F-150

Make
Ford
Segment
Sports Car

Ford is currently undergoing some significant changes, perhaps the most drastic being the discontinuation of its traditional passenger cars, specifically the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, and Taurus. Instead, Ford intends to focus and invest heavily in what sells: trucks, SUVs, and Mustangs. But the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker is taking a broader look into the future with all-electric vehicles, the first of which is the Mustang Mach-E. More will come, along with other mobility technologies.

Until that happens, Ford has announced its final 2019 sales results and there are a few key takeaways to point out. Despite a 3 percent drop in overall sales, truck sales increased by 9.1 percent. For the 43rd straight year, the F-Series, which includes the Ford F-150, was America's best-selling pickup truck which, combined with Ford's van business, sold over 1.24 million units. In the fourth quarter of this year, truck sales were up by 15.9 percent for a total of 330,075 units, the best Q4 result since 2001.

At the same time, however, passenger car sales dropped by 28.2 percent for 2019. Full-size truck sales weren't the only highlights. The midsize Ranger did quite well with 89,571 examples sold. Overall, Ford's combined pickup truck sales saw an increase of 8.4 percent. The Mustang saw its sales increase in the fourth quarter by 20.9 percent but were down by 4.6 percent for the entire year. Is this just a fluke or a possible sign of trouble? We'll know more in a year's time. Meanwhile, the Expedition continues to be a huge success. The full-size SUV saw its yearly sales increase by 58.6 percent.

The new Explorer and Escape, however, didn't fare quite as well because both were launched only in the second half of the year. Ford may have also made the right decision to drop the midsize Fusion sedan because its most direct replacement, the midsize Edge crossover, saw sales increase by 3.3 percent. It should be noted that overall Ford SUV sales, including crossovers, were down by 4.8 percent last year.

"America's best-selling brand for the past decade is on a roll," said Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president for US Sales and Marketing. "F-Series celebrates 43 years as the country's favorite truck and 38 years as its overall vehicle, and Transit stood at the top of the van podium again. We promised a winning portfolio and that's what we're delivering with more on the way, including Mustang Mach-E, an all-new F-150 and the return of Bronco. It's going to be an exciting year for new product at Ford."

Perhaps the most likely reason for Ford's overall 3 percent sales drop was because two of its normally hot-sellers, the Escape and Explorer, were in the process of being replaced by redesigned successors. That switchover is now over and, combined with those aforementioned upcoming new models, Ford appears to be on the right track.