Ford advances as F-series volume tops 70,000 for 2nd straight month

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. sold more than 70,000 F-series pickups in back-to-back months for the first time in a decade, helping the automaker increase its total U.S. sales by 3.6 percent in April.

F-series sales rose 13 percent to 70,774, beating General Motors’ pair of full-size pickups by 253 units. The F-series so dominated Ford’s performance that it outsold the next three most popular nameplates -- the Escape, Explorer and Fusion -- combined.

Across the lineup, Ford said retail sales rose 3.2 percent. Fleet deliveries rose 4.5 percent but accounted for a lower proportion of Ford’s volume than in the first quarter.

“We saw strong consumer demand in April, especially for pickups,” Mark LaNeve, Ford’s vice president for U.S. marketing, sales and service, said in a statement. “F-series has moved past the quarter million sales mark to date -- the strongest start for F-series in a decade -- while Ford brand SUVs are having their best year ever.”

Sales of utility vehicles rose 7.7 percent in April, including a 25 percent jump for the Explorer, as cars dropped 12 percent. Trucks and vans were up 14 percent, with the Transit full-size van rising 32 percent.

“Our government and commercial business, mostly vans and trucks, was incredibly strong,” LaNeve said on a conference call with analysts and reporters. “We’ve enjoyed really steady growth, and we think there’s some more out there for us.”

Sales by the Lincoln brand surged 20 percent, with the MKC up more than 50 percent and the MKX nearly doubling. Lincoln deliveries are up 17 percent year to date, with the freshened MKZ and all-new Continental sedans scheduled to arrive by this fall.

“Lincoln is resonating with women in a very strong way,” LaNeve said. “We’re seeing women flocking to the new MKX.”

The Escape and Fusion both posted declines as dealers prepared for the arrival of freshened versions in the next couple of months. Sales of the Edge fell 12 percent, but LaNeve said the crossover experienced higher retail demand while deliveries to car-rental companies were “down considerably.”

“It’s a very, very strong product for us right now,” he said.

LaNeve downplayed concerns expressed recently by some public dealership groups that Ford has too much inventory. Its truck and SUV inventories were essentially flat from a month ago, and it reduced car inventories by 7.8 percent even as sales of those models declined.

“We have inventory where you want to have it, in the hot parts of the market,” LaNeve said. “We are very comfortable with where we are on inventory right now.”