Report

Ford halts Mustang production in wake of September sales dive

View 55 Photos
The Ford Mustang suffered a 32-percent sales decline in September, handing the monthly sales crown to the Chevy Camaro for the first time in about two years. The company also said it is shutting down the Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan for a week as it deals with slower sales.

The shutdown, according to Bloomberg, started on October 10th with production set to resume on October 17th. The Flat Rock Assembly Plant is in charge of making Mustangs, as well as the Lincoln Continental. As a part of Ford's labor agreements, all 3,702 employees that work on the two vehicles will continue to be paid during the shutdown.

"We continue to match production with demand. Mustang remains the top seller in its segment in total and retail sales," a Ford spokesman said.

Last month, Chevrolet sold 6,577 Camaros, up from the previous September's 5,246. That edged out the Mustang, which tallied 6,429 last month. The last time the Camaro outsold the Mustang was in October 2014. Incentives, however, appear to have played a role in the Camaro's victory. According to research Bloomberg obtained from J.D. Power, Chevrolet offered roughly $3,409 in incentives for the Camaro, while Ford's discount topped out at $2,602 for the Mustang last month.

So far this year, Ford has sold 87,258 Mustangs, down nine percent from last year's figure during the same period. That tally, while down from the previous year, is still considerably ahead of Chevrolet's volume for the Camaro. So far in 2016, Chevrolet sold 54,535 Camaros, down approximately 11.3 percent from last year.

Speaking of the Mustang-Camaro rivalry, the Stang edged out the Camaro in our pony car shootout, which you can see below.

Related Video:

Share This Photo X