Click on
to hear audio. Use right mouse click to download.
Ford Motor Company posted a 14 percent increase in February U.S. sales versus year-ago levels, with 179,119 vehicles sold; retail sales increased 19 percent. According to Erich Merkle, Ford Sales Analyst, the Ford brand was up 14 percent, while Lincoln posted a 16 percent increase versus year-ago levels.
Click on to hear audio. Use right mouse click to download.
| Cut #1: | “Look at cars, we were up 16%, and trucks up 20%, so it was a really nice gain across many of our vehicle lines.” :12 sec. |
| As the fuel prices continue to rise, so does the demand for Ford’s smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles. | |
| Cut #2: | “ We saw consumers continue as the month progressed to move towards these smaller vehicles more fuel efficient offerings, and the Focus is a reflection of that. Focus sales were up 115% they were up over 120% in California, and it makes California our best-selling state for Focus sales.” :21 sec. |
| However, America’s top-selling vehicle for 30 years, the Ford F-Series posted a 26 percent increase, in spite of high prices at the pump. | |
| Cut #3: | “The F-series performed very well, and we’re very pleased, there’s a high demand out there for EcoBoost which was 43 percent of our retail sales mix for F-150, total V-6 engine take-rate was 57 percent, and that includes the 3.7 liter V-6 for the F-150. So the fact that we’ve had such an emphasis and we’ve done so much work in the area of advancing fuel economy with EcoBoost is really paying off for us, particularly in this environment as gas prices are moving higher.” :35 sec. |
| According to Merkle, Ford plans to add a second shift to the Michigan Assembly plant come this spring, where the Focus is assembled. | |
| Cut #4: | “Certainly there is a lot of demand out there for Focus. We’re seeing demand particularly from California. In fact they buy more small cars in the state of California than any other state in the country. So the fact that we’re making great inroads with our small cars like the Focus, in California, really bodes well for the future of Focus.” :21 sec. |
| Ford Motor Company’s North American production plan is to build 730,000 vehicles in the second quarter of 2012, up 3 percent (20,000 vehicles) compared with the second quarter of 2011. |