Americans CRaVe the CR-V, replaces Ford Explorer as best-selling ute in U.S.
It looks like the age of the traditional body-on-frame SUV is coming to a close for most mainstream customers. While there will continue to be a market for big SUVs like the Tahoe and Expedition for customers who actually need to haul or tow stuff, many customers in the high volume mid-sized segment are realizing they can get by with something a little smaller and lot more fuel efficient.
The Ford Explorer dominated SUV sales charts throughout the 1990s and into the first part of this decade with sales of 445,157 in 2000. In the last couple of years, however, Explorer sales have tanked seeing it drop from first to fourth on the sales charts. Last year ,sales dipped to 179, 229 and the freefall shows no signs of letting up. The numbers are down another twenty-three percent so far this year.
On the flipside, sales of the redesigned Honda CR-V are up forty-two percent so far this year and it has jumped to the number one spot on the chart followed by the Toyota RAV-4 and Ford Escape, with the new Ford Edge coming on strong as well. The CR-V is doing so well that Honda is having to consider how to increase volume to meet the demand. For the first time, the automaker has started importing extra units from Japan to supplement the main production facility in East Liberty Ohio. Ford has already announced plans to move the Explorer to a unit-body crossover platform, which can't happen soon enough. The only problem will be finding a place to fit into a lineup already filled with the Escape, Edge, Flex and Taurus X.
[Source: Bloomberg]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Ravi 5:31PM (5/13/2007)
I never see any newer models of Explorers around anymore. The new CR-V looks awesome though.
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Steve B. 1:29AM (5/14/2007)
Interesting. I'm really surprised by the sales of the new CR-V. I owned a first generation (2001) CR-V, and while I found the second generation appealing, the third generation really turned me off. To many of the things I liked about the CR-V are gone, leaving just a really swoopy wagon in its place... I opted to replace mine with an Element instead.
Still it seems that there's a market for the new one!
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bob 1:50PM (5/13/2007)
HAHA! Can't wait for the "BASH ANYTHING JAPANESE" autobloggers to start their "people are soooo stupid that they'll buy a fresh cow dung with the steam still coming off of it if it had an Honda emblem on it" to start in.
Honda gets it right because it produces cars people want with good specs. Albeit the Element and Ridgeline aren't exactly hot sellers but fill a niche.
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3cubedminus3squared 1:55PM (5/13/2007)
They should get rid of the Taurus X. The Edge and Flex look good and they their name isn't as dumb as Taurus X.
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Paul Y 2:05PM (5/13/2007)
Ford really needs to re-balance their product line. They can't realistically expect an entire lineup of overlapping products to all sell well.
My next-door neighbor had an Edge for a week or so as a rental (weird, I know), and that was the closest I've gotten to one: I wouldn't drive it, but it's a very handsome vehicle, admittedly. The safety razor motif actually works.
The Taurus-X and Flex, however, are really going to cause problems. They're way too similar to each other, and probably stepping on the toes of the Edge. That's WAY too much lineup overlap. Keeping the Explorer around much longer (even if only in name, not so much as a "truck") is going to make this situation worse.
Like #1 said, new explorers are surprisingly rare. The only ones I ever see are at the dealer down the street with promises of giant discounts written on the windshield.
I don't want the big 2.5 to die, necessarily, but at this rate, they're doing it to themselves. This is exactly more of the same that got Ford where it is today.
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Sandeep 2:14PM (5/13/2007)
I think that GM has done a much better job of avoiding overlap in their SUV lineup, as each brand only has the crossover (acadia, for example) and body-on-frame (trailblazer). It could be debated, however, that GM shouldn't have so many brands with nearly identical vehicles (although more unique than a fusion vs milan).
If you look at other manufacturers, such as Hyundai or Toyota, there is some overlap (Santa Fe vs Veracruz, Rav4 vs Highlander vs FJ Cruiser) but there are distinct differences. I don't see that going forward in the Ford lineup.
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3cubedminus3squared 2:21PM (5/13/2007)
I see more new Explorers than new CR-Vs where I live. But I also live in Texas (Ford Chevy country).
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phil 2:34PM (5/13/2007)
I think Ford should move the explorer to Bronco territory, reclaim the off-road niche. Or, ax the explorer and bring on the bronco concept that generated so much buzz to compete with the FJ. There can only be so many people movers in a lineup, and Ford is definitely pushing some limit.
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ford_for_road 2:43PM (5/13/2007)
ford edge is the one that ford need to cut the problem .............
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Robert 6:49PM (5/13/2007)
Well, Ford has already all but officially announced plans to drop the Taurus X, possibly by early 2009. The new Explorer is due out around that time. So, how it fits in the line-up may not be that big of an issue.
The CR-V is ok. I personally hate the looks. There are better small utes, in my opinion, that look better and drive just as well or better. I certainly don't understand why it is #1, but I can understand how a small SUV could be. And, frankly, it's about time.
I think this is less a commentary on Ford's misfortunes (although not independent of their cause) and more on the state of the automotive industry. I think, ultimately, it's great that people are focused on the small to medium-sized CUV and car market. Ultimately, few people need an Expedition or a Tahoe. The Explorer and 4Runner are dinosaurs just waiting to go extinct. That, separate from technologies that boost fuel efficiency, will help reduce our gas consumption in the long run.
In the near term, this is going to hurt Ford probably more than most manufacturers. However, with the Edge in the line-up, new powertrains coming to the Escape for MY 2009, an updated Focus that could be competitive again, an updated Fusion in 2009 with new powertrains, and a B-car in 2009, Ford could be in a good place to improve their standing. But, it will certainly be a painful next 12-18 months as the product line unfolds.
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MikeOpenGL 2:53PM (5/13/2007)
You know, typically I would feel bad for Ford. But, I e-mailed a suggestion to them this past week and basically got a wordy e-mail telling me thy only value the opinion of their employees, and not their customers. My household has three Ford products right now, and probably the last three ever.
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F451 2:55PM (5/13/2007)
The CR-V is a good looking vehicle. I have never seen the need for the larger SUVs. The car lots I drive by are becoming filled with large SUVs—no one really wants them any longer. Too bad they woke-up a bit too late.
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... 3:06PM (5/13/2007)
The front of the current crv is horrendous(i think), and to #5, the fj cruiser is toyota's hummer niche, a large, useless vehicle. It is not similar to the rav4 or highlander, in which case the highlander is just a "midsize" suv and the rav4 is a small suv. most automakers have 2 or 3 different sizes of suvs.
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Brian W 10:22PM (5/13/2007)
The real story is that a 4cyl CR-V is beating the RAV4. All the auto press talks about how great the RAV4 v-6 is and everybody else is underpowered. Looks like people prefer the better fuel mileage of the new CR-V.
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smartmlp 3:07PM (5/13/2007)
Are you kidding? The CR-V is a horrible looking vehicle. I would not ever purchase one, a trailblazer is a much nicer vehicle as far as power and materials.
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LyonKing 3:09PM (5/13/2007)
@Phil - I think you hit the nail on the head right there. Ford shouldn't be mkaing the Explorer into just another people mover. It has been around for so long as an SUV it needs to stay that way.
Making it into an FJ/Wrangler/H4 competeitor is what needs to happen. Ford tries to hard to appeal to everybody with every product and they come up short all to often.
By focusing certain products to certain niches they will have a better lineup and better sales because of it.
So Ford: enough with the people movers!! We need more fun cars that AREN'T a new rendition of the Mustang
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Aaron 3:12PM (5/13/2007)
nice save bob you AIDS monkey.
Honda's elite brand, acura can't seem to keep their car lineup in stock, -31.6% year to date.
Fudgeline and Elemonaid sales off what around 20%, close to the what 22.8% the exploder is off.
Midsized SUVs are a waning market. Most of them are experiencing horrid sales.
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MikeOpenGL 3:23PM (5/13/2007)
Ford just needs to get some clean diesels to put into their large SUVs. Jeep does that now with the Grand Cherokee, and it gets fuel mileage in the mid-20, and it's very capable at towing and what not because of the high torque it makes.
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smartmlp 3:26PM (5/13/2007)
I think a point needs to be made. The explorer is a GREAT SUV. I have sat in one and the materials are matching if not exceeding anything the asians can make. It has a lot of power, and although it is a little gas hungry it can tow a lot.
The problem is, it doesn't matter what ford does, most people will not even consider them. They will buy a sub-par product from Honda/Toyota just because their neighbor told them it was awesome, or because of a previous experience they may have had during the 80's.
Its hard to change an image. Just don't be one of these people, and next time you are looking for a car at least CONSIDER buying from an American company based on what they sell. Yes, Toyota, Honda, etc have workers in the US. But the amount they have here is small compared to the 2.5, and in the end most of the money is being sent back to japan where it encounters a huge benefit through the exchange rate process and then goes right into the pockets of JAPANESE shareholders.
We are in a way slowly destroying our own company, there comes a point where you can no longer just import everything. We have to make/run/design/build SOMETHING to sell to Japan. Its really hard, because of the huge tarrifs they impose on the products we sell there, yet we allow them to sell anything in our country for cheap.
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kww 3:39PM (5/13/2007)
The CRV is not built in East Liberty. They build the Civic and the box on wheels they call the Element.
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