Ford Motor Co. said its U.S. new vehicle sales in the third quarter came in lower than the year-ago period due to phasing out two popular small SUVs – Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair – and lowering production of the all-electric Mustang Mach-E to account for lower demand for EVs after a federal tax incentive went away last fall.
But the automaker pointed to continued strength in sales of its full-sized pickups and large SUVs to offselt the loss of the Escape and Corsair, noting that this year is a product lull for the company, but it is investing in new product and by 2029 about 80% of the company's entire lineup will be new or refreshed vehicles.
The Dearborn-based automaker said on Oct. 2 its U.S. new car sales totaled 509,764 vehicles, down
6.6% from the year-ago quarter. For the year through the end of September, Ford has sold 1,516,279, down 8.6% compared with the same time a year ago.
Adjusting for Escape and Corsair, Ford’s total vehicle sales volume in the third-quarter was essentially unchanged compared with an industry decline of about 1%, Ford said.
"Overall, sales were relatively flat from a year ago," Rob Kaffl, Ford's director of U.S. sales and dealer relations, said during an Oct. 2 morning call with reporters.
The main results
In the quarter, Lincoln sales plummeted 18% to 19,488 vehicles sold. Ford brand sales dropped 6% to 490,276 vehicles sold.
Ford reported sales of its profit-making F-Series came in at 203,707 units sold in the quarter, down 1.9%. Kaffl said sales of the F-Series pickup maintains a lead over the Chevrolet Silverado, so while “we’re not spiking the ball," Ford is on track to hit a 50th year of truck sales leadership.
General Motors reported on Oct. 1 its third quarter U.S. new car sales declined 5.5% compared to the year-ago period, attributing the slip from the same quarter last year to a smaller-than-anticipated electric vehicle market and discontinued models. GM sold 670,974 vehicles in the quarter.
Stellantis also reported its quarterly sales on Oct. 1 and indicated it had about a 0% change in sales compared with the same time period a year ago. From July 1 to Sept. 30, Stellantis sold 324,277 vehicles. A year ago, the company sold about 600 more vehicles.
Kaffl said Ford has kept its incentive spending on retail car sales low. The automaker also has been pulling back on its sales to daily rental fleet customers to shift focus on selling more vehicles to the more profitable commercial fleet customers.
He said new vehicle production was up 5% in the quarter, with much of that increase directed at the F-Series Super Duty as Ford is slowly bringing on extra production of the truck at Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario, Canada. The Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville and Ohio Assembly Plant in Sheffield, Ohio, also make the heavy-duty trucks.
Kaffl said despite production headwinds on Ford's pickups earlier this year, Ford is now positioned for a strong fourth quarter.
“If I get one phone call every day its about wanting more production," Kaffl said, noting that Ford has "healthy stock" going into the fourth quarter.
Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer at USA TODAY Co. who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
“If I get one phone call every day its about wanting more productions.” Have healthy stock going into Q4
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford reports Q3 U.S. sales lower than year ago, but signals strong Q4
