Ford February 2013 US Sales: Biggest Jump Since 2007; Fusion Sales Break Monthly Record As Focus, Mustang Sales Shrink

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) said Friday it sold 195,822 vehicles last month, a nine percent increase from a year ago and its best February in six years.

“As more new vehicle buyers continue returning to the marketplace, our fresh new product portfolio of fuel-efficient vehicles is winning over customers,” said Ken Czubay, head of U.S. sales, marketing and service for the Dearborn, Mich., company.

Sales of its Ford Fusion mid-sized sedan set a monthly sales record, rising 28 percent from a year ago, to 27,875 units. Ford’s most popular vehicle, the F-Series pickup truck, gained 15.3 percent from February of last year, to 54,489 units, the best sales record for that month since 2007.

Total SUV sales, including the Explorer and the Expedition, grew faster than car and truck sales, by 21 percent.

Losers included the Ford Focus compact sedan, with unit sales falling 10.9 percent; the Mustang muscle car, which saw sales shrink 18.1 percent; and the E-series van – often used as a commercial vehicle – which declined 17.5 percent.

Winners besides the Fusion and the F-Series included the Escape SUV, which saw unit sales grow 29.2 percent; the Explorer SUV, which saw a 58.9 percent rise in sales; and the Transit Connect compact panel van, with a sales growth rate of 56.6 percent, albeit to a relatively small 3,610 units sold.

Ford said it will build 800,000 vehicles in the second quarter, up nine percent from a year earlier. It added that first-quarter production is in line to meet the 770,000-unit target.