- Ford sales shrank 4.0 percent in the past quarter.
- Lincoln sales fell 6.7 percent from Q2 2018.
- Ford Escape remains the brand’s best-selling car, with 72,398 sold from April through June 2019.
- Fiesta, Fusion and Flex also grew in the past quarter from the same period in 2018.
SUV sales shrank 9 percent as well.
Ford released their second quarter sales results, and there were some surprises hidden in the number. Overall, passenger car sales were down 21.4 percent. That’s not terribly surprising as the company killed off nearly all its car models except the Mustang. What is surprising though, are the cars that actually picked up throughout the last quarter.
Since the company now reports its sales quarterly, this is our first chance to look at Ford and Lincoln’s performance since April 2019. Both brands fell from the same period in 2018 — Ford by 4 percent and Lincoln by 6.7 percent. However, some models grew significantly over the past three months, and they likely aren’t the models you would expect.
The Ford Escape remained the company’s best-selling car, with 72,398 sold over the past three months. That averages out to 24,133 cars per month, making it less popular than the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Nissan Rogue and Chevrolet Equinox.
Since Ford reports its sales quarterly, we’ll stick with those numbers in the getting down to the individual brands. When we post the best and worst sellers of the month though, we will look at average monthly sales against the other automakers.
See the quarterly sales breakdown by brand below.
Ford: 300,153 cars (-4.0%) in Q2 2019
Even as the brand shifts to crossovers and SUVs, passenger cars remain a significant part of Ford’s sales figures. Of the 624,396 vehicles the company sold in the second quarter (324,243 were trucks), 16.6 percent were car sales. SUVs comprised about one-third (31.5 percent) of Ford’s sales, while trucks comprise the rest (51.9 percent). Sales figures are available for Ford’s midsize trucks, full-size trucks and full-size SUVs on TFLtruck.com.
The Ford EcoSport was Ford’s fastest growing crossover in the past three months, while the full-size Expedition SUV also fared well. However, the rest of the brand’s crossover range slowed. That’s not terribly surprising, given that Ford is significantly updating both the 2020 Explorer and Escape models. Since people are holding out for the new versions, 2019 versions of both cars are suffering in the sales report.
The Ford Fiesta actually sold much better in the second quarter of 2019 than it had during the same period last year. This is the last chance for American buyers to get the least expensive Ford currently on sale, and some dealers are heavily discounting the cars to clear inventory. In the last quarter, Fiesta sales were up to 22,173 cars from 13,061 during Q2 2018 — a 69.8 percent increase. The Ford Fusion sedan also did well, despite its ticking clock, selling 54,668 units, up 24.8 percent from Q2 2018’s 43,802 sales.
It’s not just ordinary crossovers or hatchbacks, either. The Ford GT also sold well last quarter, scoring 51 sales. That’s up from this period last year by 88.9 percent, when Ford sold just 27 GTs. Yes, that still is a low number of cars, but at a starting price of $450,000, that adds up quickly. Year-to-date sales have doubled, from 67 last year to 135 through June 2019.
Ford sales: Quarter-over-Quarter (QoQ)
| Model | Q2 2019 | Q2 2018 | QoQ |
| Escape | 72,398 | 77,277 | -6.3% |
| Fusion | 54,668 | 43,802 | +24.8% |
| Explorer | 35,374 | 56,674 | -37.6% |
| Edge | 33,314 | 35,394 | -5.9% |
| Fiesta | 22,173 | 13,061 | +69.8% |
| Expedition | 21,796 | 14,484 | +50.5% |
| Mustang | 21,625 | 23,264 | -7.0% |
| EcoSport | 21,507 | 17,514 | +22.8% |
| Flex | 7,206 | 5,269 | +36.8% |
| Taurus | 2,390 | 7,893 | -69.7% |
| Focus | 2,131 | 40,055 | -94.7% |
| GT | 51 | 27 | +88.9% |
| C-MAX | 21 | 2,612 | -99.2% |
Ford sales: Year-over-Year (YoY)
| Model | YTD 2019 | YTD 2018 | YoY |
| Escape | 133,100 | 144,627 | -8.0% |
| Fusion | 96,351 | 86,978 | +10.8% |
| Explorer | 88,680 | 110,805 | -20.0% |
| Edge | 64,234 | 68,048 | -5.6% |
| Expedition | 43,569 | 27,934 | +56.0% |
| Mustang | 38,542 | 42,428 | -9.2% |
| Fiesta | 38,116 | 25,359 | +50.3% |
| EcoSport | 34,386 | 23,610 | +45.6% |
| Focus | 12,840 | 75,101 | -83.4% |
| Flex | 12,763 | 10,144 | +25.8% |
| Taurus | 8,121 | 15,540 | -47.7% |
| GT | 135 | 67 | +101.5% |
| C-MAX | 38 | 5,401 | -99.3% |
| BRAND* | 1,189,670 | 1,227,422 | -3.1% |
*Figure includes truck year-to-date truck sales.
Lincoln: 25,940 cars (-6.7%) sold in Q2 2019
So far this year, Lincoln’s sales have actually grown 1.3 percent from where they were halfway through 2018. However, sales are down 6.7 percent in the last quarter, mainly due to the Navigator’s relatively slow sales. Lincoln’s largest and most expensive SUV slipped 13.2 percent over the past three months, down to 4,387 units from 5,053 they sold in the same period last year.
Like the Ford Flex, sales of the aging Lincoln MKT also picked up last quarter. Lincoln managed to move 1,246 MKTs, compared to 730 in the second quarter of 2018. That’s a 70.7 percent increase, which may well come down to livery companies changing over to 2019 MKTs from older cars.
Lincoln’s two remaining sedans are also down significantly in the past quarter. The MKZ dropped 12.1 percent, while the Continental fared worse. In Q2 2019, Lincoln moved just 1,490 Continentals, down 28.1 percent from the same period in 2018.
Two new models are joining Lincoln’s lineup soon — both crossovers. The Lincoln Aviator returns to the lineup to slot below the full-sized Navigator. The MKC, which fell 19.4 percent in the last quarter, is also being replaced by the new Corsair.
Lincoln sales: Quarter-over-Quarter (QoQ)
| Model | Q2 2019 | Q2 2018 | QoQ |
| Nautilus/MKX | 8,187 | 7,242 | +13.0% |
| MKC | 5,956 | 7,393 | -19.4% |
| MKZ | 4,674 | 5,316 | -12.1% |
| Navigator | 4,387 | 5,053 | -13.2% |
| MKT | 1,246 | 730 | +70.7% |
Lincoln sales: Year-over-Year (YoY)
| Model | YTD 2019 | YTD 2018 | YoY |
| Nautilus/MKX | 16,022 | 13,470 | +18.9% |
| MKC | 11,743 | 12,289 | -4.4% |
| MKZ | 8,961 | 9,675 | -7.4% |
| Navigator | 8,856 | 9,115 | -2.8% |
| MKT | 2,488 | 1,242 | +100.3% |
| BRAND | 50,915 | 50,269 | +1.3% |
