But Lincoln Hit Hard on Lack of Inventory FordInsideNews.com
February 1, 2013
Ford has started 2013 off with a bang. US sales in January reported a 22 percent increase in deliveries as EVERY non-discontinued Ford brand vehicle saw a rise in sales over the previous year. However, Lincoln inventories hurt MkZ sales lowering the brand's sales.
The sales increase was lead by the Fusion, which saw the largest percentage increase of any vehicle and was a January record. F-Series saw the largest by-volume increase with a 22 percent increase. The Ford Escape also saw a record month.
The Ford Explorer saw its best sales in 8 years, while the Transit Connect had sales rose 47 percent.
Bad news came from Lincoln where MkZ saw a dramatic decrease in sales, most likely a result of inventory levels.
The lack of inventory is quite true. I just did a search at our local Ford/Lincoln dealer and they have 0 2013 MKZs and 5 2012 models they are still trying to get rid of.
Ford's performance is exactly what a healthy company's results should look like - existing nameplate increases - new models gaining traction - and - despite losing 5k in units from the Ranger, the F-Series picked up the slack.
It will be interesting to see what Government Motors will report. I'm not expecting many smiles at Obama's bailout child.
MK Z inventory problems? Really????? What is the date of job 1 for MK Z??? I believe the production began in november!!!!! Why only 471 MK Z sold???? I`m worried. If the next month Lincoln dont sell 3000 MKZ, Lincoln is dead. There will be no 2014 Lincoln models....
And the Fusion.... 23000 sold.... not bad, but could be better... Is the Hermosillo plant working at full capacity? There are another plant in USA producing the Fusion and the MK Z? Maybe is a problem of production capacity . I hope that, with the correct production capacity, the Fusion can sell 30000 units monthly, and the MK Z 3000 units....
Farley mentioned they had a record number of pre-orders for the 2013 MKZ back at the NAIAS. Production actually started in late November/early December.
MK Z inventory problems? Really????? What is the date of job 1 for MK Z??? I believe the production began in november!!!!! Why only 471 MK Z sold???? I`m worried. If the next month Lincoln dont sell 3000 MKZ, Lincoln is dead. There will be no 2014 Lincoln models....
And the Fusion.... 23000 sold.... not bad, but could be better... Is the Hermosillo plant working at full capacity? There are another plant in USA producing the Fusion and the MK Z? Maybe is a problem of production capacity . I hope that, with the correct production capacity, the Fusion can sell 30000 units monthly, and the MK Z 3000 units....
Production just was not able to ramp up in time enough for January. Flat Rock starts Fusion production in Sept, which will open up production for the MkZ more.
not quite that fast for either reliable data nor decision imho, FalconLover:
pre-orders not yet filled will inflate Feb sales tho slowly building inventories will keep off-the-lot sales down ... give it until summer to even out
but
not to open old wounds, the MKC really ought to give them their 18%+ annual sales increase which will make it harder to kill Lincoln (like the Tracer woulda made Mercury) so the next decision point imho is the launching of the MKC;
If all goes according to plan (production shown in NYC, Job1 not delayed) then I can believe FLincMoCo's commitment...until the next decision point...
It's good to see Ford doing so well. But I have to wonder how much of those increased sales for the Taurus, Explorer, Focus and Escape are fleet/rental sales.
not quite that fast for either reliable data nor decision imho, FalconLover:
pre-orders not yet filled will inflate Feb sales tho slowly building inventories will keep off-the-lot sales down ... give it until summer to even out
but
not to open old wounds, the MKC really ought to give them their 18%+ annual sales increase which will make it harder to kill Lincoln (like the Tracer woulda made Mercury) so the next decision point imho is the launching of the MKC;
If all goes according to plan (production shown in NYC, Job1 not delayed) then I can believe FLincMoCo's commitment...until the next decision point...
Mullaly is seeing very close t.he Lincoln sales. He will not give the Green ligth to the producción of the MK C if the MKZ dont sell enough units. The de decition point must be in the next Sixth months. And i dont see a good start for the MK Z
2013 will be interesting - Lincoln is an underdeveloped brand - once it gets the number of models it used to have, it will really start adding sales for Ford. Despite the anti-Lincoln pundits in the automotive press, Lincoln is going to really take off. The new direction is exactly what was needed and more infusion of the athletic look from the MKc to the rest of the lineup will do wonders. Heck, if Cadillac can sell its wretched and stale look, Lincoln is poised to blast off. That new ATS is a horrible product - have you tried to actually sit in the back seat of that thing? I couldn't contort to get in the back seat and I am 6 foot, 210 pounds. Not a lard arse by any means. Government Motors has lots of products with lack of rear seat room - it was one of the worst manufacturers - Nissan being one of the best when I went to a car show a couple weeks ago!
Mullaly is seeing very close t.he Lincoln sales. He will not give the Green ligth to the producción of the MK C if the MKZ dont sell enough units. The de decition point must be in the next Sixth months. And i dont see a good start for the MK Z
yeah
tho I'm fairly optimistic about the Z's prospects,
I might spend most of 2013 (half-)waiting for a shoe to drop.
Still hoping for *some* more activity from Lincoln
& the other half-of-me thinks we MIGHT see it soon
- Bespoke 1.0
- a surprise MCE (or 2)
- 8 speed tranny
- Nano v6
some^ would be very Very good
All^ could even be more than enough
I went to the Lincoln dealer today to get an oil change and walked around the lot. They only had 2 '13 MKSs a TON of MKXs a few MKTs and a lot of Navigators. I asked a salesman if they had any '13 MKZs and he said no and no one does and that they are delayed till March!
I went to the Lincoln dealer today to get an oil change and walked around the lot. They only had 2 '13 MKSs a TON of MKXs a few MKTs and a lot of Navigators. I asked a salesman if they had any '13 MKZs and he said no and no one does and that they are delayed till March!
That sounds about like my local Lincoln dealer the last time I took my car in for service. They had 3 MKS's only 6 MKX's 1 MKT 2 2012 MKZ's and no Navigators. I wonder why such big delays on the new MKZ.
That sounds about like my local Lincoln dealer the last time I took my car in for service. They had 3 MKS's only 6 MKX's 1 MKT 2 2012 MKZ's and no Navigators. I wonder why such big delays on the new MKZ.
Looks to me like Mulally's goal of a One Team, One Ford, moniker is not working at the North American assembly plants QC departments.
Getting them out the door to the sales floor rather then getting them out the door in tip top condition seems to be
the weak link. And it ain't being reported properly at the weekly Thursday meeting.
I cannot believe this is what Mulally's vision is. Maybe he is too hands off in this department and depending too much on his underling to get it done properly.
If there are truly unfilled MKZ pre orders, and those who have expressed interest are waiting an extended period of time there are heads that need to roll in Dearborn. Lincoln can ill afford product launches that are compromised in any way.
...I cannot believe this is what Mulally's vision is. Maybe he is too hands off in this department and depending too much on his underling to get it done properly.
I went to the Lincoln dealer today to get an oil change and walked around the lot. They only had 2 '13 MKSs a TON of MKXs a few MKTs and a lot of Navigators. I asked a salesman if they had any '13 MKZs and he said no and no one does and that they are delayed till March!
Money is being wasted promoting a product that isn't even at the dealership. You don't need a marketing degree to know that if you advertise your product, you better have the goods available when people show up.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Ford Inside News
156.3K posts
16.3K members
Since 2007
A forum community dedicated to all Ford owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about reviews, news, concepts, industry trends, classifieds, maintenance, and more for all Mazda, Lincoln, Mercury, Mustang, Ford models!