Ford Sales Turn the Tide in March Thanks to F-Series, Record Month for SUVs
Ford Motor Company reversed course in March, delivering a 3.4% year-over-year increase in sales with 244,306 vehicles delivered. Ford brand sales rose 3.6% at 234,954 vehicles delivered, driven by big months for Blue Oval SUVs and trucks.
“March represented a strong start to the spring selling season for both Ford and the industry,” said Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president, US Marketing, Sales, and Service. “We saw incredible demand for our trucks and SUVs, selling over 87,000 F-Series pickups. Ford brand SUVs established a new sales record in March. Demand for our all-new Lincoln Navigator is off the charts, with some customers buying the SUV sight unseen.”
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Ford F-Series sales were up 7% at 87,011 trucks delivered—its highest March total since 2000—bringing first-quarter growth to 4.3% at 214,191 trucks delivered. F-Series average transaction prices (ATPs) were also up, rising $1,700 from 2017 to $46,800 per truck. An 8.7% increase for E-Series and 8.3% increase for Transit helped to drive an overall 6.7% increase in Ford truck sales, totaling 109,276 trucks and vans delivered.
Ford SUV sales totaled 75,678 delivered, up 7.3% year-over-year and good for a new March record. EcoSport sales totaled 3,296 vehicles, Edge sales rose 18.7% at 13,919 vehicles, and Explorer sales rose 3.9% at 21,020 vehicles. The all-new Expedition also saw its sales rise, up 3.3% at 5,653 delivered, while turning from dealer lots in just 17 days and seeing an $11,500 increase in ATPs.
Ford car sales fell 7% at exactly 50,000 delivered. Focus sales grew 11.8% at 16,137 delivered, and Ford GT deliveries for the month totaled 15.
Lincoln sales fell 2.1% with a total of 9,352 vehicles delivered. Despite the continued downward trend overall, the Lincoln Navigator continued its upswing with a 90.7% increase in total sales, 101.6% increase in retail sales, and $25,600 increase in ATPs.
Through the first quarter of 2018, Ford’s sales are down 2.9% at 599,581 vehicles delivered. Ford brand sales are down 2.2% at 577,119 vehicles, and Lincoln sales are down 17.1% at 22,462 vehicles.
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