Ford Motor Co.’s sales in April fell 5% to 179,658 units. Ford brand sales had a 5% decline to 173,350 while 6,308 Lincoln units were sold, a 13% drop. The model whose sales decreased the most is the Fiesta subcompact that fell 44% from April 2011. Customers who were concerned about fuel economy selected the Focus, according to Ken Czubay, Ford's vice president of U.S. marketing, sales and service. For April 2012, Focus sales increased by 13%. At Ford’s monthly sales call to journalists and analysts, Czubay said that Focus had only been launched last year and so the demand in 2011 was for the Fiesta. But now that the two models are available at the showrooms, most customers are opting for the Focus.
He said that the Fiesta’s volume is currently normal and is where the company expects it to be. Overall car sales fell by 11% while sales of SUVs and trucks such as pickups and commercial vans, with each declining by 1%. SUV sales figures had fallen, partly due to a 20% decline in Escape sales. Ford had stopped producing it in Kansas City, Mo. However, its production has already begun for the 2013 Escape at its Louisville, Ky., plant.
This vehicle will start arriving in dealerships this month. Ford’s other SUVs generated higher sales. Explorer sales increased by 7% 13,419 units. Meanwhile Edge sales rose 12% to 10,520. Ford sold 47,453 F-series pickups, standing for a 4% increase. As expected, this is Ford’s top seller. But Ranger sales dropped by 63% to 1,990 units. For the month of April, no Lincoln model was able to surpass the 2,000-sales level. The best-selling Lincoln model was the MKX crossover with1,882 units, with a 44% gain. The MKZ sedan, which had been Lincoln’s No. 1 model in April 2011, declined 27% to 1,863. A redesigned MKZ will be presented this fall.
