A basic family car is a winner for Ford.
Ford Motor Company reported today that November sales were even when compared with 2008. While car sales were up 14% and crossovers were up 26% for the month, total sales of 118,536, equaled year-ago levels.
Significant drops averaging -20% in sport utility, truck and van segments, where Ford is still heavily invested, essentially canceled the crossover and car increases.
In bright spots, Ford Fusion set a full year sales record, year-to-date 2009 sales are 161,819. The previous full-year record, set in 2007, was 149,552.
Other Ford, Lincoln and Mercury cars posting increases included Ford Focus (+24%) and Mercury Milan (+40%).
However, Lincoln sales dropped 20% from year ago levels, led by a stunning decrease of 69% for the aging Town Car to 454 vehicles compared with 1,454. The MKS was off 27% and the Navigator dropped 20% compared to what were already depressed levels a year ago.
No surprise given the weakness of the market that Ford’s fourth quarter production plan is unchanged from the previous forecast of 570,000 vehicles.
Year to date, at 1,497,668 vehicles From Motor sales are off -19% and the seasonally adjusted annual selling rate appears stuck at under 11 million units.
Ford plans to build 550,000 vehicles in the first quarter 2010, an increase of 201,000 units (58%) compared with the first quarter 2009.
This is interpreted as cautious optimism on the part of executives who maintain that the market is, slowly, coming back to higher levels, but is still nowhere near the 15-17 million annual sales the industry was used to before the financial meltdown last September.