Ford CEO Alan Mulally with the company's most profitable vehicle: the F-Series. Source: Ford.
Ford (F +6.71%) continues its strong year with its best November retail sales performance since 2004, the company announced today. Ford's overall sales were up 7% and its retail sales were up 9%. Ford's F-Series delivered another great sales month and continues to drive the company's overall performance higher.
Sales of Ford's trucks and cars were 15.5% and 6% higher, respectively, for November and remain 13.6% and 11.9% higher year-to-date. Sales of Ford's utility vehicles were down 2% for November, compared to last year, but remain 9.4% higher year-to-date.
November marks the seventh straight month that Ford's F-Series topped 60,000 in sales. Ford considers any sales performance above 50,000 a great month. Sales of the F-Series were up 16.3% in November compared to last year and 19.5% year-to-date, and are on pace to sell roughly 100,000 more vehicles than last year and become America's best-selling truck for the 37th consecutive year.
Ford's Fusion also had a solid year-over-year increase, topping last year's mark by 51% with nearly 23,000 units sold in November. Sales of the Fusion remain 22% higher than last year despite a supply crunch in the middle of the year.
Sales of the Escape SUV -- one of Ford's best-sellers -- dropped slightly to 20,988, and Focus small car sales were off almost 17% to 15,239. Explorer SUV sales also were down nearly 9% to 13,220.
Ford said its Lincoln luxury brand sales rose 17% to 6,727 on strong sales of the MKZ midsize sedan.
"We continued to see sales increases across our full family of vehicles – particularly with our passenger cars and utilities in conquest coastal markets – helping us post our best November retail sales performance since 2004," said John Felice, Ford vice president, U.S. marketing, sales and service, in a press release. "Fusion and Fiesta were particular standouts, setting November records, and Ford trucks maintained their strong selling pace."
Ford also announced it plans to build 770,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2014 in North America, compared with 784,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2013. Projected production of 770,000 vehicles for fourth-quarter 2013 is unchanged, the company said.
-- Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
