Anthony Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 source: media.ford.com OVERALL U.S. SALES DOWN 12 PERCENT; TRANSIT, FORD F-SERIES AND LINCOLN SALES GROW IN OCTOBER Total Ford Motor Company U.S. October sales of 188,813 vehicles down 12 percent from a year ago; retail sales decline 7 percent, fleet sales down 24 percent Ford Transit sales totaled 10,202 vehicles, up 9 percent Ford F-Series retail sales up 2 percent, driven by strong Super Duty demand; overall F-Series sales increase 0.1 percent, with 65,542 trucks sold Lincoln sales increase 7 percent – with gains coming from MKX, MKZ and the all-new Continental; retail sales up 10 percent DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 2, 2016 – Overall U.S. sales for Ford were down 12 percent in October versus a year ago, with 188,813 vehicles sold. U.S. sales of Ford Transit were up 9 percent, with 10,202 vans sold. F-Series pickup sales increased 0.1 percent, with 65,542 trucks sold – the best October since 2004. Ford is reporting sales today due to a fire Monday at its World Headquarters, which interrupted power to one of the company’s main data centers that the company and its dealers use to report and track sales. October reporting was extended to 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday, giving U.S. dealers an opportunity to report month-end sales. October retail sales totaled 143,145 vehicles, down 7 percent. Fleet sales of 45,668 vehicles, including daily rental, commercial and government segments, were down 24 percent, driven primarily by front-loading daily rental deliveries this year, prioritizing Super Duty retail customers and pausing Transit Connect sales to address the previously announced door latch recall. Lincoln sales totaled 9,069, a 7 percent increase. Retail sales were up 10 percent. Growth came from Lincoln’s new products, with total MKX up 4 percent, MKZ up 3 percent and all-new Continental sales of 1,222 vehicles. Truck sales remained positive for Ford, with F-Series retail sales up 2 percent on strong Super Duty demand. High-end series Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum pickups represented 75 percent of retail sales. 2017 Super Duty was 36 percent of overall Super Duty retail sales in October. “High customer demand for our new Super Duty, including top-trim-level pickups, continues to boost transaction prices,” said Mark LaNeve, vice president for U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service. “New Super Duty is turning on dealer lots in just 18 days, and Ford’s average transaction prices are up $1,600 versus a year ago – far outpacing the industry average of $600.” Ford’s overall average transaction prices were up $800 versus September, while industry transaction prices were up $460 compared to September. Overall incentive spending at Ford was up approximately $180 compared to year ago, versus an industry increase of $390. Compared to September, Ford’s overall incentive spend was down $570. The company’s days’ supply for October was 90 days. Ford has been taking actions to match production with demand, as outlined during the company’s third quarter financial results and is well positioned for Black Friday and year-end sales events. The company’s fourth-quarter North American production guidance of 700,000 vehicles remains unchanged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdegrand Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 (edited) What happened to the Focus sales? The Cruze (copied the Focus Hatchback) outsold Focus by a huge margin.(17,000 vs 9500)!! Mustang outsold by Camaro again....but not by much. Edited November 2, 2016 by bdegrand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbeck Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 With the Focus, it's sales are most likely being depressed by a combination of the car's age and the reputation of the automatic transmission. I've noticed that our local dealer seems to be stocking fewer of them lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 And newer vehicles from the competition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev-Mo Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 (edited) What happened to the Focus sales? The Cruze (copied the Focus Hatchback) outsold Focus by a huge margin.(17,000 vs 9500)!! Mustang outsold by Camaro again....but not by much. From my recent rental - Focus still looks modern, performs and handles well. Poor sales is clearly a result of the poor quality reputation (true or perceived). Too bad, I think it is a great car. Edited November 2, 2016 by Kev-Mo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 (edited) The Focus has to be a massive money loser right with such low volume, factory shutdowns, expensive recalls and warranty repairs. Edited November 2, 2016 by BORG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anbevo Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 The Focus is a great car, especially dynamically....I think the Cruze is doing so well because (1) it is very competitive and well-regarded in the segment (2) GM is offering great deals on it; and (3) it's by far the most strongly marketed compact in the business. I see a Cruze commercial every single commercial break during sporting events with that dork leading the "real people, not actors" focus group" or whatever they are... When was the last time you saw a Focus ad? ... It seems like Ford has basically given up on it.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 (edited) From my recent rental - Focus still looks modern, performs and handles well. Poor sales is clearly a result of the poor quality reputation (true or perceived). Too bad, I think it is a great car. IN ADDITION TO THE POOR QUALITY, if you currently own a 2012-2014 Focus, what incentive is there to upgrade to a new one other than sync 3? It looks exactly the same with the same features and drivetrain (except for sync 3). Edited November 2, 2016 by akirby 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 The Focus is a great car, especially dynamically....I think the Cruze is doing so well because (1) it is very competitive and well-regarded in the segment (2) GM is offering great deals on it; and (3) it's by far the most strongly marketed compact in the business. I see a Cruze commercial every single commercial break during sporting events with that dork leading the "real people, not actors" focus group" or whatever they are... When was the last time you saw a Focus ad? ... It seems like Ford has basically given up on it.... If you can't make money on them, why waste advertising money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 (edited) If you currently own a 2012-2014 Focus, what incentive is there to upgrade to a new one other than sync 3? Pretty sure anybody who owns one won't buy another, which I'm sure is part of the problem now. Edited November 2, 2016 by BORG 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev-Mo Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 (edited) If you currently own a 2012-2014 Focus, what incentive is there to upgrade to a new one other than sync 3? ? What does that have to do with my comment that I enjoyed the Focus as a rental but Consumer Reports and others are trashing it from the quality standpoint whether real or perceived. Can't anyone else' comment on this forum be true without a spin rebuttal? Edited November 2, 2016 by Kev-Mo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev-Mo Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 The Focus is a great car, especially dynamically.... I strongly agree from my rental experience. My co-worker and his daughter shopped the Focus - they loved the test drive but bought a Mazda because of what Consumer Reports says about the Focus. It happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 ? What does that have to do with my comment that I enjoyed the Focus as a rental but Consumer Reports and others are trashing it from the quality standpoint whether real or perceived. Can't anyone else' comment on this forum be true without a spin rebuttal? You said poor sales were clearly a result of poor quality and I was simply pointing out that having essentially the same model since 2011 was also hurting sales as were lower gas prices. No spin rebuttal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Pretty sure anybody who owns one won't buy another, which I'm sure is part of the problem now. Based on the transmission, yes. We gave our daughter our Escape and traded in her Focus on the MKX. My point was a significant MCE that included ditching the DCT for a 6F35 would have spurred more sales. That doesn't mean it would have generated any more profit though which I'm sure is why Ford hasn't done any of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 IN ADDITION TO THE POOR QUALITY, if you currently own a 2012-2014 Focus, what incentive is there to upgrade to a new one other than sync 3? It looks exactly the same with the same features and drivetrain (except for sync 3). Is that better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev-Mo Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 (edited) Here is a positive story about the Focus. One of GM's Denver Regional operations is in the same building as my office. There is a young guy who drives a nice Focus ST - he works for GM! I was chatting with him in the lot complimenting his car - he says the folks in the GM office give him a hard time but the Focus ST is just too much fun! Edited November 2, 2016 by Kev-Mo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 The Focus is a great car, especially dynamically....I think the Cruze is doing so well because (1) it is very competitive and well-regarded in the segment (2) GM is offering great deals on it; and (3) it's by far the most strongly marketed compact in the business. I see a Cruze commercial every single commercial break during sporting events with that dork leading the "real people, not actors" focus group" or whatever they are... When was the last time you saw a Focus ad? ... It seems like Ford has basically given up on it.... the last time I can remember seeing a Focus ad was 2011 right after the launch of the 2012 model.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev-Mo Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Here is an interesting positive article - but the reputation is already there. Ford gets the PowerShift dual clutch transmission right, but is it too late?http://www.autonews.com/article/20160105/BLOG06/301059997/ford-gets-the-powershift-dual-clutch-transmission-right-but-is-it-too- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted November 2, 2016 Author Share Posted November 2, 2016 I'd buy another Focus, but most likely I'd go with an ST next time to the get the Recaro seats and of course, one with a manual. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 I'd buy another Focus, but most likely I'd go with an ST next time to the get the Recaro seats and of course, one with a manual. well saying ST with a manual is redundant so..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 What I find interesting about this that Lincoln sedans haven't been impacted as much as Ford sedans have with the market shift towards trucks and CUVs. Given the less than impressive MCE's that Ford cars have gotten in the past 16 months, was this done intentionally or was Ford trying to save $$$ to use on other programs? Up until 2014 or so, nearly every car based product was either replaced or significantly upgraded...then we just got pretty much nothing more than nose jobs (if that with the Fusion at first glance) with Sync3 added...no major improvements in mainstream engines or hybrids. Did Ford's crystal ball tell them back in 2010 when most of these MCE's where planned that the market was going to change like it did? Or where they just exhausted engineering/$$ wise that they couldn't do anything more major to their products? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Ford has 4 sedans and 5 SUVs, Lincoln has 2 sedans and 4 SUVs. When you have 2 sedans (with one selling only a few hundred), how much can you be affected? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papilgee4evaeva Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 IN ADDITION TO THE POOR QUALITY, if you currently own a 2012-2014 Focus, what incentive is there to upgrade to a new one other than sync 3? It looks exactly the same with the same features and drivetrain (except for sync 3). I may be speaking only for myself here, but I actually like the looks of the pre-MCE Focus better. Particularly the front-end treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 (edited) I actually think the updated Focus looks great if you get the right appearance package, otherwise the Focus can look cheap. It's one of those cars that makes you pay to look decent. This use to be one of the things I liked about Ford, they didn't pinch every area of the car. The Focus is just a really hard car to buy next to the competition, they are simply asking far too much for what it is and everything looks more upscale than a similarly equipped Focus or offers more standard equipment (especially Hyundai and Chevy). Edited November 2, 2016 by BORG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Ford has 4 sedans and 5 SUVs, Lincoln has 2 sedans and 4 SUVs. When you have 2 sedans (with one selling only a few hundred), how much can you be affected? Maybe you actually looked at the chart...the MKZ sales are down 0.1 vs 10% for the Fusion. Thats the point I was making...the percentages. The Continental has smashed pretty much any MKS monthly sales I've noticed over the past 12-18 months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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