Soundbites: January 2013 Sales

Ford Motor Company's January U.S. sales of 166,501 grew 22 percent year-over-year – with retail sales up 24 percent. Gains were made across the product lineup, with cars up 34 percent, utilities up 23 percent, and trucks up 11 percent for the month. Here to explain where the gains were made is Ford sales analyst Erich Merkle.

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Cut #1:	"We were up 22% making it our best January since 2006, well before the start of the last recession." :08 sec.
	Merkle says Fusion stock grew in January and sales did too.
Cut #2:	"Fusion was up 65% over last year and it was our best January ever. Consumers really find the design and the appeal of the Fusion extremely compelling." :10 sec.
	The Ford Escape established a January record as well, according to Merkle.
Cut #3:	"Escape was up 16% in January and it was our best January ever for Escape, it broke last year's record." :08 sec.
	Merkle says consumers need trucks to work with and some want them as passenger vehicles.
Cut #4:	"Today's utility is much different then it was years ago, many of them are smaller based on compact car architectures, and are powered by four-cylinder power plants like the EcoBoost." :11 sec.
	America's best-selling pickup, the Ford F-Series, begins 2013 with a 22 percent increase versus last January, Merkle points to pent up demand and housing starts as a couple of reasons for stronger sales.
Cut #5:	"Certainly housing starts and construction overall can be very much a benefit to the full-size pick-up truck segment and F-Series. Also keep in mind that the average age of the truck is really old so we're seeing people that are having to replace some of these aging products." :18 sec.
	Perhaps the most satisfying results of January sales is that they reflect a balance of product going out showroom doors between cars and trucks, according to Merkle.
Cut #6:	"We remain a segment leader in pick-up trucks, it's been the best selling pickup truck for the last 36 year here in America, but what we're doing is growing the car side of our business and that's really what's happening with our new product offering, such as Fiesta and Focus and now followed up with Fusion." :19 sec.