DEARBORN, Mich. – Despite strong crossover demand, Ford’s July sales fell 19 percent to 195,245 units.
“We are encouraged by the progress we have made and consumers’ response to our new products,” said Mark Fields, Ford’s President of the Americas. “At the same time, we know we have a lot of work to do, and July is a sobering reminder of the economic competitive challenges we face.”
Ford’s Big Three counterparts reported similar results. GM dropped 18.5 percent to 320,935 units, while DaimlerChrysler was down 9 percent to 156,314.
“We expected the month would provide a tough year-over-year comparison since in July 2006 industry sales were exceptionally strong and we were aggressively liquidating past model year inventories,” said Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North American Sales, Service and Marketing.
Toyota, which has been encroaching on GM for the title of number one automaker, also reported a slip in sales. Toyota sold 196,917 units, a 4.5 percent decrease from July 2006.
“The industry stumbled this month, on continued housing weakness,” said Jim Lentz, Toyota Motor Sales executive vice president. Lentz added that the demand for hybrids and crossovers was “reassuring.”