Ford Motor Co. stunned many last week when it announced plans to phase out most of its North American car line so it could focus on trucks and SUVs, but Baton Rouge auto dealers say they’re not surprised.
Both Matt McKay, chairman and CEO of All Star Automotive Group, and Mike Hollingsworth, general manager of Hollingsworth Richards Ford, say customer preferences have shifted in recent years away from traditional sedans to trucks and sport utility vehicles, though neither provided local sales figures.
“The shift away from cars is not ‘Ford specific,’” Hollingsworth says via email. “All auto manufacturers are seeing this purchasing trend among consumers.”
Year-over-year April sales figures released by Ford Motor Co. Tuesday explain why the company is making such deep cuts to its lineup, eliminating models like the Taurus sedan and Fiesta compact car from the lineup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The phase-out does not include Ford’s Mustang sports car and crossover vehicles.
Still, total passenger-car deliveries plunged 15% last month, with sales of its Fusion sedan—a popular brand a few years ago—tumbling by 23%, Bloomberg reports. Overall April sales were down 4.5%, though the increasing popular F-Series pickup trucks helped the automaker slightly beat analysts expectations of a 5% falloff in sales.
Ford says the lineup change will make it more competitive in a fast-changing market. Hollingsworth agrees.
“Ford’s decision to downsize their car lineup is a good one as consumer preference has shifted to crossovers, SUVs and trucks,” he says. “This, along with the ever-popular Mustang and Focus active crossover will give Ford’s customers a great cross-section of what they desire.”
McKay says the shift in consumer purchasing preferences has been apparent for two to three years.
“We saw this coming,” he says.
