Ford Motor Company today said its July sales totaled 180,865, up 9% versus a year ago. Sales were led almost entirely by a 31% increase in sport utility sales, as cars (+3%) and pickup trucks (+0.5%) were basically flat compared to July of 2010.
Year-to-date, Ford brand car sales totaled 430,633, up 24%. While sport utility and truck sales totaled more than 772,000 units.
Fiesta sales totaled 5,296, up 58%. However, the mid-size Fusion at 19,318 sales set a record for the month of July. Fusion has set a monthly sales record in each of the last 11 months. In the first seven months of 2011, Fusion was Ford’s top-selling car, with sales totaling 151,004, up 17% versus a year ago.
Focus sales, constrained by low inventory, totaled 14,889, down 3%. Fiesta and Focus remain the fastest-turning vehicles on the Ford showroom floor.
“Fiesta, Focus and Fusion have put Ford back in the car business,” said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service.
Up to a point that’s true until you get to the F-Series pickup truck with July sales of almost 50,000 units and the aging Escape compact SUV at 24,000. Year-to-date, Escape sales totaled 147,000, up 29%. And the F-Series has been the U.S.’s best selling truck for the past 34 years with ytd sales of 313,000 units.
Sales of the F-150 with new V6 engines continued to outsell V8s in July as V6 engines accounted for 56% of F-150 retail sales. The 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine accounted for 40% of F-150 sales, and the 3.7-liter V6 accounted for 16%. In July, F-Series 2011 sales crossed the 300,000 milestone, with 313,183 trucks sold.
Explorer sales totaled 9,897, up 108% versus a year ago, and Edge set a July record with sales totaling 9,731 models, up 4%. Ford recently announced that the 2012 Explorer, which begins production later this summer, has an EPA estimated highway fuel economy rating of 28 mpg when equipped with the new 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine. Explorer on the highway rating – thus far on paper – bests Honda Pilot and Jeep Grand Cherokee by 5 mpg, Chevrolet Traverse by 4 mpg and Toyota Highlander by 3 mpg.
Lincoln posted a 40% sales increase in July. The MKZ sedan is Lincoln’s top seller with July sales of 2,869, up 80%. Sales for the MKX crossover totaled 1,915, up 33%. Sales for the MKS sedan and Navigator SUV also were higher. With total Lincoln sales of 7,800 units in July, it is starting to close in at Cadillac, which had a poor month at a 11,119 units.
