Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales fell 4.7 percent in June, stretching the automaker's streak of sales declines to five straight months, according to the Automotive News Data Center.
But the company said last month's arrival of the redesigned Ford Explorer and the upcoming launch of the redesigned Escape will help sales in the second half of the year. Explorer sales fell 41 percent in June because dealers were running low on inventory of the outgoing version and were only starting to get the 2020 model, said Mark LaNeve, Ford's vice president for U.S. marketing, sales and service.
F-series sales were up just 222 vehicles from a year ago and down 2,740, or 0.6 percent, in the first half of 2019. Ranger sales continued to strengthen in the smaller pickup's sixth month back on the market, but Ford still sold nearly 11 of the F series for each Ranger.
Market share: 14.4%, down from 14.8% a year earlier
Brands: Ford down 4.6%; Lincoln down 8%
Notable nameplates: Ford Fusion up 20%; Ford Mustang down 14%; Ford EcoSport up 39%; Ford Expedition up 26%; Ford Explorer down 41%; Ford Escape down 13%; Ford F series up 0.3%, Ford Ranger, 7,384 units; Lincoln Nautilus/MKX up 11%; Lincoln MKC down 28%; Lincoln Continental up 11%
Incentives: $4,435 per vehicle, down 0.2% from a year earlier, ALG said.
Average transaction price: $37,369, up 2.7% from a year earlier, according to ALG.
Quote: "By the year end, if you volume-weight our portfolio of SUVs, we will have the freshest SUV lineup in the industry," LaNeve said. "You can begin to see the strategy of the shift into a broader, more complete SUV lineup taking shape."
Did you know? Ranger sales have increased sequentially every month until June since the midsize pickup launched in January. In the second quarter, Ford logged 20,880 Ranger sales, more than doubling the nameplate's first-quarter sales.
