Ford Motor’s very own ATM or rather F-Series machine just keeps dispensing profits.
Joining General Motors in discovering just how hard it is to hang on to marketshare now that the Japanese are back to full production, Ford Motor Company’s U.S. sales in December and for all of 2012 were below the overall rate improvement in the slowly recovering U.S. new vehicle market. During December where the market expanded 9%, Ford Motor posted sales of 214,000, an increase of 2%. For the calendar year of 2012, Ford Motor sold 2.25 million vehicles, up 5% as the market grew by 13%.
Nevertheless, Ford boasted that its Ford brand, which ended 2012 with 2,168,015 vehicles sold, was the only brand to top 2 million vehicles in U.S. sales. Lincoln, a “wanna be” luxury brand without a redefining product, remains moribund with December sales of 7,400 or -12%, and full year sales of 82,000 off -4%.
Ford trucks continued to be its strongest offerings in 2012 – with F-Series America’s best-selling pickup for the 36th straight year and 31st consecutive year as America’s best-selling vehicle. Overall, 645,316 F-Series were sold, a 10% increase versus 2011. Total Ford brand truck sales – including Transit Connect and E-Series – were up 2% for the year at 829,477 vehicles sold.
Sales of Ford’s small cars were up 29% in 2012, with 316,006 vehicles sold, and overall car sales were up 5% in 2012, with 760,646 sold. The overall car market grew at 19%, representing 7.4 million in sales. Focus sales gained 40% during the year at 246,000, and the all-new C-Max continues its above average selling rate; during its first four months of sales, 13,309 were sold or leased.
