Ford Motor Company delivered a total of 239,854 vehicles in December, a 0.3% year-over-year increase driven by the company’s best December retail sales mark in 12 years. Retail sales increased 5% with 183,454 units sold. Ford brand sales decreased 0.6% year-over-year with 227,063 units sold.
Big Things Ahead: What to expect from the new Ford Bronco
“December marked Ford’s best retail performance since 2004, with average transaction prices increasing $1,600 for the month—$1,000 more than the industry average,” said Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president, US Marketing, Sales, and Service. “Thanks to strong customer demand for F-Series, Transit, and an all-new lineup of heavy trucks, Ford capped 2016 as America’s best-selling truck brand.”
F-Series sales were the highest they have been for a December in 11 years with 87,512 trucks delivered during the month, up 3% year-over-year. Sales of the Transit (13,056 units, up 4.1%) and E-Series (4,753 units, up 27.7%) helped deliver Ford vans their best December performance ever with a total of 22,302 units sold.
For December, sales of Ford trucks were up 3.2% at a total of 111,883 units delivered. For the whole of 2016, sales increased 6.5% over 2015 with a total of 1,077,006 trucks and vans delivered. Sales of the F-Series accounted for 820,799 units of that number, up 5.2% and good for the F-Series’ 40th year as the best-selling truck in America.
Ford SUV sales were up 4.6% for the month of December. Sales of the Explorer increased 0.7% at 19,030 units, sales of the Edge rose 23.7% at 12,691 units, sales of the Expedition were up 29.7% at 5,259 units, and sales of the Flex were up 78.1% at 3,090 units. For the whole year, Ford SUV sales were up 4.3% with 772,667 units sold, led by triple-digit sales for the Escape, Explorer, and Edge.
Ford car sales were down 14.4% in December and down 14% for the full year. At the end of 2016, the Mustang, Focus, and Fusion all achieved triple-digit sales.
Overall, sales of Ford-branded vehicles were down 0.4% in 2016 at 2,502,973 units delivered. Still, the total was more than enough to secure the Blue Oval the title of best-selling brand in America over Toyota and Chevrolet.
What’s New for 2017: See how the new Ford Mustang gets even better in the New Year
The News Wheel is a digital auto magazine providing readers with a fresh perspective on the latest car news. We’re located in the heart of America (Dayton, Ohio) and our goal is to deliver an entertaining and informative perspective on what’s trending in the automotive world. See more articles from The News Wheel.