Ford Motor US Sales Reverse in September. Job Cuts Coming

AutoInformed.com on 2018U.S. Auto Sales

Ford Motor Company’s September 2018 U.S. sales declined -11.2% on total sales of 197,404 vehicles (-2% year-to-date).

September 2018 was a tough month for comparison because of strong performance a year ago in 2017 resulting from pent-up and replacement demand following Hurricane Harvey in Houston. Although September 2018 also had some weather-related impact due to Hurricane Florence.

Nonetheless, when you peer through the p.r. flak, Ford Motor Company’s September U.S. sales declined -11.2% on total sales of 197,404 vehicles (-2% year-to-date). The only semi-bright spot is that Ford brand SUV sales are running at a record pace this year through September. Expedition turned in a 27.4% gain on record transaction prices of $63,600 as customers opted for more high series Platinum SUVs. Ford and Lincoln cars were a total disaster – at 37,112 in September (-26.5% y-o-y), and 357,278 for 9 months, or -16.6%. No wonder that Ford is preparing to cut white collar jobs but it won’t say how many or when.And while the F-Series exceeded the 70,000-truck mark for the seventh straight month, selling 75,092 pickups in September, year-to-date the F-Series was down -8.8% in September and up 3% year-over year to date. Still, transaction pricing is running at record levels of $46,600 per truck, up $1,000 over a year ago. Super Duty transaction pricing totaled a record $59,100 per truck in September.

Dead-Brand Lincoln was walking at a funeral pace with September sales down -7.2% at *8,168. Year-to-date is not much better at 75,280 or -9%. The flacks claim the all-new Lincoln Navigator “remains white hot,” with overall sales up 77.3%. Ahem, that’s 1,257 crossovers out of a total of 1,886 total Lincoln sales  in September. While Lincoln’s luxury SUV is maintaining a rich mix of high series vehicles – normal on a new model pricey vehicle – this is an expensive hobby, not a business.

 

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.
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