Good Times, Bad Times: Ford Sales Doing Good Despite a Dip
F-Series begins year as a bestseller, Explorer posts gains while overall U.S. sales declined 12.5%.
Ford Motor Company reports that its overall inventory levels remain in good shape during a period of production downtime and lower industry sales.
Amid multiple state stay-at-home orders, Ford’s overall Q1 sales declined 12.5%.
The good news is that with sales of 186,562 pickups, F-Series begins the year as America’s best-selling vehicle, although sales are down 13.1%.
“The decline is explained by the timing of our fleet sales and weaker retail sales in March due to coronavirus,” said Ford in a press statement.
Ford overall van sales total 54,499 vans– up 5.7%. As America’s best-selling van, Transit sales increase 15.7% on sales of 36,836 vans for the quarter –the best sales start since its launch in 2014.
Ford 
The Ford Explorer begins the year as America’s best-selling midsize SUV on sales of 56,310 vehicles.
Q1 retail sales of the all-new Ford Explorer increase 10.5%, while ST Explorer retail sales gain 32%bover year ago.
Overall Ford brand SUV sales are down 12.7% in Q1.
Also See: Ford F-Series Extends Best-selling Pickup Streak to 43 Years
Ford’s performance lineup of vehicles saw strong gains. Mustang begins the year with sales of 18,069 vehicles, representing a 6.8% gain, while GT350/Shelby GT500 sales doubled.
Lincoln Q1 retail sales increase 6.9%, while Lincoln total sales expand 2.3%
Led by Aviator, Lincoln SUVs expand 12.2% at retail on new product introductions.
Overall Lincoln SUV sales totaled 20,516 vehicles, representing an increase of 6.1%. Lincoln Corsair sales expand as inventory transitions from MKC.
Corsair completed its transition from MKC at the end of Q1. Combined Corsair and MKC retail sales are up 3.8%, compared to MKC volumes a year ago.
