Cars and Drivers

Ford Crushes Estimates on 18-Year High in F-150 Sales

Paul Ausick

Published: June 1, 2018 10:50 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 10:53 pm

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) on Tuesday reported May sales rose 0.7% year over year to 242,824 Ford and Lincoln vehicles, compared with May 2017 sales of 241,126. Passenger car sales fell 13.3% in the month, while sport utility vehicle sales rose 0.5%.

Truck sales rose 9.4% for the month, and sales of F-Series pickups increased by 11.3% to 84,639 units. Total retail sales rose 3.5% year over year in May to 163,796 units, and fleet sales fell 4.6% to 79,028 units.

Total monthly sales compare to an estimate of 215,000 by analysts Cox Automotive. Kelley Blue Book estimated an average transaction price of $40,171, up 4.6% year over year and 0.5% higher compared with April’s average selling price of $39,966. KBB transaction prices do not include applied consumer incentives.

Ford said its average transaction price for the month was $35,800. F-Series transaction prices rose $1,400 year over year.

Truck sales comprised 44.7% of May sales, and the F-Series pickups accounted for 34.9% of total monthly sales.

Total Ford SUV sales rose by 0.5% year over year in May, with the Explorer seeing a decrease of 14.3% and the Edge a decrease of 10.37%. No Ford SUV had higher sales compared with May a year ago.

Passenger car sales dropped by 13.3% year over year, with sales of Fusion down 29.4% and Fiesta up 22.2%. Focus sales dropped 6.4%

Sales of the Lincoln brand slipped by 5.2% year over year in May, as sales of Lincoln cars plummeted 36.5%. Car sales totaled 2,460 units in the month and utility vehicle sales totaled 7,295 units. SUV sales rose 13.7% year over year in May.

Ford reported 73 days of total inventory, down from 86 in May and up from 72 in May of last year. Dealer stock totaled 72 days of supply, up from 68 days in April and from 59 last year.

Ford’s stock traded up about 1.5% Tuesday morning at $11.73. The 52-week range is $10.14 to $13.48 and the 12-month consensus price target is $12.28.