WASHINGTON: Ford Motor Co on Monday posted a 1.3 per cent fall in fourth-quarter vehicle sales as soft demand for passenger cars outweighed higher sales of pick-up trucks.
Ford’s figures rounded off US automakers’ sales for 2019, with passenger cars falling out of favour with buyers amid lower oil prices and as automakers focused on SUVs and pick-ups that are more profitable.
Total US light-vehicle sales fell by about 1 per cent from 2018, but still finished above 17 million vehicles for the fifth consecutive year.
Discounts during the key holiday season and lower interest rates helped pushed sales of Ford’s trucks to 330,075 in the quarter, up from 284,859 trucks a year earlier.
However, passenger car sales at the company declined 41 per cent to 63,400 cars. The No 2 US automaker said it sold 601,862 vehicles in the quarter, compared with 609,693 vehicles a year earlier. Shares of the company fell as much as 1.6 per cent, while shares of No 1 US automaker General Motors Co declined 1.4 per cent.
Ford sold 896,526 full-size pickup trucks in 2019, outselling rival General Motors Co, which sold 802,962 pickups during the year. — Reuters
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