Ford Second-Quarter Sales Fell by a Third - Shares Higher
Ford Motor (F) - Get Ford Motor Company Report shares rose after the auto maker reported a one-third drop in second- quarter sales from a year earlier, close to analysts’ expectations.
The covid-19 pandemic has hammered the Dearborn, Mich., auto icon.
“Coronavirus concerns clearly affected the second quarter,” the company said in a statement. “Ford’s overall Q2 sales were down 33.3 percent, while retail was down much less than industry at 14.3 percent.”
Ford said shutdowns and shelter-in-place restrictions had the biggest effect on fleet sales in the quarter. Daily rental revenue plunged 94%, while commercial revenue sank 78%, due to production shutdowns.
To be sure, commercial performance did improve sequentially through the quarter, the company said.
“Ford, along with its dealer network, made a rapid shift to online and remote sales,” it said. As a result, Ford's retail [market] share grew an estimated full percentage point to 13.3% - Ford’s best retail share quarter in five years.”
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As usual, trucks and SUVs drove retail-share growth in the quarter, Ford said. Its overall truck and SUV retail share rose by more than a percentage point to 16.5%.
Ford’s sales performance bested that of its U.S. rivals. General Motors (GM) - Get General Motors Company Report posted a 34% drop in sales for the second quarter, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCAU) - Get Stellantis N.V. Report registered a 38.6% fall.
Edmunds and TrueCar (TRUE) - Get TrueCar, Inc. Report predicted overall U.S. vehicle sales would slide about 34% in the second quarter, CNBC reports.
Ford shares recently traded at $6.04, up 1%. They have jumped 38% in the past three months.
GM traded at $25.27, up 1.2%, and Fiat Chrysler was at $10.11, up 2.1%.
