George S. May Business Blog

Ford’s January numbers deceivingly impressive

The Wall Street Journal reports that Ford’s sales did very very well last month, despite all of the negative news Americans have gotten surrounding retail.

While the news sounds great, I must remind that boosted Ford and GM numbers could have been a bit expected as Toyota was forced to shut down sales of eight top models.

From WSJ:

Ford Motor Co. posted a 25% increase in January U.S. light-vehicle sales as fleet sales more than doubled and overshadowed a 5% drop in retail business.

General Motors Co., meanwhile, said its sales increased 14% to 146,315.

Ford’s prior-year fleet sales were depressed as the financing crisis was at its peak. And the retail weakness wasn’t unexpected, since Ford last week predicted a decline because of the loss of government incentives and tax credits.

Ford put its U.S. market share at approximately 16% for January—about two percentage points higher than a year earlier. The growth marks the 15th time in 16 months Ford has seen an increase.

Some analysts had predicted Ford would post its best month for market share since May 2006, in part because of an expected decline from Toyota Motor Corp., which halted sales of eight of its top-selling vehicles because of concerns about sticking gas pedals. The recall also led Ford to temporarily halt production of a commercial vehicle in China.

Honda Motor Co. said its January U.S. sales rose 2.9% to 67,479 vehicles, led by the Accord and Civic. The Japanese auto maker’s light-truck sales fell 11% to 22,611.

Auto makers are benefiting from an improved economy and easy year-to-year comparisons, and the Detroit Three should see a big bump in U.S. market share from last January, according to car-shopping Web site Edmunds.com.

On Tuesday, Ford reported U.S. company-wide light-vehicle sales were 116,277, compared with 93,041 a year earlier. There were 24 selling days in January, two fewer than last year.

Ford, Lincoln and Mercury car sales rose 43%, while crossovers increased 20% and sport-utility vehicles rose 8.2%. Truck and van sales jumped 14%.

Ford, the only U.S. auto maker to avoid bankruptcy protection amid the economic downturn, on Thursday reported its second profitable quarter in a row and posted its first annual profit in four years, helped by rising sales, firmer pricing and lower costs. While results have improved recently, Ford still faces a fragile recovery in the U.S. and Europe, as well as a high debt load

Related posts:

1. Ford will build all new 2011 Police Interceptor               Ford has just announced that it will be introducing a new car for police: the 2011 Police...


2. Ford rakes in nearly $1 billion in Q3 Much to the surprise of many, Ford posted some very nice numbers in their third quarter report. In terms of net income, Ford put up...


3. Ford dumps $450 million more into converting Michigan Assembly Plant Ford has made public its plans to throw $450 million at Michigan Assembly Plant and its electric vehicle plan, set to begin in Michigan in...


4. Ford Motor Co: Geely is the leading bidder In a press release from Ford Motor Co., the world’s fourth-largest automaker announced that Geely has emerged as a front runner. Ford has had Volvo...


5. Ford’s (Safety) Probe This model year will not be remembered as the year of great automobile safety. In fact, this has been on of the worst years in...