Daily Auto News Ford is Big Winner in February Auto Sales
Daily Auto News
Ford Motor Company was the best-selling domestic automaker in February, with sales up 43 percent from February 2009. For the first time in over a decade, Ford just barely edged out General Motors – by only a few hundred vehicles — for the most sales. Many other automakers also posted increases. These include GM (up 11.5 percent), Honda (12.7 percent), Nissan (29.4 percent), Subaru (38 percent), and many more.
But Autoblog cautions that we shouldn’t take the sales increases at face value: “The major contributing factor to so many brands and companies reporting positive sales results in February is the fact that sales in February of last year were so dismal. It’s easy to be in the green when the bar has been reset so low. That said, Ford Motor Company’s performance in particular has to be noted, as it now stands as the largest domestic U.S. automaker.”
Edmunds Inside Line also comments on Ford, noting, “The real challenge will be whether Ford can maintain its torrid sales pace for the rest of the year — and whether its Fusion will finally outsell the Camry.”
Overall, auto industry sales increased 13 percent from February 2009, though analysts predict that the massive snowstorms last month put a damper on sales. “Automakers estimated that the weather cost the industry about 30,000 sales,” writes the New York Times. “G.M. said its sales were down more than 20 percent in the snowy Northeast but up 71 percent in the West.”
The one major automaker that didn’t see an increase is Toyota, which reported a 10.3 percent decrease of sales in the U.S. as compared to a year ago. That decrease can be attributed to the troubled automaker’s unintended acceleration and floor mat recalls, which hurt its reputation and even temporarily caused it to suspend production and sales of several models.
Autoblog notes that Toyota’s losses have had a positive impact on competing models. “The Toyota Camry for instance, long the best-selling car in the U.S., moved 16,552 units last month compared to 20,634 the year before, a drop of almost 20 percent,” they expain. “The Ford Fusion, which has been gaining sales on the back of positive reviews and a mantel full of awards, sold 16,459 units last month. That’s a 117-percent sales increase compared to last year, some of which we have to believe is directly attributable to customers turning away from Toyota and the Camry.”
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