Ford Motor Company said today that its US vehicles sales at 158,327 during October of 2022 dropped 10% compared to the prior year, which was plagued by low inventory problems. Ford also claimed it remains the No. 2 EV brand behind Tesla in the US, although other automaker results for the month are not yet available. Preliminary data indicate the market grew by ~10%. GM sales were up ~50%. Ford said that Super Duty orders were ~50,000 in five days. (AutoInformed on: Ford – $700M to Louisville Plant for 2023 Super Duty Pickup; Ford Motor Posts Q3 Net Loss of $827 Million)
A look at the sales by model reveals that Ford is now essentially a truck and SUV maker with dwindling car sales of ~41,000 year-to-date. Lincoln sold no cars at all ytd. Mercedes Benz posted a huge increase in sales of more than 50%. The difficulty in analyzing what the data mean comes from what sales were from previously placed orders, and when the US will return to a normal sales environment, which might be undefinable at this time. Ford no longer holds sales calls for media and analysts. Continue reading
US October Light Vehicle Sales Grow 11.4% to 1.2 Million
According to data just released by LMC Automotive,* US light vehicle sales grew by 11.4% Year-over-Year in October to 1.17 million units. While the YoY comparison continues to be “flattered by a low base, as the market struggled a year ago with dwindling inventory, October 2022 had one fewer selling day than October 2021, making last month’s performance somewhat more impressive,” LMC said.
The October selling rate was 15.1 million units/year from 13.4 million units/year in September. This was only the second time that the rate has exceeded 15 million units/year in 2022. The daily selling rate is estimated at around 44,900 units/selling day, up from 44,300 units/selling day in September. According to preliminary estimates, retail sales totaled around 1,016,000 units, compared to 955,000 units in September. This, if accurate, means that retail sales topped 1 million units for the first time since April. LMC converts this to an 87% total market share for retail sales. Continue reading →