Ford Sees Increasing Truck Sales: F-Series Still A Big Winner

While Ford (F) saw its total vehicle sales decrease by 4.9 percent for the third quarter of 2019, the automaker did see truck sales surge with an 8.8 percent increase for the quarter based on its popular F-Series and Ranger models.

For Q3, Ford sold 309,920 trucks with over 240,000 units in the pickup truck sector – the best quarter the company has had in 14 years. The Ranger sales were also up 6 percent with the F-Series led the industry up 200,000 units over its competitors. The Ranger pickup truck sales were also up 8 percent for the quarter.

The company’s van segment also did well, hitting an all-time third-quarter record at 65,288 units sold. The biggest movers were Ford’s Transit and Transit Connect models up 25 and 49 percent, respectively.

Ford’s SUV category was down for the quarter but still managed to deliver 193,100 units with over two-thirds of the growth in the large SUV segment coming from the Expedition model. The Explorer ST was the top Explorer model for the company while the Edge ST sold at twice the rate compared to the Edge Sport in Q3 2018.

Lincoln SUVs also had a strong sales quarter – the biggest since 2003, Ford said. A total of 21, 354 Lincoln SUVs were sold, up 19 percent over a year ago. The Nautilus and Navigator also saw sales increases in Q3 of 24 and 9 percent, respectively.

Average vehicle price for the company was $37,900 at the end of September, a $2,200 increase over a year earlier. Car sales totaled 77,231 units.

“As planned, this year is a transitional one for Ford as we move from our sedan lineup to an all-new winning portfolio of trucks and SUVs,” Mark LaNeve, vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service at Ford said.

“Ranger sales continue to accelerate and the all-new Explorer and Escape are hitting dealer showrooms now. Our truck, van and commercial business continued to be strong in the third quarter, with record van sales and continued F-Series sales leadership,” he added.

Shares of Ford stock were down 4.61 percent as of 12:11 p.m. ET on Wednesday.