October 2014 New-Auto Sales: Ford Sales Down 2%, Lincoln Up 25%

Ford Motor Company on Monday said U.S. sales were down 2 percent in October, to 188,654 vehicles. Ford sedan sales were down nearly 12 percent, thanks to retreats of the Fiesta supermini, the C-Max compact and the Mustang pony car; the Fusion was the only Ford brand car to increase its sales.

“Fusion is an outstanding success story with October marking six straight months of record sales,” said John Felice, Ford vice president of U.S. marketing, sales and service. “Fusion is on pace to break the 300,000-vehicle mark this year for the first time.”

All Ford utility cars except the Edge crossover increased deliveries, led by an 18 percent rise for the Expedition full-sized SUV. Lincoln luxury brand sales increased 25 percent on demand for the Navigator SUV and MKT crossover.

But Ford’s overall performance was pulled down largely because sales of its perennial best-seller, the F-Series pickup truck, were affected by supply constraints resulting from the company's retooling of facilities to build the 2015 aluminum-bodied F-150. Sales of the popular pickup truck declined 1 percent due to this switchover. Ford sales were down 3 percent in September, largely thanks to the same reasons they were down last month.