Autoblog

The Streak Is Broken! Ford posts first sales gain in 19 months

John Neff — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:29:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, Earnings/Financials

We'll publish our By the Numbers feature detailing sales results for every brand and automaker in the U.S. later today, but we just had to tell you the news: Ford Motor Company has just reported a 2.3% sales gain for July 2009 versus the same month last year. Why is that a big deal? For one, FoMoCo, General Motors and Chrysler LLC have been on a streak of monthly sales losses going all the way back to January 2008 when GM posted a 2.1% gain. The last time Chrysler reported positive numbers was December 2007 with a meager 1.0% improvement. Ford has gone the longest - 19 months - without reporting a sales gain, its last one being razor thin at 0.4% all the way back in November 2007.

And to what can we attribute Ford's positive performance in July 2009? A number of things, including a fresh lineup of vehicles, new hybrids, positive press and, of course, a little bit of help from the Cash for Clunkers program. Not all can be credited to CFC just yet, though, as dealers only actively started accepting trade-ins at the end of the month. Nevertheless, Ford's entire portfolio of brands reported gains except for Lincoln, which was down 24.3%. The Ford brand was up 2.9%, Mercury gained 6.6% and even Volvo erupted with a 25.7% sales gain.

Of individual models, the 2010 Escape made the biggest sales gain selling 20,241 units, a 94.2% improvement versus July 2008. The new 2010 Fusion also did well, selling 17,610 units for a 66.0% jump in sales. Even the Focus improved selling 21,830 units for a 43.6% gain.

Click here (PDF download) to view Ford Motor Company's complete sales performance for July 2009, and keep your eyes open for our industry-wide By the Numbers report later today.

[Source: Ford | Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images]

Continue reading The Streak Is Broken! Ford posts first sales gain in 19 months

The Streak Is Broken! Ford posts first sales gain in 19 months originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

GM's July beats Ford, Chrysler

Stuart Waterman — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 15:59:00 EST

Filed under: GM, Earnings/Financials

Everyone expected July 2006 sales to suffer in comparison to last year's record numbers, pumped up by huge incentives, but it's safe to say that Ford and Chrysler Group's numbers were surprisingly bad, especially in the case of Chrysler, which reinstated Employee Pricing in July (since extending it through August). General Motors was the last to report its July results, and it came out clearly on top of the Big 3, with U.S. sales for the month down a relatively modest 19.5 percent year-over-year.

On a vehicle basis, car sales were down a negligible 0.4 percent, but trucks and light trucks were both over 28 percent below last year's numbers, as the gas price crunch continues to depress SUV and truck sales.

Highlights (or lowlights) for individual models includes the Cadillac STS (down 39.4 percent), all Saab models (the brand was down 43.5 percent), the Corvette (up 55.2 percent), the Chevy Impala (up almost 60 percent), the Cadillac Escalade (down 34.1 percent), the Cadillac SRX (down 36.7 percent), Chevy's Suburban (down 40.5 percent). HUMMER's H3 was up 24.1 percent, while the H2 dropped 48 percent.

Surprisingly, Chevy's small cars didn't do particularly well even in a summer of high gas prices, with Aveo sales flat and Cobalt sales down 9.3 percent.

[Source: GM]

GM's July beats Ford, Chrysler originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Aug 2006 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Ford sales slump in July

Stuart Waterman — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 15:28:00 EST

Filed under: Ford, Earnings/Financials

Following on the heels of DaimlerChyrsler's report of a catastrophic July in the U.S. market, Ford Motor reported that its sales were equally bad, falling an identical 34 percent compared to the record-breaking July of 2005.

The difference, of course, is that the Chrysler Group results came despite a return of its aggressive Employee Pricing incentive program, while Ford offered less radical incentives compared to last year's Family Plan pricing.

On a brand-by-brand basis, the flagship Ford brand posted the worst result, losing 35.7 percent, while Volvo posted the best news, a drop of only 10.2 percent.

On a vehicle basis, Ranger and F-Series truck sales were down 50.6 percent and 45.6 percent, respectively, while SUV sales were even worse, with the Expedition showing a 57.4 percent drop, and the Explorer and Escape faring little better, at -50 percent and -33.3 percent, respectively.

On the bright side, Ford's July sales were 6 percent better than June's, with its new mid-sized Fusion, Milan and Zephyr sedans up 18 percent over the previous month.

[Source: Ford]

Ford sales slump in July originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Aug 2006 15:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

DaimlerChrysler U.S. sales plummet

Stuart Waterman — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 15:01:00 EST

Filed under: Chrysler, Daimler, Dodge, Earnings/Financials

Code Blue! Dr. Z to the E.R., stat! DaimlerChrysler released its U.S. sales results for July today, and investors are on life-support.

First the good news: Mercedes-Benz U.S. sales set a July record of 21,591 units, up 4 percent from last year.

Unfortunately, the bad news is really bad. Chrysler Group sales were down an astonishing 37 percent in July, to 150,349 vehicles, despite Chrysler's return to last summer's Employee Pricing, rebates and 0 percent financing.

Overall, DaimlerChrysler sales were down 34 percent.

[Source: Reuters]

DaimlerChrysler U.S. sales plummet originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Aug 2006 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments