Ford July 2018 Sales: down 3.1%

[03 LS]

 

No, you're looking at it wrong.

 

They have a target for the assembly plant when it is built to build XXX cars per day. That is 100% capacity. If they are building more than XXX, it is over capacity (> 100%). If they build less than XXX, they are under capacity (< 100%).

There is a common definition of plant capacity (100% capacity). I seem to remember it's the plant's normal output on 2 shifts/day and 5 days/week. They can easily go above 100% by adding overtime (hours, weekends), increasing line speed, and/or adding a 3rd shift.

A plant is considered underutilized when it's below 80% (or 85%?) capacity.

Edited August 3, 2018 by 03 LS

[351cid]

You are not alone my friend. I'm in the same boat. I'm 66 yo and will be retiring at the end of this year. I have owned Fords all my life and sadly I will have to shop elsewhere for my next car.

That makes 3 of us on this board alone.

 

I think the impact of Ford telling us they no longer want our business is going to be more harsh than anticipated.

 

Henry Ford would be so disappointed in what his company had become.

[jpd80]

That makes 3 of us on this board alone.

 

I think the impact of Ford telling us they no longer want our business is going to be more harsh than anticipated.

 

Henry Ford would be so disappointed in what his company had become.

While there are still some rusted on car buyers, most have switched to Utilities.

 

Unfortunately, like you guys, I woke up one day and realized that the vehicles

I like (large sedan) were no longer mainstream and now a fringe product heading

for extinction. We still mourn the passing of Falcon and ts beautiful capable feel,

that car could have and should have been evolved, Americanized and used to

replace both Fusion and Taurus in one master stroke and built with Mustang.

 

Looking at sales, it seems to me that Ford was premature pulling out of car sales

while it still hasn't brought enough Utility replacements to market, the stupidity is

that they throw one buyer group away while not offering something new for those

that wish to stay and try something new......thanks Mark Fields.

Edited August 3, 2018 by jpd80

[ehaase]

As a large sedan lover myself, last month's sales at Toyota, Honda, Nissan, etc. convince me Ford isn't premature in pruning its lineup of sedans. Looks like Ford of Europe may also do some pruning soon.

[snooter]

That makes 3 of us on this board alone.

I think the impact of Ford telling us they no longer want our business is going to be more harsh than anticipated.

Henry Ford would be so disappointed in what his company had become.

We traded off the 2012 fiesta today..dam great car and we never once had any mechanical or other issues..it was a great car and 42mpg was froggin great...bought a mazda...

 

Ps: i still have the 1970 sportsman f100 we are building and no way in hell do i ever put my ass in a chebby camaro..wish like hell i had my lime green shaker, drag pack 70 boss 302 back...

Edited August 4, 2018 by snooter

[jpd80]

Sales By Type..................July 2018...........July 2017..........Change

Cars...................................34,879................48,259..............-13,380

Utilities...............................69,994................71,067................-1,073

Trucks................................89,153................80,866...............+8,267

Total................................194,026..............200,212................-6,186

 

It's unfortunate that Ford's figures are still down 3%, that masks the very good effort

Ford has made in selling more Trucks and Commercial vehicles.

 

If we also consider that there was one less selling day in July compared to July 2017,

then with one more selling day, Ford's combined sales would have been flat.

Edited August 4, 2018 by jpd80

[mgm]

I dont think Expedition or Navigator were slowed down at all by that. I think if anything they were able to build more of them and build up inventory a bit.

Really curious to see where this inventory build up is. I don't think there is a Ford dealer in the metro Detroit area that has more than 5 Expedition or Navigator. That's not much of an inventory to me.

[twintornados]

....Henry Ford would be so disappointed in what his company had become.

.

Henry would be demanding that Ford still build the Model T.....in his eyes, it was the "perfect car" for the American car buyer and should continue to be sold despite the fact that the competition has surpassed it....sounds like a recurring theme at the glass palace....

[ice-capades]

Really curious to see where this inventory build up is. I don't think there is a Ford dealer in the metro Detroit area that has more than 5 Expedition or Navigator. That's not much of an inventory to me.

 

Depends on the market a Dealer's in regarding inventory. Our store went a number of years where we only stocked 1 Expedition on an occasional basis and those were usually swapped out to another Ford Dealer. Then the Dealer Principal started driving an Expedition as a "Demo" and found that the only way we could sell them to retail customers was for him to drive them long enough where we could sell them for at least $8,000-10,000 off MSRP with Ford rebates. We started stocking the new Expedition and were selling them at a rate of about 2 per month for a while but now the sales rate has dropped and we haven't sold one in over a month. We have 3 in stock and 2 more due to arrive in a few weeks. The stock model mix is a combination of White Platinum and Shadow Black XLT's w/202A as well as a couple of Limited's and a Limited MAX. We've stopped taking allocation for additional Expedition inventory until our sales rate goes back up in a market that's dominated by new full size Chevy's & GMC's.

[351cid]

As a large sedan lover myself, last month's sales at Toyota, Honda, Nissan, etc. convince me Ford isn't premature in pruning its lineup of sedans. Looks like Ford of Europe may also do some pruning soon.

Somebody will build a decent sedan & they will have that market all to themselves. Why couldn't it be Ford?

 

Take the Mustang chassis & stretch it. Put some less swoopy sheet metal on there; do the 2.3 EB w/10 speed. Most importantly, DON'T CALL IT A 4 DOOR MUSTANG.

Most of the engineering has been done. This could increase usage of that chassis & engineering that's already in place & offer a sedan for those that don't want an SUV.

 

But Ford has chosen to say "is gotten too hard to sell a decent sedan so we're giving the Asians the gift".

Edited August 4, 2018 by 351cid

[Anthony]

Somebody will build a decent sedan & they will have that market all to themselves. Why couldn't it be Ford?

 

Take the Mustang chassis & stretch it. Put some less swoopy sheet metal on there; do the 2.3 EB w/10 speed. Most importantly, DON'T CALL IT A 4 DOOR MUSTANG.

Most of the engineering has been done. This could increase usage of that chassis & engineering that's already in place & offer a sedan for those that don't want an SUV.

 

But Ford has chosen to say "is gotten too hard to sell a decent sedan so we're giving the Asians the gift".

 

The people who buy sedans don't want a 4 door Mustang. If that were the case, we'd be awash in Kia Stingers, Chevy SS's and Dodge Chargers. There's a reason they are all fringe market vehicles....because only a fringe part of the market wants that.

[akirby]

Somebody will build a decent sedan & they will have that market all to themselves. Why couldn't it be Ford?

Take the Mustang chassis & stretch it. Put some less swoopy sheet metal on there; do the 2.3 EB w/10 speed. Most importantly, DON'T CALL IT A 4 DOOR MUSTANG.

Most of the engineering has been done. This could increase usage of that chassis & engineering that's already in place & offer a sedan for those that don't want an SUV.

But Ford has chosen to say "is gotten too hard to sell a decent sedan so we're giving the Asians the gift".

That’s what they’re planning, but it’s called a Lincoln to replace MKZ on the new CD6 platform. There is still enough profit on luxury sedans if they make it appealing enough. It will be difficult to make a business case for a lower priced Ford version (but possible).

[mackinaw]

Somebody will build a decent sedan & they will have that market all to themselves.

 

Somebody does make a decent sedan, two actually: one's called the Honda Accord, the other, Toyota Camry. And yes, both vehicles own the market.

[jpd80]

Really, this is Ford being comfortable with 2.5 million sales in the USA and just changing the product mix

to mid sized trucks and more utilities in order to maximize profits without needing to build any extra plants.

 

It surprises me that Ford is going ahead with new Focus and Mondeo in other regions yet seems ambivalent

about their roles in North America...sure, sourcing cars from China seemed like a good idea to save money

but that now seems to be in doubt with Tariffs.

 

It's a pity that Ford didn't hang in there with next gen Focus and Mondeo at hermosillo, they may have been just

the thing to go up against Camry / Corolla and Accord / Civic , especially with lighter more versatile body shapes

and hybrid versions configurations, a 5-door hatchback and the Active versions would probably surprise many. buyers

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I realize that could not proceed because other more important products are scheduled for hermosillo and probably

many still can't visualize Ford's product transformation plan in it entirety.

Edited August 5, 2018 by jpd80

[fuzzymoomoo]

I realize that could not proceed because other more important products are scheduled for hermosillo and probably

many still can't visualize Ford's product transformation plan in it entirety.

Thats because they are still being obnoxiously vague about it.....

[jpd80]

Thats because they are still being obnoxiously vague about it.....

Do you get the sense that Hackett's plans are now in a bit of disarray, the commentary

after Q2 results and profit forecast seemed a bit befuddled and made up on the run....

 

There are now giant time gaps between now and much needed new products

Edited August 5, 2018 by jpd80

[fuzzymoomoo]

Do you get the sense that Hackett's plans are now in a bit of disarray, the commentary

after Q2 results and profit forecast seemed a bit befuddled and made up on the run....

 

There are now giant time gaps between now and much needed new products

I have always had a sense that Hacketts plans are in total disarray.

 

There is a reason why my signature still says what it says. It never had much to do with my job status.

Edited August 5, 2018 by fuzzymoomoo

[351cid]

Thats because they are still being obnoxiously vague about it.....

I have an opinion about this. I suspect that this whole idea about being out of the car business may have been one of several options being discussed. Somebody shoots off their mouth, it gets picked up by the press, & off to the races. Talking about shooting from the hip...

 

I think there is no real plan. I think they're trying to put out fires & formulate a plan as they go.

 

I also think the current "leadership" has limited time to get this clusterf*ck straightened out before they get shown the door.

 

How long will the Ford family sit back & watch the company swirl?

[jpd80]

I have an opinion about this. I suspect that this whole idea about being out of the car business may have been one of several options being discussed. Somebody shoots off their mouth, it gets picked up by the press, & off to the races. Talking about shooting from the hip...

 

I think there is no real plan. I think they're trying to put out fires & formulate a plan as they go.

 

I also think the current "leadership" has limited time to get this clusterf*ck straightened out before they get shown the door.

 

How long will the Ford family sit back & watch the company swirl?

I suspect that a lot of this is Bill Ford's own making, he champions electrification and mobility

as a way of diversifying Ford's business much like his 2001 pledge that by 2005, 25% of all

vehicles would be electrified. It's likely that Fields was replaced because he didn't share

Bill Ford's vision, protesting by dragging his heels on everything in the hope of accentuating

problems with that vision....

 

Hackett's plan reads as a bunch of bad marketing ideas thrown together to achieve the metrics

by which he and his team will be judged, higher profits- - his holy grail, that 13% profit return.

So IMO, the plan was replace every car plant with more trucks and Utilities and just import cars

from whatever region suits profitability.....you can see how this seemingly simple plan could

continue at its core but not the cars if trade issues like tariffs rear their ugly head...

 

It's all a bit strange considering that Ford now has a new Focus and Active model and without

interference, I'm sure that a Mondeo Active would be entirely possible - although we now know

that's not a consideration for North America, a CD4 crossover will replace Fusion.

 

So the plan seems like one that's evolved with every new challenge and i wonder if in hindsight,

something much simpler would have worked more effectively.

Edited August 5, 2018 by jpd80

[akirby]

I have an opinion about this. I suspect that this whole idea about being out of the car business may have been one of several options being discussed. Somebody shoots off their mouth, it gets picked up by the press, & off to the races. Talking about shooting from the hip...

 

Not exactly. Suppliers leaked the info about Fusion being cancelled. Then somebody decided to announce that Ford was killing cars without explaining the timeline or all the new things they were doing. I think they did that to try and appease the analysts and boost the stock price. It was an ill conceived message and piss poor delivery and I’ve heard that the issue was addressed internally.

 

I think they had a clear plan but may be rethinking it due to the backlash.

[MKX1960]

 

You do realize Ford's sedans will be around for at least another 2 years right? And that Focus Active is just a Focus hatch with cladding around the wheels?

 

 

I don't have a problem with a simplified order guide for non F-series products.

I think a lot of potential customers don't realize most of the sedans are still around for a while. They see it as Ford being in deep trouble and don't want to buy from a company that they think may soon be out of business. It's becoming clear that Ford announced too soon the plans for discontinuing models when replacements are so far away. I won't be surprised if things get worse before they get better by 2020-2021 when new products arrive.

[351cid]

I think a lot of potential customers don't realize most of the sedans are still around for a while. They see it as Ford being in deep trouble and don't want to buy from a company that they think may soon be out of business. It's becoming clear that Ford announced too soon the plans for discontinuing models when replacements are so far away. I won't be surprised if things get worse before they get better by 2020-2021 when new products arrive.

This may go down as the biggest public relations blunder of the early 21st century...& rightfully so.

[ANTAUS]

I have spoken to 2 people that were looking at Ford sedans, and as soon as they heard the news they went elsewhere. They didn't want to buy something that would later DIE. And as for one neighbor that just bought a Fusion months ago, he's ticked because he feels his depreciation just dropped big time by that stupid announcement.

[jpd80]

And then the dealers convinced Ford to keep the name Fusion because they'd built up

decent cache in it, so now Ford agrees and the plan regarding white space name changes.....

 

So now the message will be that Fusion name is staying but the car changing to something different.

[fordmantpw]

I have spoken to 2 people that were looking at Ford sedans, and as soon as they heard the news they went elsewhere. They didn't want to buy something that would later DIE.

 

I just don't understand that logic. Buy the car you want that is available now. Who cares if the same thing isn't available in 2, 3, 4 years? Seriously, what difference does that make?

 

Heck, we have a 2010 Mercury Milan, the last year Mercury was produced (though we bought it from my parents, who bought it new), and I have no qualms buying the last model year of the automaker, let alone a single vehicle by that automaker.