mackinaw Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Fleet sales always seem to generate a lot of discussion on this forum. This is a pretty good article pointing out that fleet sales can generate a lot of money, if the manufacturer does it right. From Bloomberg, via Automotive News: DETROIT (Bloomberg) -- Sales of cars and trucks to fleets, a $65 billion slice of annual U.S. auto purchases, no longer has to be viewed as the naughty side of the industry.“Fleet and even rental fleet are no longer dirty words deserving of blanket criticism,” said Maryann Keller, an auto industry consultant and former director at Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. “These are not unprofitable transactions, or at least for the manufacturer, they don’t have to be.” Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20130903/RETAIL01/130909983/fleet-sales-now-seen-as-profit-maker-with-sales-revival#ixzz2dsZT064E 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerM Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 (edited) I don't know about the profits, but the Fords I've encountered at the airport rental locations have not been the low-grade variety you'd often see a couple of years back. So far this year, I've had an Edge Sport (don't remember the trim level, but it had MFT, leather, and giant wheels), a Lincoln MKT, and an Escape Titanium. That is, when I can get a Ford at all. The "plain" rentals were Toyotas and Nissans. Edited September 4, 2013 by RangerM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StLght3 Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 I had a 2013 Escape rental earlier this year and it was far from plain. Leather, MFT, and 2.0 Ecoboost. It was very nice, what turned me on to order my Edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Thanks for posting the link to this Automotive News article, mackinaw. It is one of the more "fair and balanced pieces" on the subject of fleet sales, though interviews from additional fleet managers would be appreciated. I'll extend Maryann Keller's statement further and say that "fleet" and "rental fleet" should never have been considered dirty words deserving of criticism, especially for General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. In the words of Ed Bobit, founder of Bobit Business Media (publisher of Automotive Fleet Magazine, Auto Rental News, and other fleet oriented professional publications): "Fleet is damn important!" For anyone interested, here are some statistics from Bobit's 2013 Fact Book: Calendar year 2012 registrations by fleet/retail market segments Fleet registrations by make and model 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Ford's combined fleet sales is running at 32%, if there was no substantial profit in those vehicles, Ford would not be selling them nor would it be getting at or above 10% return on North American products. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 rental fleet USED to be an ugly word pertaining to Fords fleet sales, now its not, you will notice theres NOT as many Fords in Rental companies lineups, and when they are they seem to be extremely highly equipped "premium" cars that demand higher rental fees....its good for us, because a 1 week Flex rental for instance, is a hell of a lot better than a round the block demo. Now, Rental Fleet IS not so good for say Toyota Corrollas, which are usually base, base, base models for several reasons, that 4 speed auto wont break, will run forever, and its purchase price vs resale are excellent....great for the Rental Companies from a cost standpoint, not so good for Toyota from a profitability standpoint.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 (edited) ...not so good for Toyota from a profitability standpoint.... While Toyota Motor Sales USA has grown their fleet operations in the past decade, they have a long way to go before matching Ford NAFLRO in terms of scope, capability, and revenue generation for their parent company. IMO, Ford has the strongest fleet operations group of any major automotive OEM. Edited September 4, 2013 by aneekr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 While Toyota Motor Sales USA has grown their fleet operations in the past decade, they have a long way to go before matching Ford NAFLRO in terms of scope, capability, and revenue generation for their parent company. IMO, Ford has the strongest fleet operations group of any major automotive OEM. lol, a BIG part of that is they actually make trucks that WORK correctly with few, if any , weakness's..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 I'll extend Maryann Keller's statement further and say that "fleet" and "rental fleet" should never have been considered dirty words deserving of criticism... Speaking as someone who owned SHOs back when Ford was dumping stripper Tauri into fleets, those were most assuredly deservedly dirty words, because they destroyed the resale value of an otherwise great car. It mustn't have been good for Ford, either, because they made a concerted effort to cut back on fleet sales in the '96 redesign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.