Ford Trucks Helped Company Rebound for Q3 2020
Amidst a global pandemic and economic uncertainty, Ford powered through Q3 2020, with a little help from its trucks.
While 2020 continues to routinely punch us in the gut every chance it gets, there is some good news out there. Fortunately, Ford moved a decent amount of metal in Q3 2020. They relied on their tried-and-true trucks to keep them afloat in such strange times.
Buyers flocked to the F-Series, Ranger, and other Ford models over the last several months. Overall, the auto industry rebounded at a surprisingly decent pace. And Ford upended expectations. This is undoubtedly good news for the Blue Oval as it manages leadership changes and major product roll outs.
Ford F-Series Thrives
Ford’s lifeline, also known as the F-Series, continued to sell in astonishing fashion. Retail sales increased an amazing 10.1 percent compared to 2019. That catapulted the trucks to pre-coronavirus levels, a significant achievement. When compared to Q2 2020 sales, the F-Series increased volume by 3.5 percent too. According to Ford, F-Series Q3 sales remained strong due to several U.S. regions seeing an uptick in housing demands. Sales out west shot up 17.3 percent while northeast shoppers increased F-Series sales 17.8 percent from 1 year ago. The southeast beat both of those regions due to an 18.1 percent jump in sales over last year. Ford gained approximately 0.8 percent of the full-size pickup truck segment in Q3 2020.
Ford Ranger Abides
Additionally, customers gravitated towards the Ranger as well. Ford’s smaller pickup experienced an 8.3 percent increase in sales compared to the same time period in 2019. In total, 28,350 buyers ultimately decided the Ranger represented what they wanted in a mid-size pickup during the last quarter. In terms of retail sales, the Ranger enjoyed a 5.9 percent jump in sales over the same period in 2019. A 2 percentage point gain in the mid-size segment probably has the Toyota Tacoma looking over its shoulder.
Combined with F-Series sales, Ford’s Q3 truck sales propelled to levels not seen since 2005!
Explorer and Expedition
Ford’s sport utility lineup fared pretty well too. The Explorer, which launched under less than ideal circumstances, increased its retail sales by 5 percent when compared to last year. Customers preferred higher end ST trimmed Explorers as well. Sales of the Explorer ST totaled a fairly surprising 18 percent of total Explorer sales. That figure represented an 8.6 percent increase over 2019.
As for the Expedition, the news wasn’t so positive. That being said, it’s still doing pretty well given everything that’s going on. With 51,747 Expeditions finding homes this year, sales decreased 16.7 percent when compared to the same point in 2019. However, those figures don’t paint a complete picture of how the Expedition is doing. For Q3 2020, sales actually increased 4.4 percent over the previous 3 months. That’s a sign that the Expedition might have experienced a rebound of sorts.
Encouraging Numbers
Like everyone else, Ford probably wanted 2020 to turn out a little differently. In any event, the company managed to beat expectations and perform extremely well. While the entire industry averaged a 10 percent decrease in sales compared to 2019, Ford experienced a 4.9 percent drop. Similarly, Q3 sales were up 27 percent over the prior quarter. These are very encouraging numbers for a company currently transitioning to a utility and truck-focused future.
Ford isn’t out of the woods yet, but between the upcoming F-150 launch, the Bronco revival, and other intriguing products like the Mustang Mach-E, the company’s future looks assured. Hopefully things improve even further in Q4.
Photos: Ford
