Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Ford sales climb to highest level since July

Ford Motor Co. sold 155,954 units in the United States in May, up 20 percent from April. It was the highest sales volume for Ford since July 2008, when the company sold 161,530 units.

But sales were down 24.2 percent compared with May 2008, when the company sold 213,238 units.

For the first five months of 2009, Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford (NYSE: F) sold 620,303 units, compared with 981,150 units during the same period a year earlier, a 36.8 percent decline.

In a sign that buyers might be coming back to the luxury vehicle market, Ford’s Lincoln division reported that it sold 8,566 units in May, a 2.2 percent increase over May 2008, when it sold 8,365 units.

Sales of Ford Explorers declined 34.6 percent, to 5,315 units from 8,122 units a year ago. Sales of the Mercury Mountaineer dropped 45.2 percent, to 402 from 734 units a year earlier.

Sales of F-Series pickup trucks dropped 22.3 percent, to 33,381 units, from 42,973 units in May 2008.

Sales of Ford Expedition SUVs declined 40 percent, to 3,150 units from 5,252 units a year earlier. Sales of the Lincoln Navigator dropped 40.6 percent, to 790 units from 1,329 units a year earlier.

Ford saw year-over-year gains in some of its car categories.

The company sold 19,786 Fusion sedans in May, up 9.4 percent from the year-earlier period when it sold 18,088 units.

Lincoln sold 1,553 Town Cars in May, up 103.3 percent from May 2008, when it sold 764 of the luxury vehicles.

Ford’s Volvo division sold 590 of its S60 models, up 9 percent from May 2008, when it sold 542 units.

Also Tuesday, Ford announced a summer promotion to draw more consumers to dealerships. Through June 30, the automaker will cover as much as three months of payments up to $2,100, and its Ford Credit subsidiary will offer zero percent financing on select Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles.

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