Ford Motor US Sales Down in -3% 2019 as War Worries Increase

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Ford Motor reported today that US vehicle sales declined during 2019 to 2.4 million or a drop of -3%. The middling performance in a strong market came as Tesla’s market valuation reached twice that of Ford Motor due to increasing sales. During 2019, Tesla delivered 367,500 vehicles, an increase of 50%, year-over-year, close to the company’s full-year guidance of 360,000 vehicles and has just announced it will expand EV production again, this time in Germany and out will increase in China as well.

Ford skipped the usual sales press conference but, in a release, touted that F-Series achieved its 43rd straight year as America’s best-selling pickup, while Ranger finished its best sales quarter since its reintroduction in early 2019. Combined sales of F-Series and Ranger totaled almost 1 million pickups at 986,097 vehicles for the year – an increase of 8.4%. Ranger Q4 sales hit 33,059 pickups for the quarter, totaling 89,571 for the year.

However, that strong performance – now threatened by rising gas prices as the result of expanding hostilities in the Mid-East, was not enough to offset breathtaking declines in car segments (-28%  at 486,000) that continue to be dominated by Japanese and Korean automaking conglomerates that are now rapidly expanding into truck and SUV segments. The other domestic makes GM and FCA also saw similar declines of ~3% as the U.S. market looks to be headed for more declines.

Overall, 2019  light vehicle sales fell 1.3% to 17.05 million vehicles, according to AutoData. Truck sales inched up 2.6% and passenger car sales dropped -10%. In total, 69% of new vehicles sold last year were trucks or SUVs. Electric vehicle sales were up 37% at ~236,000 – but that’s from a tiny baseline.