Ford's U.S. May Sales Up 23 Percent

[weiweishen]

Link

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fords-us-may-sales-up-23-percent-sixth-straight-month-ford-sales-increase-more-than-20-percent-95421699.html

 

•Ford, Lincoln and Mercury May sales totaled 192,253, up 23 percent versus year ago.

•All-new Super Duty powers F-Series pickup to its highest sales month in more than two years; Super Duty sales up 82 percent versus year ago; total F-Series sales up 49 percent

•Record May sales for Ford Fusion and Edge; best month yet for Transit Connect. Mustang's May retail share increase is powered by 2011 models, which deliver even more horsepower and fuel economy

•Ford, Lincoln and Mercury year-to-date sales totaled 783,845, up 31 percent versus year ago

•Ford gains retail market share for the 19th time in the last 20 months, as more buyers turn to Ford's fresh lineup of high-quality, fuel-efficient vehicles

•Ford announces plans to build 570,000 vehicles in the third quarter, up 80,000 vehicles (16 percent) versus third quarter 2009; second quarter plan increased by 15,000 vehicles

 

Seems that Volvo gone...

 

GM sold 223,822 units

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aiqt7frIkqas&pos=2

Edited June 2, 2010 by weiweishen

[NickF1011]

Good to see Mustang and Edge finally bouncing back to their previously solid levels.

 

Lincoln and Mercury?

[Edstock]

Ford gains retail market share for the 19th time in the last 20 months :happy feet:

[NickF1011]

Seems that Volvo gone...

 

Volvo was still listed with the totals on the chart.

[FordBuyer]

LM sales are especially dismal when you consider overall sales are way up industry wide. MKZ sales are sinking like a rock. Milan sales not much better. Milan should be seeing sales of at least 5,000/month, and instead not even close. Whatever Ford is doing with Lincoln is not working. Time to start with clean sheet of paper and make Lincoln into something special. Guess we will see how the new MKX sells once it's out. I have a feeling not much better. They gave the MKZ a new Lincoln signature grille and sales fell in better times. Why would MKX be any different. LM is Ford's problem child.

[NickF1011]

Well Camaro, it was fun while it lasted. WELCOME BACK TO SECOND PLACE!! :bowdown:

[Michael Reynolds]

Wow Ford moved 22K Fusions last month! Talk about a nameplate that has continued to gather steam.

[papilgee4evaeva]

LM sales are especially dismal when you consider overall sales are way up industry wide. MKZ sales are sinking like a rock. Milan sales not much better. Milan should be seeing sales of at least 5,000/month, and instead not even close. Whatever Ford is doing with Lincoln is not working. Time to start with clean sheet of paper and make Lincoln into something special. Guess we will see how the new MKX sells once it's out. I have a feeling not much better. They gave the MKZ a new Lincoln signature grille and sales fell in better times. Why would MKX be any different. LM is Ford's problem child.

 

IMO (disclaimer) ...

 

... before the refresh, the best-looking CD3 sedans were, in order, MKZ, Milan, Fusion.

... after the '10 refresh, the best-looking CD3 sedans were, in order, Fusion, MKZ, Milan.

 

Add to that the fact that you can finally get the 3.5 in the Fusion, and suddenly there's a much weaker case for the MKZ and little to no case at all to buy the Milan unless you're a fan of the logo.

 

When they bring out the next all-new MKZ, they should do it independent of its platform mates in order to further differentiate them in the marketplace.

[630land]

Mercury is getting the plug pulled, no need to beat head into a wall.

 

More important is Fusion selling over 20K units. No frigging need for a Fusion with fake chrome on it. Sell more Ford brand cars to younger buyers, not cater to old timers who think there is a Mercury Factory that makes 'better' cars.

[NickF1011]

Mercury is getting the plug pulled, no need to beat head into a wall.

 

More important is Fusion selling over 20K units. No frigging need for a Fusion with fake chrome on it. Sell more Ford brand cars to younger buyers, not cater to old timers who think there is a Mercury Factory that makes 'better' cars.

 

Well, if there's a time to shutter Mercury, it's now. Ford brand is performing very well and Mercury likely won't be missed a whole lot when it comes to the bottom line.

[Ford Jellymoulds]

Great month for Ford 50,000 F-Series sales thats more like it.

 

Stang is back on top where it belongs Craparo 8,500 sales LOL

 

Ford fleet sales up 32%, GM fleet sales up 38%.

 

GM Sales for anybody that might be interested.

LINK

Edited June 2, 2010 by Ford Jellymoulds

[blazerdude20]

Mercury is getting the plug pulled, no need to beat head into a wall.

 

More important is Fusion selling over 20K units. No frigging need for a Fusion with fake chrome on it. Sell more Ford brand cars to younger buyers, not cater to old timers who think there is a Mercury Factory that makes 'better' cars.

 

agreed. i just had a buddy tell me he'll miss mercury since they have better quality.

[morgande]

LM sales are especially dismal when you consider overall sales are way up industry wide. MKZ sales are sinking like a rock. Milan sales not much better. Milan should be seeing sales of at least 5,000/month, and instead not even close. Whatever Ford is doing with Lincoln is not working. Time to start with clean sheet of paper and make Lincoln into something special. Guess we will see how the new MKX sells once it's out. I have a feeling not much better. They gave the MKZ a new Lincoln signature grille and sales fell in better times. Why would MKX be any different. LM is Ford's problem child.

 

Here is a link to Cadillac sales for May.

 

Some interesting bites:

 

Buick Enclave: 4715 (+ 14.9%/y)

Buick Lacrosse: 5452 (+ 211.9%/y)

 

Caddy CTS: 3489 (+ 19.7%/y)

Caddy SRX: 4081 (+ 654.3%/y)

[morgande]

Well, if there's a time to shutter Mercury, it's now. Ford brand is performing very well and Mercury likely won't be missed a whole lot when it comes to the bottom line.

 

You Kill Mercury, then when about the LM dealerships? Lincoln doesn't sell enough to stand by itself (from my understanding). You can't make these Lincoln Dealers pick up Ford franchises, in some case there is a rival Ford dealer already down the street (or in some cases right across the street). Being that Mercury is keeping these LM dealerships lights on, I would argue that Mercury isn't the problem. Ford invest very little in Mercury, yet they outsell Lincoln, whom gets more attention anyway. What would happen if Ford turned its attention to Mercury instead of Lincoln?

[Ford Jellymoulds]

Link

 

 

Seems that Volvo gone...

 

 

http://www.bloomberg...t7frIkqas&pos=2

 

Volvo are gearing up already for when production moves from Sweden to dodgy China.

 

Auto Express...

Volvo's shock safety pledge -"NOBODY will be killed in a new Volvo by 2020." That amazing statement is the bold claim made by the firm's chief operating officer.

LINK

 

Volvo have not heard of runaway Yota's?

Edited June 2, 2010 by Ford Jellymoulds

[NickF1011]

You Kill Mercury, then when about the LM dealerships? Lincoln doesn't sell enough to stand by itself (from my understanding). You can't make these Lincoln Dealers pick up Ford franchises, in some case there is a rival Ford dealer already down the street (or in some cases right across the street). Being that Mercury is keeping these LM dealerships lights on, I would argue that Mercury isn't the problem. Ford invest very little in Mercury, yet they outsell Lincoln, whom gets more attention anyway. What would happen if Ford turned its attention to Mercury instead of Lincoln?

 

You give Lincoln more product. Pretty simply fix. Within the next year to 18 months you were likely going to be seeing a new Mariner at the very least. Make that a Lincoln and that fixes a lot of the dealer volume problem right there. The rest of the fix is to bring Lincoln's products up more so they have a better margin per vehicle, negating the need for those dealers to rely as much on pure volume sales.

[morgande]

You give Lincoln more product. Pretty simply fix. Within the next year to 18 months you were likely going to be seeing a new Mariner at the very least. Make that a Lincoln and that fixes a lot of the dealer volume problem right there. The rest of the fix is to bring Lincoln's products up more so they have a better margin per vehicle, negating the need for those dealers to rely as much on pure volume sales.

 

Have you taken a look at the sales figures? Lincoln has product....more than Mercury at least. And they still sell less. There is a large portion of the buying public that believes Mercuries are better than Fords. They wouldn't buy a Ford, but they might consider a Mercury. It's because of these people that Mercury outsells Lincoln (at least partly). Adding more product to Lincoln won't solve its problems. Especially given what is coming out of the Ford Brand. Nobody wants to buy a MKS when the Taurus is as nice as it is. Nobody will buy a MKX when the Edge is as nice as it is. You can try to fill the 'holes' in the lineup buy bringing over the popular Mercury Models into Lincoln, but your still going to sell the same amount of vehicles. It just be a Lincoln Mariner instead of a Mercury. Sales #s will be the same. I guess marketing support would go down, so you'd make more $ off the same volume, but the goal is sell more cars.

 

Mercury appeals the a lot of buyers who like that price point, but don't want to buy a Ford (even though they know Mercs are Fords in one way or another). This is the fact that is keeping these dealers lights going. My Ex wife and my girlfriend won't buy Fords. No matter what I suggest. No matter what the reviews say, no mater how much they like them in person. When it comes down to spending their own money, they wouldn't consider a Ford. But they would consider a Mercury. Lincolns were outside their price range. Ex popped for a Nissan Murano (used), and the GF bought a Mariner (new).

 

Lincoln doesn't need 'more' product so much as they need different product. Its has to be vastly different that the strategy that Ford has used with Lincoln thus far. It has to be product that is vastly different and superior to what anyone can get from a Ford dealer. Its going to take a while to get to the point where Lincoln dealers can stand on their own two feet without the need for Mercury. Just adding product alone won't get them there. They new and different product, but they will need a crutch to hold them until Lincoln is healthy. And that crutch is Mercury.

[grbeck]

Have you taken a look at the sales figures? Lincoln has product....more than Mercury at least. And they still sell less. There is a large portion of the buying public that believes Mercuries are better than Fords. They wouldn't buy a Ford, but they might consider a Mercury.

 

Lincolns are more expensive than any Mercury, so I would expect Lincoln, as a whole, to sell in smaller volumes. And judging by the total sales of Mercury, there aren't too many people who believe that a Mercury represents a real step up from a Ford.

[NickF1011]

Have you taken a look at the sales figures? Lincoln has product....more than Mercury at least. And they still sell less.

 

At higher profit margins than the comparable Ford or Mercury. I pointed that out.

 

Lincoln doesn't need 'more' product so much as they need different product. Its has to be vastly different that the strategy that Ford has used with Lincoln thus far. It has to be product that is vastly different and superior to what anyone can get from a Ford dealer. Its going to take a while to get to the point where Lincoln dealers can stand on their own two feet without the need for Mercury. Just adding product alone won't get them there. They new and different product, but they will need a crutch to hold them until Lincoln is healthy. And that crutch is Mercury.

 

I think you are overestimating the importance of Mercury to these dealers. Will some be forced to close? Sure. But there are free-standing Infiniti and Acura dealers all over living on sales volumes on par with Lincoln's current volume. Yes, Lincoln needs to move its product up to increase those profit margins even more for sure. And who's to say that the new Lincoln product wouldn't be vastly superior to what we are currently seeing now? I would actually expect nothing less.

 

All I'm saying is that it's going to take a lot less to keep Lincoln dealers afloat than some would suggest. It's not like they are waiting in breadlines as it is with the pittance of profit brought in by Mercury sales.

[630land]

"...then when about the LM dealerships?"

 

What about them? Most in my area have combined with Ford stores. Better question is what to do with the empty excess dealer lots?

 

"Mercury appeals the a lot of buyers who like that price point, but don't want to buy a Ford "

 

These poeple are in nursing homes.

 

The days of L-M dealers competing with Ford to get the old timers shopping between a Tempo and Topaz for the cheapest one are long over. Ford needs to compete with import makes for younger buyers, who DO NOT CARE about trim, badges, and memorizing brand differences.

Edited June 2, 2010 by 630land

[weiweishen]

 

 

GM Sales for anybody that might be interested.

LINK

 

So Buick plus Cadillac plusChevrolet equal to Ford plus Lincoln plus Mercury. The 30000 difference is from GMC.

[NickF1011]

So Buick plus Cadillac plusChevrolet equal to Ford plus Lincoln plus Mercury. The 30000 difference is from GMC.

 

Also interesting to note:

 

Ford was the #1 brand in May.

 

Ford brand alone outsold Toyota Motor Company in May.

[weiweishen]

Volvo are gearing up already for when production moves from Sweden to dodgy China.

 

Auto Express...

Volvo's shock safety pledge -"NOBODY will be killed in a new Volvo by 2020." That amazing statement is the bold claim made by the firm's chief operating officer.

LINK

 

Volvo have not heard of runaway Yota's?

Can Ford use that "new system"? I guess Ford knew that Volvo has that new technology or even Ford involved in the development of those new technology. Ford should not hand it to Geely as a gift.

[morgande]

At higher profit margins than the comparable Ford or Mercury. I pointed that out.

 

And how do you propose they do that? Just charging more? If people aren't responding to the vehicles, they won't suddenly respond to them more simply because they cost more.

 

I think you are overestimating the importance of Mercury to these dealers. Will some be forced to close? Sure. But there are free-standing Infiniti and Acura dealers all over living on sales volumes on par with Lincoln's current volume. Yes, Lincoln needs to move its product up to increase those profit margins even more for sure. And who's to say that the new Lincoln product wouldn't be vastly superior to what we are currently seeing now? I would actually expect nothing less.

 

Acura is a joke. Their claim to fame is 'power through efficiency'. They are the absolute bottom feeders of the luxury market (not counting the domestics). At least Infiniti stands apart from Nissan. You see no overlap between models (besides the big SUV). But Acura models that don't overlap with Honda's still overlap! Acura ZDK and Honda Crosstour aren't the same, but you wouldn't even know it. Only thing good going on with Acura is their SHAWD. I hope to God Lincoln is aspiring to be Acura. Talk about low expectations...

Edited June 2, 2010 by morgande

[soupy]

Sweet! HD up 80%, F-series up 50%. High profit and high volume should lead to a money-making 2nd quarter!