FORD: A strong finish, thanks to trucks

January 03, 2018 12:00 AM

DAVID PHILLIPS

The Ford brand retained the title of best-selling U.S. brand for the eighth year in a row, and the F series was America's best-selling truck for the 41st straight year.

Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. light-vehicle sales rose 1.3 percent in December, driven by strong light-truck sales. But those gains couldn't overcome a rough year for car sales, as Ford's full-year volume fell 0.9 percent from 2016. Still, the Ford brand retained the title of best-selling U.S. brand for the eighth year in a row, and the F series was America's best-selling truck for the 41st straight year.

Brands: Ford rose 2.4% in December and declined 0.9% on the year; Lincoln declined 17% in December and 0.5% on the year

Notable nameplates: F series up 2.1% in December to finish the year at 896,764; Mustang up 9.2% in the first full month for the freshened 2018 model; Fusion down 8.8%; Explorer up 31%; Edge up 7.6%; Escape up 1.8%; Focus up 9.7%; Lincoln Continental down 34%; Lincoln Navigator up 30%.

U.S. market share: 15% in Dec. 2017, up from 14.1% in Dec. 2016; 14.9% for all of 2017, up from 14.8% in 2016.

Incentives: $4,662 per vehicle, up 9.9% from a year earlier, according to ALG.

DAVID PHILLIPS

Ford's average U.S. transaction price in December was $37,958 per vehicle, up 4.6% from a year earlier.

Average transaction price: $37,958 per vehicle, up 4.6% from a year earlier, ALG said.

Fleet mix: 27.2%, 3.7 percentage points higher than a year ago. 29% year-to-date, down 0.1 percentage points.

Inventory: 630,435 vehicles, representing a 68-day supply. That's down from 659,977 vehicles, a 78-day supply, a month ago.

Quote: "We're really well positioned from an inventory standpoint heading into 2018,"said Mark LaNeve, Ford's head of U.S. marketing, sales and service.

Did you know? Ford's fleet sales to rental-car companies ended the year at 11.1 percent of total sales, in line with Ford guidance. Daily rental sales had been at 11 percent each of the past three years, Ford said.