We’re nine months into 2014 and Ford is yet again Canada’s top-performing automaker when it comes to sales volume.
Ford Canada currently has only two brands under its control – Ford and Lincoln – and yet it managed to outsell five of Chrysler Canada’s brands this year, which include Chrysler, Dodge, FIAT, Jeep and Ram. According to Autofocus, Ford was lagging behind Chrysler at the end of 2014’s first quarter by over 7,700 units, but as of April, things have turned around, with the gap being 1,932 units in Ford’s favour through the first nine months. This isn’t a terribly high number, which means that there’s still room for Chrysler to climb back up.
In spite of leading the Canadian sales, Ford and Lincoln volumes rose by less than one per cent over the first nine months this year, though the overall new car market grew 5.5 per cent – or 1.4 million units. What’s worse is that Ford Canada’s market share is down to 15.9 per cent this year – from 16.6 per cent last year.
Surprisingly, the generally-disliked Lincoln is not to blame for this decline since its MKC increased Lincoln sales by 11 per cent in September, having become the brand’s best-selling vehicle in August and September.
In the meantime, the sales of the Ford F-Series pickup trucks rose by 0.3 per cent, or 292 units, in the first nine months of 2014. The sales of its SUVs, such as the Edge, Escape and Explorer, make up for 29.1 per cent of the automaker’s sales this year, in contrast to 25.2 per cent last year.
Which cars are to blame then? The biggest troublemakers in Ford’s lineup are its smaller vehicles, like the C-Max, Fiesta, Fusion, Focus, Mustang and Taurus, all of which are down 14 per cent this September. Focus, Fusion and Fiesta together went down 13 per cent, despite accounting for 24.9 per cent of Ford’s sales in the first nine months of 2013. This year, these three vehicles make up for 21.6 per cent of the brand’s sales in the country.
Despite Ford’s declining sales, it’s ahead of Chrysler Canada, while General Motors Canada has lagged behind Chrysler by 36,000 units through the first nine months of the year.
This is a somewhat grim picture for Canada’s automakers. Fortunately, Scotiabank reported in September that Canadian auto sales this year are “stronger than expected,” with Ford and Toyota leading the way – so there is nothing to worry about, yet.
