Jump to content

Ford back to #1 selling brand


Recommended Posts

Out of curiosity, how far away is Toyota for Brand sales in the US for 2006?

 

Tks!

 

2,220,090 not sure if that includes Scion. If so ou can carve out approx. another 160k units.

 

Camry sales are starting to flatten out. Up 1.4%. With a much improved Malibu, hybrid sedans from Ford/Mercury/Saturn, and a new Accord on the horizon kinda makes you wonder what is going to happen down the road with that vehicle.

 

Having said that, unless the Fusion/Focus/Five Hundred gain traction and continue, I doubt we will be sitting here singing the same song this time next year.

Edited by Michael Reynolds
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2,220,090 not sure if that includes Scion. If so ou can carve out approx. another 160k units.

 

Camry sales are starting to flatten out. Up 1.4%. With a much improved Malibu, hybrid sedans from Ford/Mercury/Saturn, and a new Accord on the horizon kinda makes you wonder what is going to happen down the road with that vehicle.

 

Having said that, unless the Fusion/Focus/Five Hundred gain traction and continue, I doubt we will be sitting here singing the same song this time next year.

 

Kind of agree with you there....we won't be sitting here next year and saying "were number 1!"

 

I think the day's supply for the camry are still pretty tight and they have a plant coming online this year with the subaru joint venture. I just would never underestimate toyota anymore.

 

The 500 is the ace in the hole here....if it does not pick up any traction those vehicles will be the main stay of fleets next year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, we can automatically subtract the sales of the Taurus from 2007, so Ford is already in the hole by that total. Of course, most Taurus sales were fleet, but the 'sales crown' doesn't make any distinction between fleet and retail, but that's another story.

 

Well, it shouldn't be as much volume to make up as you'd think really. Take away the Taurus. Add the Edge. I'm sure it won't be selling 200,000+ units a year, but it should at least be able to make up for half of that missing volume by itself.

 

The more important part of that equation is the profit margins. Taurus had none. Edge should at least have SOME.

Edited by NickF1011
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, it shouldn't be as much volume to make up as you'd think really. Take away the Taurus. Add the Edge. I'm sure it won't be selling 200,000+ units a year, but it should at least be able to make up for half of that missing volume by itself.

 

The more important part of that equation is the profit margins. Taurus had none. Edge should at least have SOME.

 

True because when you're bleeding ink, you can sell a billion cars without profit and still have nothing to show for it.

 

Who said anything about underestimating Toyota. Just stating that the market isn't what it used to be for both the Accord and Camry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good point. I wonder how that would work if Toyota lost fleet sales as well. As it is sans fleet the Accord outsells the Camry, if I'm not mistaken.

 

Since we've veered towards the topic of fleet sales, did anyone see the story about the % of minivan sales that DCX aims towards fleet? I can't remember the exact number (I think it was as high as 46%), but I was amazed at the figure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good point. I wonder how that would work if Toyota lost fleet sales as well. As it is sans fleet the Accord outsells the Camry, if I'm not mistaken.

 

I wouldn't be so concerned about fleet sales. Fleets are volume, and they can be profitable (maybe not as much as retail, but maybe so if done right). Sure there is such a thing as too much fleet sales but it's not *all* bad; it's demand and it's still a good way to smooth out retail demand changes. The big 3 have relied too much on fleet sales in the past, it doesn't mean they should be brought to zero but reigned in properly (which will take time but is happening).

 

That said, what does it matter who the #1 brand is if you're ahead by 15k units on almost 2,500,000 units of volume? It's symbolic but that's about it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since we've veered towards the topic of fleet sales, did anyone see the story about the % of minivan sales that DCX aims towards fleet? I can't remember the exact number (I think it was as high as 46%), but I was amazed at the figure.

 

Rick Kranz points out that from January through October '06, fleets accounted for 65-percent of Ford Freestar sales, 62-percent of Chevy Uplander sales, and over 40-percent of the DCX vans

 

Autoblog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Then you also have to subtract the Freestar. ;)

 

Ford sold Freestars in 2006? Who would have known? :hysterical:

 

We need to keep perspective here in that profit is the name of the game, not volume. Ditching perennial losers like the Taurus and Freestar should do nothing but boost the bottom line, regardless of what it does to market share or sales volume.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would not care if they were dead ass last as long as they made money. Its easy to pump up sales numbers when you give cars away. Hopefully the Edge takes off and Ford has more products up their sleeves. With all the R&D spending they do, doesn't seem like a lot of products are resulting from it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, it shouldn't be as much volume to make up as you'd think really. Take away the Taurus. Add the Edge. I'm sure it won't be selling 200,000+ units a year, but it should at least be able to make up for half of that missing volume by itself.

 

The more important part of that equation is the profit margins. Taurus had none. Edge should at least have SOME.

 

You make a great point about profit: Fusions and Edges are going to be profitable. But I don't know how many Edges will sell versus the fleet dump of the Taurus.

 

Incidentally, how big is OAC versus Atlanta Assembly -- which can produce more cars on their lines? (Or is that null, as different cars take different amounts of time to build)

Edited by Roadrunner
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't be so concerned about fleet sales. Fleets are volume, and they can be profitable (maybe not as much as retail, but maybe so if done right). Sure there is such a thing as too much fleet sales but it's not *all* bad; it's demand and it's still a good way to smooth out retail demand changes. The big 3 have relied too much on fleet sales in the past, it doesn't mean they should be brought to zero but reigned in properly (which will take time but is happening).

 

That said, what does it matter who the #1 brand is if you're ahead by 15k units on almost 2,500,000 units of volume? It's symbolic but that's about it.

 

Hey I realize fleet sales aren't all bad, but they sure don't do much to prop up resale values. Something that the Japanese automakers (or better yet consumers) still enjoy vs. their American and in some cases Euro counterparts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...