Ford Motor Company September 2009 Sales Figures & Results

[PREMiERdrum]

And to add , I'm perturbed with the Escape sales, i think it could have been much better...

 

I'm thinking supply is the culprit there (as well as Fusions). My dealer hasn't had an Escape for 5 weeks, and only has 3 Fusions left: all Sports.

[rmc523]

I completely agree that the Mustang is a far better product...but I really don't think Mustang would have been outsold if new engines/transmissions came out with the refresh.

 

I'm really curious where the Mustang styling is going to go from here. Evolution of the retro keys? (I see the same problem for the Camaro). I hope the Mustang do a slightly more modern classic interpretation for the redesign.

 

Here ya go:

 

 

....maybe not so much the front, but the rear.

 

Here's how the turn signal would work:

 

 

Toyonda have no answer to classic styling, they have no coupe class car that beats the Classic Mustang or Camaro or even comes close in sales, Tony the Mustang no thanks.

 

Modern Nissan 350/370Z - 802 sales

Hyundai Genesis - 1,665 sales

Pontiac G8 - 1,005 sales

That's the way to go very loooooooooooooow sales?

 

Can you PLEASE find a different word than "classic" to use....

 

This has to be a typo.

 

 

 

 

I can't find 9,815 or 59 percent anywhere in the sales figures.

 

 

NEVER MIND - I just realized that was total 3rd quarter sales, not September.

 

I did the same thing at first....

 

I'm thinking supply is the culprit there (as well as Fusions). My dealer hasn't had an Escape for 5 weeks, and only has 3 Fusions left: all Sports.

 

My dealer doesn't have much of anything in the way of sedans - they just got their first Taurus (that I know of), and I think they may have a few Fusions, a handful of Escapes, Flexes.....one or 2 Explorers, same with Expys. Lots of trucks, though, but they're a big fleet dealer, so that explains that. Actually, they have a lot of Mustangs too. I just saw my first new Mustang GT on the road yesterday, up to that point, I'd seen tons of V6s, but NO GTs.

 

Oh, and my dealer's get ready lot that usually has a lot of vehicles is EMPTY, there's maybe like 4-5 cars there right now.

 

---

 

I'm impressed with these results - I expected a bigger drop after C4C. Great work Ford!! :happy feet:

 

The 5% increase and 2% marketshare increase for Q3 are AWESOME!!

Edited October 1, 2009 by rmc523

[Mark B. Morrow]

Yeah, I had a quick look over there and it seems like all is good at Chevrolet...

that Ford sales are neck and neck with quite a few Chev brands.....

 

I thought Chevrolet guys would be furious but they seem to swallow everything Fritz says...:shrug:

 

 

Autoblog has the breakdown by brand 9/09 vs 9/08

 

Ford vs Chevy head to head:

 

Ford Brand down 4.06%

 

Chevrolet Brand down 40.66%

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/01/by-the-...ll-alright-edi/

[ozibuns]

I fear this is just smoke and mirrors; they are increasing fleet sales to drive volume and prop up an aging lineup of vehicles. Ford has no B segment car (Fiesta is still 9+ months away), Focus is woefully out of date and being given away to move the metal. The Escape is ancient and urgently needs replacing but that is also years away. The Explorer is dying, ditto the Expedition. The Mustang will be refreshed soon with new engines. The Flex is wonderful but underperforming. Lincoln is struggling, Mercury is a Saturn in waiting and Volvo is on the auction block. Until Ford genuinely offers American buyers the same state of the art chassis, powertrains and stlying that Europeans have been enjoying for years, they will continue to rely on discounts and fleets to prop up performance and stave off the wolves. I am a die-hard Ford fan but I worry about their future if their product reneweal programme does not keep pace with the market.

[jpd80]

It could also be that Ford is flavor of the moment and renters are asking to hire Fords.

Don't forget, the big part of this is exposure to the public and I for one was glad to be able to

hire a Ford Edge from Alamo instead of the designated Trailblazer POS.

[BrewfanGRB]

I love the Fusion numbers---especially with the incentive levels. I just checked and right now, for me, all non-hybrids have $500 rebates. About a couple weeks ago, it was $0. The Malibu, right now, has $2000 in rebates. Yet, the Fusion had more or less the same number of units sold. That's awesome! All the more profit for Ford.

 

I think by say, spring, after 6-9 months of Camaro sales, I'd be a LITTLE worried if it is still out-selling the 'Stang to the extent it did in September. Needing a new powertrain or not, to me, the Mustang is still a more compelling product to anyone other than someone who's been waiting (and waiting and waiting) for a new Camaro. Once all those guys have one, then what? If 7900 Camaros are still being sold 6 months from now, I'll be wondering...

 

I've always been "meh" on Mercury anyway, but when the poor thing basically has 2 models, how is it supposed to stay around? (296 Mountaineers!?!? Are they out of production right now or something?) Once production stops on the Panthers and they lose the GM (it is still in production, right?), then what?

 

I like Volvo--XC60 looks like it's building, S40 is solid. I am still not sold on selling it---does Ford need the $2B more than the profit? Is it profitable?? I mean, Volvo only sold 700 fewer units than Merc!

 

I don't know, maybe I am overthinking this---to have more or less the same # from Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo, then maybe Mercury is worth it.

[Ford Jellymoulds]

I love the Fusion numbers---especially with the incentive levels. I just checked and right now, for me, all non-hybrids have $500 rebates. About a couple weeks ago, it was $0. The Malibu, right now, has $2000 in rebates. Yet, the Fusion had more or less the same number of units sold. That's awesome! All the more profit for Ford.

 

I think by say, spring, after 6-9 months of Camaro sales, I'd be a LITTLE worried if it is still out-selling the 'Stang to the extent it did in September. Needing a new powertrain or not, to me, the Mustang is still a more compelling product to anyone other than someone who's been waiting (and waiting and waiting) for a new Camaro. Once all those guys have one, then what? If 7900 Camaros are still being sold 6 months from now, I'll be wondering...

 

I've always been "meh" on Mercury anyway, but when the poor thing basically has 2 models, how is it supposed to stay around? (296 Mountaineers!?!? Are they out of production right now or something?) Once production stops on the Panthers and they lose the GM (it is still in production, right?), then what?

 

I like Volvo--XC60 looks like it's building, S40 is solid. I am still not sold on selling it---does Ford need the $2B more than the profit? Is it profitable?? I mean, Volvo only sold 700 fewer units than Merc!

 

I don't know, maybe I am overthinking this---to have more or less the same # from Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo, then maybe Mercury is worth it.

 

Gotta agree with what you said on the Camaro, the Mustang will be back on top in 6 months time once that initial burst dies down.

 

Volvo sold 17,300 cars in Europe last month, with rising sales numbers both sides of the pond lets hope Ford gets a good price for Volvo when they sell them.

[jobu37]

I fear this is just smoke and mirrors; they are increasing fleet sales to drive volume and prop up an aging lineup of vehicles. Ford has no B segment car (Fiesta is still 9+ months away), Focus is woefully out of date and being given away to move the metal. The Escape is ancient and urgently needs replacing but that is also years away. The Explorer is dying, ditto the Expedition. The Mustang will be refreshed soon with new engines. The Flex is wonderful but underperforming. Lincoln is struggling, Mercury is a Saturn in waiting and Volvo is on the auction block. Until Ford genuinely offers American buyers the same state of the art chassis, powertrains and stlying that Europeans have been enjoying for years, they will continue to rely on discounts and fleets to prop up performance and stave off the wolves. I am a die-hard Ford fan but I worry about their future if their product reneweal programme does not keep pace with the market.

Do you keep up with the industry news at all? Ford currently has the freshest lineup in the industry. Their planned refresh schedule moving forward is now amongst the shortest in the industry after Honda's recent announcement that they are going to increase the amount of time between updates. Additionally, Edmunds calculation of September incentive spending puts Ford under $3,000 per unit which is the lowest they have been in well over a year, maybe two years. They essentially make an additional $800.00 per unit more than either Chrysler or GM when compared to MSRP. Ford's incentives continue to drop from month to month and it appears that Nissan is on pace to pass them in incentive spending in the next couple of months.

 

You might want to compare the incentive spending on the Focus to vehicles in it's segment to understand why Ford is being forced to put incentives on it. Additionally, I suggest you go test drive a Corolla, Civic and Focus back to back and then tell me how it is woefully out of date compared to the primary competition. Neither of those two vehicles offer anything that surpasses the Focus except the price that some loyalists are willing to pay due to their inability to test drive a Focus.

 

As for the Escape, it is not anywhere near being the most ancient model in the segment it competes in. That dubious title belongs to the Honda CRV in the small CUV segment. The CRV has the worst fuel mileage in the segment, the worst interior noise levels in the segment , and arguably the worst styling in the segment. Yet it reigns supreme in the segment. Explain that one to me. September was a supply issue for the Escape. After selling nearly 50K in two months and the inability for Ford to get extra work days out of the KC plant at the end of August there just wasn't any product on the lots and at least here locally their still isn't any meaningful Escape inventory.

[RichardJensen]

I fear this is just smoke and mirrors; they are increasing fleet sales to drive volume and prop up an aging lineup of vehicles.

Were you saying that last month when fleet sales were down 18%?

[old_fairmont_wagon]

Just some rough Anual Sales Rate numbers from this month...

 

Legend (ASR for that vehicle) {ASR for that brand shared bodystyle}

 

Crown Victoria: 1,747 (20,964) GM 2146 (25752) Town Car 469 (5628) {52344}

Taurus: 5,077 (60924) MKS 1316 (15792) {76716}

Fusion: 10,834 (130008) Milan 1574 (18888) MKZ 1536 (18432) {167328}

Focus: 9,182 (110184)

Mustang: 4,917 (59004)

 

D3 Composite ASR 82200

 

Flex: 2,033 (24396) MKT 455 (5460) {29856}

Edge: 4,477 (53724) MKX 1316 (15792) {69516}

Escape: 8,692 (104304) Mariner 1335 (16020) {120324} [i can't find tribute numbers at the moment, but they are usually trivial]

Taurus X: 81 (OOP)

 

Expedition 2,370 (28440) Navigator 690 (8280) {36720}

Explorer 4,450 (53400) Mountaineer 296 (3552) {56952}

 

F-Series 33,877 (406524)

Ranger 2,052 (24624)

Econoline/Club Wagon 6,786 (81432)

Transit Connect 1,527 (NA)

Low Cab Forward 19 (OOP)

 

A couple of thoughts from this...

 

Can Chicago be profitable at 82000 Units of volume? D3 is doing well in the market, but looking at Ford in its own universe, that plant would still seem to be significantly underutilized and likely not making money.

Panther is down to 52000 units a year? How do they even pay the light bill at the plant, especially since almost the entirety of that production is fleet discounted.

Does the Mountaineer's sales volume justify keeping it around even if all the development is done for it? IT would almost seem less expensive to stop its production completely at this point. I see the MkX as just killing it on the lots.

With ASR at 36K, how is there even a hope of the expedition/NAvigator being profitable? I know the Navigator goes at a significant avg transaction price above its costs, but, that's only 8200 units a year, how can that possibly keep that plant running?

 

I know these numbers also represent hangover from C4C, but if this month winds up indicitave of the 4th quarter, I don't see any way of Ford being close to profitable anytime soon. There are some products that just aren't moving enough metal to keep their plants open. These numbers are just ugly no matter how you want to see it. Yes, its a gain over a year ago. Yes, they did better than most of the industry. But, are these volumes enough to keep the lights on in the long run? Yes, the Fiesta is coming and will likely see decent volume. It will also take some volume away from the Focus. YEs, there's new powerplants coming for the Mustang, but, is that enough to boost its volume to profitable numbers? To me, it looks a lot like Ford is exisitng on the profits of the F-series and perhaps a bit from the CD3s and focus as well.

[RichardJensen]

1) Those numbers aren't seasonally adjusted

 

2) Mountaineer is going OOP next year when the Louisville goes down for retooling.

 

3) Chicago Assembly is getting the next-gen Explorer

[silvrsvt]

YEs, there's new powerplants coming for the Mustang, but, is that enough to boost its volume to profitable numbers?

 

The Mustang platform was the first platform that Ford developed that only needs to sell about 100K or so units a year to be profitable. Keeping that in mind, From 2005-2009, There was several years where it sold well over 150K units a year. That helped pay the program off sooner and I'm sure the updates that where done to it weren't that expensive..it was just new sheet-metal and plastic shapes in the interior.

[Pioneer]

The Mustang platform was the first platform that Ford developed that only needs to sell about 100K or so units a year to be profitable.

 

???

 

How you could even possibly know that aside, something needs to happen with regards to the Mustang to keep it profitable.

 

The Assembly point is heavily underutilised. Either a Mustang variant built on the same platform needs to be produced, Ford or Mazda needs to insource more product into AAI, or the Mustang needs to be moved to another flexible assembly plant.

[harddrive747]

Better than i expected. And how did Explorer post gains?!?!?!

 

Those of us who like Explorer is showing that they are a still a popular vehicle. I bought mine in August without the cach for clunkers. The other reason is that I think people are getting ready for the winter and want the 4x4. Also they may have found out that the Explorer will go to a car chassis and they want to get the classic Body on Frame (BOF) before it goes away like the dinosaurs.

 

I will admit that the Explorer is a nice truck and mine is getting broken in and is slowly become really fun to drive and the way that I want it.

[fordmantpw]

Also they may have found out that the Explorer will go to a car chassis and they want to get the classic Body on Frame (BOF) before it goes away like the dinosaurs.

 

90% of car buyers don't know the difference between BOF and unibody. 99.9% of the other 10% don't have a clue the Explorer is changing.

[RichardJensen]

something needs to happen with regards to the Mustang to keep it profitable.

dude. it's a recession.

[NickF1011]

I completely agree that the Mustang is a far better product...but I really don't think Mustang would have been outsold if new engines/transmissions came out with the refresh.

 

The engines weren't ready when the 2010 launched, so take those off the table entirely. There is simply no point in even mentioning them. The only thing you're left with is to ask yourself this: Would the 2010 Mustang be selling as well if it still looked exactly the same as the 2009? I would say definitely not.

[Pioneer]

dude. it's a recession.

 

Even before the recession Flat Rock was underutilised. Something else either needs to be built there, or it needs to be moved. When you build on a three shift schedule, labor costs are lower and the building costs remain the same. AAI was floating with one shift before the recession because the Mazda6 and the Mustang together cannot fill the volume AAI can produce. One shift = less profit per unit.

 

I revert back to my last post.

[soupy]

. Until Ford genuinely offers American buyers the same state of the art chassis, powertrains and stlying that Europeans have been enjoying for years, they will continue to rely on discounts and fleets to prop up performance and stave off the wolves. I am a die-hard Ford fan but I worry about their future if their product reneweal programme does not keep pace with the market.

 

Die-hard you say? I have my doubts.

[soupy]

With ASR at 36K, how is there even a hope of the expedition/NAvigator being profitable? I know the Navigator goes at a significant avg transaction price above its costs, but, that's only 8200 units a year, how can that possibly keep that plant running?

 

Nav/Exp assembled at KTP along with SuperDuty and last I heard they will keep plant running.

[RichardJensen]

Even before the recession Flat Rock was underutilised. Something else either needs to be built there, or it needs to be moved. When you build on a three shift schedule, labor costs are lower and the building costs remain the same. AAI was floating with one shift before the recession because the Mazda6 and the Mustang together cannot fill the volume AAI can produce. One shift = less profit per unit.

 

I revert back to my last post.

First, that's as much Mazda's problem as it is Ford's. If they don't want to source more 6 production at AAI, that's their lookout.

 

Secondly, Mustang sales have been hit by fuel prices and then the recession going back to late 2007. AAI was running on two shifts in early 2007, and people (you included, if I'm not mistaken) were arguing for production of the Mustang at another plant in 2005 and 2006.

[97 F350]

Autoblog has the breakdown by brand 9/09 vs 9/08

 

Ford vs Chevy head to head:

 

Ford Brand down 4.06%

 

Chevrolet Brand down 40.66%

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/01/by-the-...ll-alright-edi/

 

 

A couple of interesting #'s from this link.

 

Everybody in the press mentions how Chrysler is dropping sales because they don't have any small fuel-efficient vehicles, etc.

 

But look at SMart and Suzuki. Both dropped 54% year over year and all they have are small vehicles. The only brand with higher % drops are Chrysler brand and 3 that GM is phasing out - Saab, Hummer and Saturn. I think both are also heading towards oblivion. How can you sustain a non-premium brand on annual sales of less than 25,000? Smart might make it because it is basically sold as a model of Mercedes and not a stand-alone brand.

 

Another thing to note is how far Chrysler brand has dropped. They only sold 9,000 vehicles last month. Jeep now almost doubles their volume. Maybe this is all part of their grand strategy to move Chrysler upmarket. Low sales = exclusivity.

[Pioneer]

First, that's as much Mazda's problem as it is Ford's. If they don't want to source more 6 production at AAI, that's their lookout.

 

They can only build as many as they are selling.

 

 

Secondly, Mustang sales have been hit by fuel prices and then the recession going back to late 2007. AAI was running on two shifts in early 2007, and people (you included, if I'm not mistaken) were arguing for production of the Mustang at another plant in 2005 and 2006.

 

I was arguing for more production when they couldn't built them fast enough to fulfill initial orders and to stock dealer lots after the introduction of a new model. What is the sense of having flexible manufacturing if you don't use it.

 

Now, years later and even before the recession, the total number of vehicles produced at the plant is less than what can be built efficiently on two shifts. There is a decision to be made.

 

1. Build more on two shifts than the market demands and throw incentives on the hood to move the excess inventory.

 

2. Build on one shift, thus increasing what each costs Ford to produce and make less money on each car sold.

 

3. Put another product in AAI to fill excess capacity.

 

4. Move the Mustang out of AAI and into another Ford plant that can handle the projected sales volume. This will not only keep the cost per unit down on the Mustang, but will bring down the price per unit on whatever else is built on the plant that it is being moved to.

 

Personally, I hope they add more product to AAI. It's a nice plant and I have a lot of friends that work there.

[ausrutherford]

Mustang has a very low unprofitable margin. As far as Iv heard, its still profitable.

[RichardJensen]

Put another product in AAI to fill excess capacity.

If it made no sense to spend the tens of millions of dollars to add Mustang production to another flex plant (Flex doesn't mean zero cost to add new product), due to a two year spike in demand, it makes no sense to spend tens of millions to add another product to AAI due to a two year trough in demand.