s August sales versus the competition?
Is this the benefit from not taking handouts? (yes, I know RF, they took the DoE loans, but the general public doesn’t see that as a handout, apparently)
Or is this a case of Ford being ready with the right line-up?
Or is this a case of the general public’s perception catching up with the Ford reality?
Has the Bill Ford/Alan Mullaly plan of quietly becoming the NA version of Toyota started to pay dividends?
I know Ford has a way to go, but they stomped Chryco and GM for August. Wow.
To what do we ascribe the difference between Fomoco’s August sales versus the competition?
Compared to GM/ChryCo, it could be any number of your possibilities. Compared to Toyota/Honda, remember gas prices were sky high last year and Toyota/Honda saw a big increase in sales because of it, if memory serves correctly.
Wait for the repo’s. The demographic with extremely poor credit scores pretty much drifts to domestics after financing is denied by others.
Imagine how happy-shiny-sunny-smiley things would have been had the Fiesta been available.
Glad to see the typical crew is working overtime to spin an increase in sales — an increase that’s significantly higher than any of the major competition — as a negative.
I think Monty has nailed several likely reasons behind the increase.
And the 2010 Taurus was barely available in August . . . I’ve seen very few on dealer lots or on the road. September should be a more representative month for Taurus.
Ford retail sales up 21%, including Fleet total sales only up 17%. That speaks volumes about Ford all by itself. (i.e., they are increasing retail market share, while decreasing fleet, i.e. the public wants thier vehicles at Ford’s price).
And this isn’t a C4C monolith, this trend has been happening all year (retail sales increasing while fleet decrease)
Despite the continued negative Ford rampage from Dr. Doom P71 and our very own Prince of Darkness RF…there is not other way to spin these numbers but positive vs. every other manufacturer.
Additionally—in every business I have ever run—market share is a key indicator of business health. Ford’s August numbers will no doubt continue the share increase trend.
Ford still has a long way to go (a double-dip recession will be tough to survive)….but light is clearly (however faint) being seen at the end of the long dark tunnel.
P71_CrownVic:
“No…the Ranger is too reliable and makes too much money. It doesn’t fit Ford’s business model of planned obsolescence.”
Good point. But I do relish how many times, to paraphrase Mark Twain, the “reports of the Ranger’s death have been greatly exaggerated.” It just keeps holding on, sort of like the Crown Vic– though I’m saddened to see the CV going fleet-only nowadays, as it was truly the last of a uniquely American breed.
Analysts estimated Ford would have gotten a 39% bump from CFC, but I guess 17%, losing money on each and every vehicle sold, is better than nothing (I think???).
Around here, the dealers don’t have any 2010 Tauruses yet, so I wouldn’t use August’s sales figures as a measurement of its success (or lack thereof). Most of those August sales are still likely the 2009 model.
Based on how close they came to breaking even in the second quarter (operating wise). August sales (especially considering sales of F150 and Flex) were probably enough to cover expenses below the line and were profitable.
17% is a great improvement, and better than Toyota or Honda so analysts be damned. The reasons for the sales increase vs the other automakers is simple – Ford is effectively getting the message out that its products are every bit as good if not better than what Toyota and Honda have to offer, from performance to style to interior quality and reliability.
As for Taurus sales, yes it is still an inventory issue. My dealership is a big one and we still don’t have any 2010 Tauri. Look to September for real results there.
ohsnapback,
How do you figure Ford is losing money on each and every vehicle sold? Not true, just not true. Look to other Ford threads, and you’ll see plenty of posts questioning Ford’s continued effort to sell vehicles at a higher price. It’s working . . . no unhealthy discounting, and growing (retail, not fleet) market share.
Of course, if the truth doesn’t fit your worldview, you can always just ignore it . . . plenty of that going around it seems.
My wife just had a rental Focus while our Passat was in the shop (typical failed VeeDub window lift issue, 2nd one with this car BTW) and actually LIKED the Focus! Claimed it was “peppy” and found the radio very easy to use. Only complaint was lacking rear visibility. Since my wife hates Fords (we owned a very troublesome Ranger) her liking the Focus is very high praise. Personally I can get past the 3-blade grille and fake fender vent so I’d never go for it, but clearly others will.
JMII: I too had a rental Focus (a tricked out SES) for a week last month. It was okay. It’s steering was sluggish and it’s pep? I didn’t find any. Plus, the driver’s side sun visor kept falling out of its socket and one of the plastic exterior panels behind the rear driver-side window actually fell off while driving around the city. Yeah, that one was built on a Monday or Friday.
When compared to even the base Mazda 3, no comparison. Have her test drive some of those. Far far better car.
“Taurus didn’t see a big boost from its new-model rollout, logging only 3,398 units of sales, a nearly 24 percent decrease.”
The 2010 Taurus is only starting to trickle into dealerships. I’ve been eager to have a look at one, but the nearest Ford dealer never has one on hand.
“To what do we ascribe the difference between Fomoco’s August sales versus the competition?”
First, Ford has a more compelling overall product lineup than do GM or Chrysler and covers far more bases than Honda or Toyota. Toyota’s truck lineup is particularly weak.
Second, Ford didn’t execute massive portions of its dealer body, thereby having more people and more units on the ground to take advantage of the C4C activity.
Third, see first. Ford has a pretty good product lineup across a number of segments, including having the only US based hybrid offerings worth talking about.
Is this the benefit from not taking handouts? (yes, I know RF, they took the DoE loans, but the general public doesn’t see that as a handout, apparently)
Their performance was a DIRECT RESULT of a handout.
The Govt. handed out $4500 for so-called “clunkers” and who benefited?
FORD
Toyota
Honda
Hyundai
etc.
Ford is effectively getting the message out that its products are every bit as good if not better than what Toyota and Honda have to offer, from performance to style to interior quality and reliability
No…not even close.
Camry 54,396
Corolla 43,061
Accord 39,726
Civic 43,294
Focus – 25,547
Fusion – 21,010
Don’t underestimate the negative effect of the government takeover of GM and Chrysler. That does not sit well with a lot of people, including me, and probably including a lot of former GM and Chrysler customers.
I really did have a 2009 Ford Focus (auto) as a loaner for a day when I was having some TSBs done to my car, and the three best things I can say about it was that it was quiet inside, swallowed potholes well for a compact car, and was easy on the petrol.
Transmission – awful.
Steering – awful.
Handling – awful.
Stereo – awful.
Interior materials (and chemical odor) – awful.
The Focus is simply no where near class competitive.
But I digress.
P71_CrownVic :
September 1st, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Attaboy, Ranger! There’s life in you yet.
No…the Ranger is too reliable and makes too much money. It doesn’t fit Ford’s business model of planned obsolescence.
Check P71 pimping the worst, most ancient cars built today…but when it comes to a Taurus that can spank a BMW 535, or a Fusion that gets 36 mpg combined around town, they’re examples of Bad, New Ford.
By the way, speaking of there being “life left” in the Ranger, check its crash performance…not much life left in that car after the wreck.
P71_CrownVic :
September 1st, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Ford’s increase was nowhere near what analysts expected. They were expecting a 39% increase.
Perhaps you’d be happier if they all committed hari-kiri for ONLY 17% in a down market?
What is the deal with your hatred of Ford?
The Fusion is on track have the best YTD sales since it came out in the year with the weakest overall sales. Even without the C4C program it would likely be higher.
The Accord to Fusion ratio used to be 5:2, not 3:2 like it was in August.
P71 – Yes, Toyota did sell more camrys than Ford sold Fusions, but the Fusion is trending up a lot faster than the Camry is, as are other Ford models vs there competition, and that is what is important in the long run. No one expected Ford to unseat GM or Toyota for total sales this year, but 5 years down the road when more word of mouth spreads about the great current Ford products that will change.
Also ford sold 40k combined Escape Mariner Flex and Edge compared to 39K CR-V Element and Pilot and only 29 K combined Highlander and Rav-4. Plus Ford sold 45K F series trucks compared to 8K Tundras.
P71_CrownVic :
September 1st, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Is this the benefit from not taking handouts? (yes, I know RF, they took the DoE loans, but the general public doesn’t see that as a handout, apparently)
Their performance was a DIRECT RESULT of a handout.
The Govt. handed out $4500 for so-called “clunkers” and who benefited?
FORD
Toyota
Honda
Hyundai
etc.
I don’t understand this response. Wasn’t this a level playing field? Didn’t every single company selling small cars stand to benefit from this program? Why single out Ford, which wasn’t even the biggest beneficiary of this program, based on what’s been posted for Honda/Toyota and Hyundai sales in their brand specific posts?
Ford MUST get the Ecobost 4 cyl into their bread and butter cars if only to demonstrate committment to new technology.
@ P71_CrownVic
“And if the Fusion and Focus can only muster these numbers with Government assistance…then the rest of the year will be rough”.
Fusion up 131 percent
Focus up 55.9 percent
Civic up 50 percent
Accord dropped 5 percent
Toyota Yaris dropped 47 percent
Corolla up 51.9 percent
Camry up 28.2 percent
Wow….with Government assistance, Honda and Toyota could only muster these numbers…this must mean even rougher times than Ford for these two.
I’m not even a Ford fan but I can’t help noticed any news from Ford you some how find a way to twist and dump on it. Whats the deal?
but the Fusion is trending up a lot faster than the Camry is
Well…duh. The Fusion was reskinned this year. It should have an advantage.
Loser – Thanks for the stats there, interesting to see the Focus trending up faster than the Civic and Corolla as well.
ohsnapback – Depending on the trim level and year of the Focus they let you borrow I am totally with you. I find the chrome fishgills as horrible as P71 does, and I agree, the Focus does have an odd chemical smell, especially in those with cloth interiors. However, Ford has been refining the Focus pretty agressively each year since the 2008 reskin/redesign.
For 2010 the fishgills are gone from all trim levels, ABS is standard, the SES sedan gets some very nice styling tweaks, and for whatever reason they seem to drive better. SE and S Focus models aren’t stellar, but they are cheap, far cheaper than Corollas or Civics in actual purchase price, and those looking for cheap above all else don’t car too much for driving dynamics.
SEL and SES models drive much better, maybe not quite as sporty as a Civic, or quite as quiet as a Corolla, but with the added value features and overall lower price equipped option to option, they are somewhat appealing. When it comes down to it, the Mazda3 is the most appealing vehicle in the class, but it doesn’t show in sales numbers, so, apparently, most people don’t care about how something drives.
P71_CrownVic :
September 1st, 2009 at 10:21 pm
but the Fusion is trending up a lot faster than the Camry is
Well…duh. The Fusion was reskinned this year. It should have an advantage.
Yes, as was the Camry, saw a few with the new face today, and the Corolla is pretty much brand new but couldn’t out run the Focus (with its seemingly universally panned exterior and 10 year old platform, no less) in growth.
Granted, I’ll take any of these sales numbers with a grain of salt, and the fact still remains that Toyota still outsold everyone in the C4C program, and if you expected otherwise, you must have been looking at the market the wrong way (Toyota is still #1). There is evidence here of a few things, namely, there is an uptick in demand for Fords (whether you like it or not), that Toyota can still (and will continue to) move iron. That, and that the Yaris is truly a terrible car (sorry, picking at the low hanging fruit there… it did post a 47% decline, after all, showing that the only motivation for its purchase last year was high gas prices/lack of Prius availability.)
*returns to lurking*
One really interesting trend with recent Ford models is that many of them are gaining sales momentum as time goes on from their introduction; instead of hitting an early peak followed by a rapid decline. The Fusion, for example, seems to have pulled strongly from introduction right up through its first refresh. The Flex likewise seems to be gaining ground.
@John Horner
I never really noticed that, but looking at the numbers now, I do see it. Either the marketing is slowly taking hold and getting the suckers, or people are “voting with their wallets” as word spreads. I’m leaning toward the latter, because I find it difficult to believe that they continue to buck the trend of their crosstown rivals without having something worth selling.
Either way, there is A LOT of buzz around Ford right now (mostly positive, but there are commenters, not only on this site, but on others, that dont believe a word of it), and any buzz is good buzz… its free advertising.
One note of caution: Ford’s impressive year-to-year numbers are based on a comparison with an exceptionally weak 2008 month in which the company was nearly outsold by Honda. And of course the CFC market skew makes it really tough to tell what all of these numbers really mean.
The most impressive stats are the ones for the vehicles that probably didn’t get a huge CFC boost. Flex sales are holding steady at a ~50,000 annual rate–not what the company originally aimed for, but not bad in the current market. F-150 sales look amazing compared to all the competitors, and the Transit Connect is off to a promising start. The Taurus numbers are pretty good considering limited inventory; they are well above the company’s projections. And while the Fusion certainly did benefit from CFC, it’s been consistently picking up a lot of market share this year.
Trouble signs: Toyota substantially outsold Ford this month (although that may be another CFC anomaly), and those Focus & Escape sales numbers will likely collapse with the government money gone.
This provides proof for something I’ve been saying all along: Keeping GM and Chrysler on government life support will only infect, and kill off, Ford. The problem is too much worldwide auto production capacity that resulted from years of stupid cheap credit. Well, the stupid cheap credit is gone, and not likely to come back anytime soon. In order to remain healthy, the auto herd needs some serious culling. Ford has the potential to be a viable company, the CFC program demonstrates it. When people go car shopping they prefer Ford to either GM or Chrysler. Unfortunately, the artificial “competition” of American Leyland makes it impossible for Ford to make a profit. Thanks, Feds!
I am still waiting to see how the whole Mustang vs Camaro vs Challenger plays out in the long run.
Final Edmunds C4C listing:
MAKE MODEL
Ford Focus
Ford Escape
Honda Civic
Ford F-150
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Camry
Honda CR-V
Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Hyundai Elantra
Honda Accord
rnc,
Is this list in order of sales volume?
@dkulmacz
Its in order of sales volume, unseparated by drivetrain. The EPA numbers were released separated by drivetrain (with vehicles such as the F-150 and Escape placed into 2 (or more) different categories. I.E. Escape FWD, Escape AWD, etc) Vehicles with just one drivetrain option benefited from this in their numbers. No manufacturer track sales this way, not sure why the EPA did.
dkulmacz:
Yes, EPA counted Focus as 2 (FWD/AWD), Fusion as 3(FWD/AWD/HyFWD), Escape as 4 (FWD/AWD/HyFWD/HyAWD)and F150 as 6 (?) different models.
The toyota dealer near my house (I have a Ford, GM, ChryCo. and Toyota dealer all in a row, down the street) was running $5k on top of C4C on models and is still running it for trades (any car). GM and CryCo. were also running similar (double C4C), while the Ford dealer was not. Did anyone else notice similar pattern. On radio also heard above deals, but not for Ford. If that was a nationwide trend, then thier showing in August and C4C is actually quite impressive.
@rnc
There’s an AWD Focus? Thats news to me…