Ford outsells GM in the US for the first time since 1998

[Wretched]

Ford posted a 43 percent jump in February U.S. auto sales and outsold General Motors for the first time in nearly a dozen years as it grabbed sales from struggling Toyota.

2010 Ford Taurus. The automaker saw strong demand from buyers for corporate fleets in February.
Source: Ford
2010 Ford Taurus. The automaker saw strong demand from buyers for corporate fleets in February.
Ford Motor's [F 12.35 -0.06 (-0.48%) ] sales surged thanks to strong demand for its cars and because it was able to grab some customers from Toyota [TM 74.70 1.06 (+1.44%) ], whose sales fell 9 percent due to a massive safety recall. Ford sold 334 more cars than GM in the U.S. for the first time since August 1998, when GM was in the midst of a strike.

Besides Ford and GM, other winners included Kia Motors and Honda Motor. Even struggling Chrysler saw improvement.

February was the first full month since Toyota's Jan. 26 decision to halt sales of eight popular models in the U.S. because of safety concerns. Those cars went on sale again as dealers repaired them, but Toyota's image suffered from the recall of millions of vehicles and congressional hearings on its safety record. Analysts had expected Toyota to see a double-digit drop in sales for the month. The Japanese automaker jacked up incentive spending to lure buyers.

General Motors reported an 11.5 percent increase, helped by new models and Toyota's woes. Susan Docherty, GM's vice president of sales and marketing, said GM won over some Toyota buyers who left the Japanese carmaker due to the recalls. Chevrolet car sales to individuals rose 10 percent in February, an indication that GM it taking some of Toyota's core market, she said.

"We feel we're getting our fair share of the Toyota business," she said.

Mike DiGiovanni, GM's top sales analyst, said he expected that trend to continue into the spring.


Most carmakers offered deals to Toyota customers for trading in their vehicles. According to Edmunds, incentive spending rose 11 percent from January to $2,588 per vehicle. Toyota's incentive spending rose 26 percent, to $1,833 per vehicle.

GM's sales of its Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC brands climbed 32 percent. GM plans to keep those four brands and is phasing out Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer. It has sold Saab.

The industry was expecting to see gains over February 2009, which was one of the weakest months in a very depressed year. Sales over President's Day weekend—which traditionally kicks off the spring selling season—were robust, according to the auto information site Edmunds.com.

Still, winter storms at the beginning and end of the month hurt sales on the East Coast and in the Midwest. GM said its sales dropped 22 percent in the Northeast region. The corridor from Boston to Washington typically accounts for about a quarter of the automaker's U.S. sales.

"Three and a half feet of snow on these cars. It took our dealers a bit of time to get all that snow off here and get the customers back into the showrooms," Docherty said.

DiGiovanni said sales probably would have been 5 percent higher had it not been for snowstorms. That means the gradual economic recovery is continuing despite setbacks in home sales, new home construction and unemployment, he said. Consumer confidence—which is measured by how much buyers spend—took an unexpected dive in February, indicating people are nervous about the economy.

Much of GM's sales increase was due to demand for large new wagons such as the Chevrolet Equinox, which jumped 133 percent, and the Cadillac SRX, which saw sales more than quadruple. Those two models are the size of SUVs but are built on a car frame for better fuel economy.

Sales to rental car companies and other fleet buyers also were strong as companies began buying again after cutbacks last year. Fleet sales generally mean lower profits to automakers than retail sales to individuals. Retail sales for GM's four core brands edged up 7 percent.

Ford had expected sales to climb from last February, when U.S. sales plummeted in the midst of the recession. Its car sales climbed 54 percent as consumers continued to shop for more fuel-efficient vehicles. Like GM, Ford saw renewed demand from corporate fleet customers, which are buying again after weak sales in 2009. Ford's fleet sales surged 74 percent over February of last year, while GM's jumped 114 percent.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/35661890

[cosmo20btt]

Good news for Ford US, keep up the good work. On another point I thought Hummer was sold to the Chinese, not being "phased out".

[burnz]

the big three are doing well with toyo's troubles.

[gunner]

Originally Posted by cosmo20btt

Good news for Ford US, keep up the good work. On another point I thought Hummer was sold to the Chinese, not being "phased out".

The sale to the Chinese fell through, so they're shutting down the brand.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/24/news...source=cnn_bin

[imugli]

Detroit News article

LINK

[Bundy]

Good news, but also a reminder, that these people that aren't buying or upgrading their toyos from toyota, they are shopping else where to voice their disapproval. Ford and GM are happy to take a bite from this, but its not a true representation of them caputuring more market of their own accord.

[Wally]

Those journos must have got brand new % keys. LOL. It was this time last year that Ford reported a 48% drop in February sales, so that means the 43% this time around is still 75% of the 2008 figure?

When it comes to GM, well the % increase is healthy, but once again off a poor base.


Why can't they just show the actual figures so we can see the parasitic effect for ourselves.

http://www.ford.com/about-ford/news-...es-up-43-32079

http://www.ford.com/about-ford/news-...ump-5125-32150

[TUF_302]

Excellent news!, its about time we sold more than GM, no matter what the reason

[kezzer]

Ford will have even higher sales when the new engines come out in the mustang!!! 3.7l and the 5.0l, GM has some serious catching up to do!

[stang01]

with even better products on the way in the near future, things are looking good for ford usa. welldone

[Ohio XB]

Originally Posted by bundy

Good news, but also a reminder, that these people that aren't buying or upgrading their toyos from toyota, they are shopping else where to voice their disapproval. Ford and GM are happy to take a bite from this, but its not a true representation of them caputuring more market of their own accord.

I've had plenty of thoughts about that myself, trying to gauge what increased sales really mean, beyond the improved economic state from last year. Of course sales will be better this year because this time last year was a horrible time for all car makers. But, as for sales garnered as a result of customer's displeasure with the Toyota recall, I didn't really know what to think. Here is what I think now.

Some people say that Ford is only gaining a portion of their sales increases because of the Toyota recall. To this I say "you bet."

It used to be that Toyota gained in sales because of a Ford recall, that sparked people to say "See? That Japanese car is better." Because of Ford's recalls and quality problems Toyota gained sales. Well, how is it any different when Ford gains sales this way?

It's different because it shatters the paradigm. Toyota is the automatic "go-to" for quality......isn't it? Not now because of this seemingly unique recall and subsequent recalls.

Had any other car maker been in Toyota's position the same thing would happen. For many, that previously hadn't thought so, Ford and GM are now viewed as being a better decision when buying a car. Ford and GM have been improving their companies and their products, and Toyota is having very questionable issues. The perception of these notions, and the news on all companies in recent months, is how the car market goes. It's the way it's been, just usually in the opposite direction.

Yes, this is a true representation of their own accord.

Steve

[Luke Plaizier]

Have a go at how this positive Ford news was reported at Drive:

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...ID=68991&vf=26

ie, within a TOYOTA article.

Sheesh. Those guys have no shame. And that's on top of this article that once again states that Ford haven't decided on teh fate of the next Falcon, but it STILL has the headline of Falcon FWD news.....

http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor...0303-pikb.html

The Drive guys are starting to seriously peeve me.


Lukeyson

[vztrt]

Ford takes the sales fight up to GM in US

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...2576DC002044C2

Blue Oval February sales soar 43 per cent as Ford leaps to US leadership contention

4 March 2010

By RON HAMMERTON

FORD, the only top-four player in the US auto industry not to have suffered the indignity of either chapter 11 bankruptcy or damaging safety recalls in recent times, finished line-ball with long-time market leader General Motors in the sales race last month.

Depending on whether you still count Volvo as a Ford brand or not – China's Zhejiang Geely Holdings Group is set to take control of the Swedish brand when the final paperwork is exchanged about May – Ford either beat GM’s sales tally, 142,644 sales to 138,849, or came perilously close to knocking it over, with 137,644 vehicles sold under the traditional home-grown Ford, Lincoln and Mercury badges.

Either way, it was a home run for the Blue Oval team, with February sales jumping a massive 43 per cent over the same month last year – one of the biggest such increases by a ‘Big Three’ player in history.

Powering along on all cylinders thanks to hugely popular winners such as the Fusion, Taurus, Mustang and Focus, squeaky-clean Ford is again threatening to end the long-term dominance of the recovering but still wobbly GM in North America while making life difficult for the battered leadership aspirant Toyota.

Ford estimates its February US market share at 17 per cent – three percentage points better than last year – while its year-to-date sales growth sits at a more-than-handy 34 per cent. However, it still trails GM’s two-month tally by 30,000 units, thanks to GM’s superior January performance.

The big Ford sales gain helped to boost US February sales by 13 per cent, to 780,463 vehicles.

While GM executives would have had collective furrowed brows over the sales performance of its cross-town rival, they would have been buoyed by GM’s own improved volume which, at a 12 per cent increase, almost matched the overall market growth.

Core brand Chevrolet continued its recovery with a 32 per cent improvement in volume for the month, led by 121 per cent growth in sales of its Equinox SUV.

Even Chrysler managed to stem its giddy sales slide, finishing line ball with last year’s February tally, at 84,449 units.

But Toyota, beset with recall issues that temporarily stripped its showrooms of stock and tarnished its image, slipped to third place as sales of its Toyota, Scion and Lexus branded cars, SUVs and pick-ups fell to 100,027 last month.

However, the Toyota sales discomfort was not as bad as feared, with some pundits predicting a 12 per cent hammering before the figures arrived.

Only Mitsubishi and Suzuki joined Toyota in the dunces’ corner, with their sales down 10 per cent and 61 per cent respectively. Suzuki has all but folded its tent and gone home from the US, selling just 1375 units across the 50 states last month.

By contrast, fellow Japanese companies Nissan and Subaru are well and truly taking up any slack, with Nissan/Infiniti sales growing 29 per cent to 70,189 units for the month, and Subaru’s jumping 38 per cent to 18,098 vehicles as its Outback and Legacy continue their upward drive.

For the first time in more than a year, global growth company Hyundai failed to outpace the US market growth, its sales volume climbing a mere 11 per cent on the corresponding month in 2009, to 34,004 units.

It was, however, Hyundai’s 14th consecutive month of year-on-year growth – something rival companies can only dream about.

The other company that has designs on world leadership, Volkswagen, was the third fastest growing mainstream manufacturer in the US behind Ford and Subaru in February, up 33 per cent to 24,427 units.

Honda matched the market growth, with Honda/Acura sales up 13 per cent to 80,671 units – fewer than 4000 units shy of fourth-placed Chrysler.

Ford’s US vice-president of sales and service Ken Czubay said he expected the company’s five-month winning streak to continue, with more new products and fuel-efficient powertrains on the way this year.

“Our goal is to provide our customers with industry-leading fuel economy and performance – and more reasons to shop Ford and buy Ford,” he said.

[jpd80]

The great news for February is that Ford increased fleet sales by 25,000 and retail sales by 23,000
and market share to 17% -I'd call that genuine market recovery, not fleet dumping.

[vztrt]

http://www.caradvice.com.au/60063/20...rds-in-the-us/

2010 Ford Fusion setting records in the US

March 5, 2010 by Tim Beissmann

The mid-sized 2010 Ford Fusion is attracting more buyers to the Blue Oval from other brands than any other car in the US range.

In February, 60 percent of total Fusion sales were “conquest sales” (sales to customers new to Ford) which is up six percent from January and 11 percent on 2009 as a whole.

The Fusion Hybrid – the 2010 North American Car of the Year and America’s most fuel efficient mid-sized sedan – is proving even more attractive to new buyers, with conquest sales of 82 percent in February, up 19 percent from last year.

Ford vice president of marketing, sales and service, Ken Czubay, said the Fusion is on track to post another sales record in 2010.

“It’s extraordinary that a car could set sales records and continue to excel in an environment where overall industry sales in the mid-size segment are down 19 percent from a year ago,” he said.

Sales increased 22 percent last year for a total of 180,671 and the Fusion has set monthly sales records in every month but one since the introduction of the redesigned model in March 2009.

It currently holds a 12.2 percent share of the mid-size segment, which for a long time has been dominated by the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Nissan Altima.

[Ohio XB]

“It’s extraordinary that a car could set sales records and continue to excel in an environment where overall industry sales in the mid-size segment are down 19 percent from a year ago,” he said.

That's something I was not aware of. That's pretty significant.


Steve