2018 F-150 Sales Underway, But Ford Sales Struggle in August as SUVs Decline
Ford Motor Company sales declined 2.1% in August with a total of 209,897 vehicles delivered between the Ford and Lincoln brands. Ford sales were down 2% at 201,189 vehicles, and Lincoln sales fell 5.8% at 8,708 vehicles. Total retail sales were down 2.7% at 164,067 vehicles, and fleet sales dropped 0.2% at 45,830 vehicles.
Perhaps the biggest surprise for the month was an 11.3% drop in SUV sales, down from 73,962 vehicles in 2016 to 66,626 vehicles last month. Car sales were also down, falling 8.6% at 47,652 vehicles, but truck sales surged 9.3% with a total of 96,619 vehicles.
“We continue to see customers choosing high trim-level F-Series trucks for Super Duty and with new 2018 F- 150 orders,” said Ford Vice President of US Marketing, Sales, and Service Mark LaNeve. “We are seeing high demand overall for our F-Series lineup this year, outpacing full-size truck segment growth 2 to 1 with a 15% increase for August.”
F-Series was Ford’s biggest winner with sales totaling 77,007 trucks, up 15% year-over-year. Ford reported that the average transaction price (ATP) for Ford Super Duty pickups shot up $5,000 to $55,000 per truck, and that 54% of all current orders for the 2018 Ford F-150 are for higher-tier trims like Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum, and Limited. F-Series ATPs were up $3,400 year-over-year to $45,600 per truck, which is in part attributable to big demand for the F-150 Raptor performance truck.
Other highlights for Ford in August include a 9.2% gain from the Focus with overall sales totaling 12,850 vehicles, and a 6.3% combined retail gain from Explorer and Expedition.
Through August, Ford Motor Company’s sales are down 4.1% at 1,711,211 vehicles; Ford brand sales are down 4.4% at 1,637,291 vehicles, and Lincoln is up 3.2% at 73,920 vehicles sold.
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