Ford U.S. Sales Fall 3.2 Percent
Tuesday January 4, 12:39 pm ET
Ford U.S. Sales Drop 3.2 Percent in December As Truck Demand Falls Sharply
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Ford Motor Co., the nation's second-largest automaker, on Tuesday posted a 3.2 percent drop in U.S. vehicle sales for December, as car sales fell slightly while truck demand plunged despite the popularity of its F-Series pickups.
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The company sold 292,822 Ford, Mercury and Lincoln vehicles in December, down from 291,233 automobiles in the year-ago period, after adjusting for the number of selling days. Car sales fell to 83,200 from 80,763 units -- an 0.8 percent decrease after accounting for one extra selling day -- as truck sales tumbled 4.1 percent to 209,622 from 210,470 vehicles.
Ford's results were lifted by a surge in demand for Ford-brand cars, with sales rising 13 percent to 59,280 units. Its Taurus model led car sales, adding 20.5 percent to 18,295 units, as Mustang sales gained 8.9 percent to 13,342.
Meanwhile, Ford-brand truck sales slipped 1.1 percent to 186,314, despite sales of F-Series vehicles climbing 12.7 percent to 95,392.
Sales of Lincoln-brand vehicles sank 15.1 percent to 12,642 units, hurt by sharply lower sales of both Lincoln cars and trucks. Mercury vehicle sales plunged 10.3 percent to 14,915 on weak car and truck demand.
In recent activity, shares of Ford declined 5 cents to trade at $14.66 on the New York Stock Exchange.
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