|
Related Links
Discussion Boards
|
Ford Manages a Gain
By
After months of slumping sales, Ford (NYSE: F) finally has something to celebrate. Before adjusting for an extra day of sales, the automaker eked out a 1% sales gain for December 2004 versus December 2003. OK, so it wasn't a huge triumph, but at least the firm sort of broke a losing streak.
Unfortunately, last month's results may not herald great improvements ahead. One of December's most impressive performers was the F-Series truck line. However, Ford itself admitted that the 12.7% rise in F-Series sales to a whopping 95,392 vehicles may have been related to the looming expiration of a tax benefit connected to depreciation write-offs. The company was optimistic that it would not see a future slump in F-Series sales as a result of the frenzied December buying, but a pullback remains a distinct possibility.
On the car side, Ford noted that December was the first month since January 2003 that its retail car sales increased. Strangely, though, Ford's strongest gain came from its aging Taurus, whose sales grew 20.5% year over year to more than 18,000 cars. The model is to be replaced by the 500 sedan, which showed some progress, although Ford is no doubt hoping to boost sales of the new midsized sedan well above December's 5,700 vehicles.
Perhaps the brightest spots for Ford were its Mustang and Escape. The Mustang continues to garner excitement, and the release of a convertible version should add even more pep to sales. The Escape, meanwhile, is picking up some of the slack from plummeting sales of larger SUVs. Further, Ford's strategy of relatively early entry into the hybrid segment was recently validated by General Motors' (NYSE: GM) and DaimlerChrysler's (NYSE: DCX) alliance designed to catch up in that area.
Looking ahead, Ford is not likely to see its vehicles flying off of dealer lots. But with some promising offerings, 2005 may prove to be a better year than 2004.
For related Fool analysis, see:
Fool contributor Brian Gorman is a freelance writer in Chicago. He does not own shares of any companies mentioned in this article.
RSS Headlines
Fool UK
