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Ford Sale: Behind the Numbers

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February was a solid month for Ford. Our U.S. sales overall were up 2.4% and we performed better at retail with a gain of 4.2%. If you recall, our fleet sale volumes were down in January. They were down again in February, but not as much at just 0.6%. Given the rather choppy nature of fleet sales and the timing of when the contracts are filled, the real number to zero in on is retail sales, which were strong.

As you know, our new focus at Ford is on SUVs and trucks and expanding these segments. In February, our retail SUV sales were up 11.1% while retail truck sales were up 8.2%. Car sales were down 24.8% at retail, which is expected as we continue to move out of the segment. We’re now out of stock on Focus, C-MAX and Taurus, close to zero on Fiesta and Fusion will begin winding down as we move through the year. That said, the one car that stood out in February was Mustang. We’re coming out of the gate in 2020 on top with America’s best-selling sports car, with sales up 68% in February.

Taking a closer look at our Ford SUVs … Retail Expedition sales were up 40.3% in February. Edge retail sales increased 8.7% and sales of the entry-level EcoSport were up 5.3% at retail, making for good broad-based growth across our SUV portfolio for the month.

The welcomed addition to February’s SUV results was the Ford Explorer! At retail, Explorer gained 32.2% – its best retail sales performance since the new model was introduced in the middle of last year and our best February retail sales result since 2005! We’re back in the saddle with Explorer and starting the year off leading the pack. Explorer has been America’s best-selling large SUV for the first two months of this year, outselling Toyota’s Highlander.

We saw big gains for Explorer in the largest SUV regions of the country. In New York and Los Angeles, sales were up 54% and 31% respectively. We also saw big increases from the high-end Explorer ST, with sales up 53% in February. Now… I know some of you might say, “But Erich, total Explorer sales are down.” That is all due to fleet, the timing of the fleet orders and our desire to focus on brand health and properly manage the number of Explorers that are moved through the daily rental channels of our business. The big news here is customers are going to dealer lots and buying Explorers at retail in greater numbers and in volumes that we have not seen in 15 years!

Escape sales were down 16.4% in February, while still early in the launch, Escape is much improved over the outgoing model and we are going to be very focused on the brand health of the 2020 Escape with healthy transaction pricing and more conservative leasing rates relative to the segment. We will likely do some tweaking to find the “sweet spot” on lease rates and model series mix, but we will manage Escape carefully to ensure the health of the brand. The actions are being taken conjunction with the planned introduction of the all-new Bronco family of SUVs coming later this year, both of which will have an opportunity to command strong pricing and residual values.

Ford F-Series and Ranger trucks had their best overall February performance since 2004, which was a record year for pickup truck sales. Sales of the two pickup trucks combined were up 5.2% in February with a total of 72,617 vehicles sold. At retail, sales of the two trucks were up an even stronger 10.2%.

Ford vans had their best February sales month since 1979, with 18,789 vans sold. Transit led the way, with sales up 34.7%, making it the best February ever for Transit. Here’s a fun fact for you … The No. 1 movie in 1979 was Superman, played by Christopher Reeve, and it actually had a “van of steel” in it… a Ford E-350 Econoline ambulance.

Lincoln had an incredible month, marking its best February retail performance in 19 years, with sales up 33%. Overall Lincoln sales, including fleet, were also up at 27.2%. A lot of this is due to the all-new product lineup, particularly SUVs. Overall Lincoln SUV sales increased 30.6% versus last year with 7,867 vehicles sold. Retail sales increased at even a faster rate of 38.4%! Aviator produced another record February with sales totaling 1,978 vehicles. Corsair sales continue to expand as we transition from MKC. At the end of February, Corsair represented 90% of dealer stock, so the transition is almost complete. Combined sales of Corsair and MKC were up 21.7% over last year’s MKC, making it a record February sales month for Lincoln in the small premium SUV segment!

As I said earlier, February was a solid sales month with many good takeaways. However, we still have a lot of work to do. We have room to move on Escape, and we really need to work hard on executing on new products like the Mustang Mach-E, the Bronco family and the all-new F-150. Have a great month, and we will talk again after we wrap up the first quarter of the year.
 
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