Ford Sales Close In On GM In September, But Lincoln Dies

Ford Motor (NYSE: F) wants to be the No.1 car company in America. It came close in September. Ford’s sales rose 46% to 160,873. GM’s units sold rose 22% to 172,969.

Ford’s sales were in large part due to the success of its iconic pick-up truck, the F-series. The company sold 47,433 F-series units in September, up 40% over the previous month. The Focus and Fusion continued to sell well, up to 13,587 and 15,918 respectively. Those increases were close to 50%.

Lincoln sales were awful, a sign that management will probably not be able to turn the brand around. Lincoln sales were 7,150 up 26%. Sales of its flagship Navigator SUV were only 603. If Ford owned GM’s high end Cadillac brand, it would have a complete line of vehicles.

GM’s Cadillac posted a total of 12,620 sales in September. This is an 11% increase from a year ago, and the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains for the brand. For the third quarter of 2010, total sales were up 65% over 2009.  Cadillac may the fastest-growing luxury brand in the U.S.  so far this year. Brand sales are up 44% and Cadillac has gained more than 2% points of market share in the luxury segment. It sales still struggle compared to Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes.

Douglas A. McIntyre