The strongest May since 2005 for the profit producing F-Series.
Ford Motor Company’s May U.S. sales rose 14% compared with one year ago. It was the best May sales since 2006 for the Number Two U.S. automaker. The U.S.’s best-selling pickup by far, F-Series, had its strongest May sales since 2005 at 71,604, which meant a 31% increase versus last year and its 22nd straight monthly sales increase.
The quality challenged Escape and Fusion both posted monthly sales records, something they have done for four straight months in the slowly recovering U.S auto market. (Read AutoInformed on Ford Motor Recalls 465,000 2013 Models for Fuel Leaks) As a result, Ford announced a 2013 Q3 production plan of 740,000 vehicles, an increase of 10% compared to the prior year.
This third quarter plan includes the company’s recent announcement to add 40,000 vehicles from a reduced July summer shutdown and the addition of 200,000 units of annualized straight-time capacity starting in the fall of this year.
Whether Ford can recover from a series of recent quality gaffs with its now overworked UAW employees remains to be seen. Much of Ford’s quality problems, though, have come from suppliers and bad engineering that is beyond the UAW’s control. Second quarter production of 800,000 vehicles is unchanged.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
