Ford June U.S. Sales Fall 10.9%

(RTTNews) - Ford Motor Co. (F | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), the only major U.S. automaker that has not filed for bankruptcy, said Wednesday that its June U.S. sales fell 10.9% from last year, as vehicle demand continued to shrink in a challenging industry and economic environment. However, the decline is the smallest by a major automakers in more than a year.

The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker said it sold 155,195 vehicles in June, down from 174,091 vehicles sold in the same month last year. For May, the automaker had reported a 24.2% drop in U.S. vehicle sales.

This marks the nineteenth consecutive decline of monthly U.S. sales for Ford.

Total sales of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles fell 11.3% to 148,153 units in June from 167,090 units a year ago. Volvo sales increased 0.6% year over year to 7,042 units.

In the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands, car sales fell 17% year over year to 54,040 units in June, while crossover utility vehicle sales, which include Ford Escape, Edge and Flex, dipped 4.3% to 32,450 units and SUV sales dropped 20.4% to 10,082 units. Truck and van sales declined 6.9% to 51,581 units.

Sales of the Focus, a hot-selling small car, dropped 30% to 12,573 units in June, while sales of another fuel-efficient car Escape rose 1.9% to 15,385 units.

However, sales of mid-size sedan Fusion jumped 26% year-over-year to 18,561 units. Flex sales surged 246.9% to 4,784 units in June, a record for any month since it hit dealerships in June last year.

Ford said although Lincoln sales were lower than a year ago, Lincoln gained market share in the luxury segment in the first half of 2009 compared to a year ago, mainly reflecting the strength of the all-new Lincoln MKS sedan. A new Lincoln MKZ sedan debuted in March, and an all-new Lincoln MKT crossover will be introduced later this year, the automaker added.

Sales of Ford's F-Series truck, America's best selling vehicle for 32 years in a row, fell 7.4% to 35,915 units in June from 38,789 units in the same month last year. The lucrative truck market has been particularly hard hit by the continued downturn in the U.S. home-construction market. However, the June decline is the smallest in the last few months.

Ford also said its June market share increased 3 points from year ago. Ford is obviously gaining market share from rivals General Motors Corp. (GMGMQ.PK) and Chrysler, which are still restructuring under bankruptcy protection.

"We're making steady progress and are firmly focused on our Plan to build a sustainable and exciting Ford," said Jim Farley, Ford group vice president, Marketing and Communications. "We remain grounded, however, given challenging industry and economic conditions."

Ford's June numbers are signs of incremental improvement in the U.S. auto industry, which were dogged by weak consumer sentiments in light of the recession.

For the first-half of 2009, Ford's U.S. vehicle sales dropped 32.9% to 775,498 units from 1.16 million units sold in the same period last year.

Total sales of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles for the first-half fell 32.8% to 745,752 units from 1.11 million units in the prior year period. Volvo sales dropped 35.6% year over year to 29,746 units.

At the end of June, Ford's vehicle inventories totaled 343,000, equivalent to 60 days' supply, down 8,000 vehicles from the May-end level and down 214,000 vehicles from a year earlier.

Ford on Monday raised its third quarter North America production forecast by 25,000 units to 485,000 vehicles, citing tightly controlled inventories and higher-than-expected demand for its products.

Ford has also welcomed the new federal "Cash for Clunkers" legislation that allows U.S. consumers to receive government-backed incentives for trading in older, less fuel-efficient vehicles.

Among other automakers reporting U.S. sales Wednesday, Daimler AG (DAI | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) said that its June month U.S sales for the Mercedes-Benz Cars division, Mercedes-Benz and smart combined, declined 26.45% to 16,271 units from 22,121 units last year.

Mercedes-Benz USA reported a 22.58% decline in June sales that totaled 15,155 vehicles. Sales from smart USA declined 56.15% to 1,116 vehicles from last year.

Chrysler Group LLC reported that its June vehicle sales declined 42% to 68,297 units from 117,457 units in the year-ago month.

Total car sales fell 48% to 15,504 units, while total truck sales dropped 40% to 52,793 units from the prior year month.

Ford shares are currently trading at $6.13, up 6 cents.

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