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Ford March 2018 Sales Up 3.4% Overall; Lincoln Down 2.1%

14K views 51 replies 15 participants last post by  wingsnut 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
http://s22.q4cdn.com/857684434/files/doc_news/2018/04/March-2018-Sales-Final.pdf





Edge is up.

F-series still going strong - 87K for March!

Lincoln stopped the bleeding of the first two months, only down 2.1%, but that's entirely due to Navigator up 90.7% to 1,711 units. Everything else was down (except bizarrely MKT).

----

On a side note - what's the point in having a Monthly Sales Reports section if nobody can post in it? I'd post these there (where they belong, but I don't have access).
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Ford cars are starting to slow their descent. Interesting to see Focus outsell Fusion. I imagine the increased fleet business this month may have something to do with that. Mustang down slightly but they stopped its hemorrhaging as it heads into Spring with the new 2019s.

Expedition sales are finally growing with the new model as retail overcomes their tremendous fleet sales on the previous model last year. Still nothing spectacular here in-terms of sales volume but they should be massively more margin-rich.

Escape is running a pretty big deficit for the year which is something you don't really want happening with the most important volume and growth segment. So far Edge is the only SUV with positive sales growth for the year but Explorer growth is coming back along with EcoSport which should hopefully reverse Ford's SUV decline over the next few months.

Ford's Truck and Van business is massive and growing.

Looks like they can quietly phase out Taurus and Flex pretty soon, those sales are approaching "Other" status.

Lincoln still adding to its sales deficit for the year but at least it's slowing. Navigator has to be making some money for them. Lincoln sedans are really hitting the brakes now, MKZ most of all. It's down by over 1/3 so far this year. Continental is actually settling down fairly well, about where I expected them to be. It's not a growth segment and I would be amazed if it's still in the 800's throughout this year.

With Focus and C-Max about to be stopped, I imagine sales will change somewhat through the end of the year, it will be down overall but hopefully they'll get some customers into other slower selling vehicles.
 
#7 · (Edited by Moderator)
I'm confused what ATP means. I know it means Average Transaction Price but does that means the difference between the average price that customer bought per vehicle for this month compared to this month last year? Meaning at $25,600 difference, it would be last year, customer paid average $60,000 for Navigator but this month, customer paid average $85,600 for the same Navigator with same trimline, options, etc.? Or does it means something else as far as ATP? Regardless, $25,600 is an impressive figure.

Ford is doing quite well this month. Cars will improve hopefully with new Focus and Fusion(?) but the existing trucks and SUVs figures are very impressive!
 
#6 · (Edited)
That's part of it, but it's safe to assume Ford is not that interested in selling tons of these. EcoSport is also something of a niche vehicle, its appeal is very limited compared to the larger and more mainstream competitors. EcoSport is still by far the smallest in its segment while costing the same. It's one of the reasons Ford has never held a press review event for the EcoSport, the car tends to get murdered by the reviewers. It's mostly there to catch some Escape or Focus stragglers, but it always loses out to people who are shopping for that specific segment.
 
#11 · (Edited)
"Ford says it has the highest transaction price of any full-line automaker at $36,300 per vehicle."

Well.....that number is not based on the 'full-line' but more commercial sales of F-Series + Navigator/Expedition sales, which seem to be doing a good job supporting the business until the onslaught of new cars, CUV and SUVs are launched, so they can add to the bottom line in a substantial way as well.

Also, as the expanded capacity for Navigator gets going, Navigator sales should keep climbing.

I expect when the current old Fiesta, Focus, Fusion and even older Taurus models are replaced with new and exciting models, which is what the Ford dealers are asking for, Ford cars will be better able to hold their own.
 
#15 ·
At 3,820 for March, the Model 3 outsold the Lincoln MKZ and Continental combined. It actually outsold the MKC and MKX. Sales of the $35k - $60k Model 3 should reach about 10k for April and could have that one vehicle outselling the entire Lincoln lineup. Model 3 production will ramp up to 5k units per week over the next 3 months, which will have that one model outselling the Lincoln lineup globally. With Model 3 selling at about a 26% profit margin.

Lincoln better be planning for a new MKZ with 300+ miles of range. It's sales are so low today that going EV can only help it gain relevance and future sales growth.

All Lincoln has to do is 'follow the leader'.....

 
#17 · (Edited)
At 3,820 for March, the Model 3 outsold the Lincoln MKZ and Continental combined. It actually outsold the MKC and MKX. Sales of the $35k - $60k Model 3 should reach about 10k for April and could have that one vehicle outselling the entire Lincoln lineup. Model 3 production will ramp up to 5k units per week over the next 3 months, which will have that one model outselling the Lincoln lineup globally. With Model 3 selling at about a 26% profit margin.

Lincoln better be planning for a new MKZ with 300+ miles of range. It's sales are so low today that going EV can only help it gain relevance and future sales growth.

All Lincoln has to do is 'follow the leader'.....


https://www.leftlanenews.com/tesla-model-3-production-reaches-2-000-units-per-week-100225.html

https://www.autoblog.com/2018/04/02/tesla-model-3-first-drive-review/

https://www.autoblog.com/2018/04/02/tesla-model-3-autopilot-review-issues/

https://www.autoblog.com/2018/04/02/tesla-model-3-first-drive-review/

You are overestimating the Model 3 and Tesla:

-The tipical Model 3 doesn`t cost 35000, cost 60000$
-The production of the Model 3 is reaching now 2000 units per week and the entire Tesla line is reaching 4000 units per week.
- The quality problems of Model 3 continue... the exterior assembly and the interior quality of this model is far from the quality and excellent experience of today`s Lincoln.
- Profits? Profits on Model 3? You have a broad imagination, Bloggin.
-The Autopilot is a big fiasco. Is a disaster. It is , even , dangerous. Here a paragraf from the article:" This is not a self-driving vehicle. Far from it. It seems a misleading — or even dangerous — to call it a semi-autonomous system considering the vague amount of automation such a descriptor provides. Even so-called self-driving cars with safety drivers behind the wheel as backup have proven to fail tragically, as we saw with Uber in Tempe. Being lulled into a sense that the car can drive you is a looming catastrophe until the technology has being sufficiently tested, proven and publicly deployed. Even Tesla's owner's manual calls Autopilot a "beta" system, essentially making owners guinea pigs in a rolling laboratory."
-The experience in a Tesla Model 3 is far from pleasant. The unique big screen to control everything is not a luxury experience. Is very difficult to live with it. Here a comment from one of the articles: "A joy to drive, a pain to use "
Lincoln doesn`t need and shouldn`t follow Tesla . Porsche doesn`t either... https://www.carscoops.com/2018/04/porsche-claims-tesla-isnt-benchmark-mission-e/
 
#21 · (Edited)
There is a tremendous amount of volume in the segment and it's growing, but Ford is simply not well positioned to take full advantage profitably. I'm actually still shocked they are doing the EcoSport in the US but I understand their situation is a bit desperate at this point so they can't really wait around for 2+ more years as their car sales dwindle. Ford is also about to go through a massive car culling with the discontinuation of Focus, Fiesta, C-Max, Taurus, and Flex so they simply need products and customers before Wallstreet has another heart-attack. I know Ford would rather not be in these segments at all and focus on Escape and up.

I think eventually we'll have a Ford with some better entries like the Maverick in particular which is going to be based on a revised and beefed up NG Fiesta (the one we didn't get). I'm not sure EcoSport is ever going to be suitable to the US so hopefully it's just a temporary vehicle and will be gone by 2022.
 
#23 ·
The front overhang on the Trax looks a lot worse than the EcoSports
 
#26 · (Edited)
The EcoSport is actually pretty comfortable in the front seat for me and I'm really tall, I managed to squeeze in the backseat as well. It's certainly far more comfortable than a Focus which is knee-banging awful to get in and out of (Fiesta is actually better than Focus). The issue that stands out to me is forward visibility because of the huge A-Pillars squeezing the forward view. I think the only thing that strikes me as odd about the EcoSport is how narrow the interior feels, it's the type of car you bump elbows in. The other cars in this segment are noticeably wider so they don't feel so unusual.

The EcoSport is smartly packaged for what it is but it gives up things like larger 20" 5-lug SUV type wheels for really small economy car 4 lug wheels which means they can retain the small wheel arches and suspension of the Fiesta. It's a car that is more subcompact that most in this segment which are more heavily revised from their B-Car roots. It's smart in many ways because it means they can put much less resources into the vehicle's development and manufacturing costs while adding perceived value through amenities which have a higher appreciate rate by customers than intangibles underpinning the vehicle. That helps to keep margins up on a low profit segment.
 
#27 ·
The EcoSport is actually pretty comfortable in the front seat for me and I'm really tall, I managed to squeeze in the backseat as well. It's certainly far more comfortable than a Focus which is knee-banging awful to get in and out of (Fiesta is actually better than Focus)...
:thumb: Agree &
(inside-elsewhere joke) I was 'derided' for saying that before
 
#33 ·
Could it be a partial reason that demand for sedans is depressed is that so many people (hundreds of thousands) have put deposits on Tesla 3s and are willing to wait ... wait ... wait for it? There seems to be no mass exit by those who put their orders in and their money down ... for a sedan. Just a thought about a dying segment.
 
#36 ·
That's an interesting theory. And it may be somewhat of a factor, but I'd tend to agree more with wings - that its success (in reservations, anyway) is more because it's an affordable Tesla which is a desirable brand, not because it's a sedan, as Bloggin endlessly tries to imply.

I am going out on a limb here and suggesting that a good portion of those Tesla 3 ( i still love that Ford stole their E right out from under them) down payments have much more to do with the fact they are affordable, NOT because they are sedans.
An affordable Tesla - the "cool" car.
 
#38 ·
Seriously....nearly 500k people have paid reservations for the Model 3 sedan instead of a big suv just because it was affordable?? lol

Low center of gravity, platform based battery pack offering near perfect balance, fantastic driving dynamics, sleek aerodynamic design vs tall, boxy, high center of gravity of an an suv. If one has no need to haul a lot of junk or people around on a regular basis, there is no need for the bid boxy suv.

BTW: New Camry(35,264) and New Civic sedan/5-door(32,584) had over double the sales of the Fusion(16,103) for March....is it the market or the old product?

The trend is that younger, single, empty nesters want the the advanced technology, power, driving dynamics, gas free, and quiet performance that ICE or SUV can't offer. And it does not matter who makes it.....it just has to offer what they are looking for. VW is planning on undercutting Tesla in price with global volume.

That's why I expect the next gen Fusion and MKZ to be the electric flagships for both brands. Chargers are already going in at Lincoln dealerships for Aviator PHEV. Ford dealerships are already set.
 
#42 ·
"Farley said the Focus would be more upscale than the current car. He also predicted fewer sales for the car as Ford targets higher margin sales to boost profitability"

So it looks like Ford/Lincoln won't be breaking any sales volume records anytime soon except for commercial vehicles. Not sure how this will work out expecting lower sales volumes.
 
#47 · (Edited)
excellent chart from silvrsvt @ BON


tho
to my eyes, part of the failure last year was not offering a significant new model/drivetrain along with a major appearance upgrade
( thinking BEV or
inverse-PlugIn where the electrics are the major propeller and petrol is just a generator )
((maybe the 2.3EB PLUS all the batteries that'd fit woulda been a better Modern-Spurt?))

(((didn't realize there was a pattern of innovation as WELL AS styling-advancement every 4 years...
...UNTIL last year :crying2:)))
&
((((Look Ma! stronger Hybrid than sucky plug-in sales :surprise2: OMG))))
UNVERIFIED
 

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#51 ·
Question. How is Lincoln still offering the last gen Navigator in China if production stopped months ago? With no sign of the new current Navigator on the Lincoln China website. Did Lincoln dump all the old Navigator inventory into China?

So no New Navigators in China yet. Or is it that they can't get into the country now that the current administration has started a trade war with the world.
 
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