Ford Motor Company : Soundbites: December 2011 Sales

Ford brand 2011 U.S. sales increased 17 percent, totaling 2,062,915 vehicles, sealing the brand's first three-point market share gain over three consecutive years since 1970. Total Ford Motor Company sales for the year increased to 2,148,806 vehicles, up 11 percent for the year. Erich Merkle, Ford sales analyst, says the year ended on a high note.

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"If you take a look at the Ford brand, for instance, it was up over 17 percent. It came in at over 2-million units, almost 2.1 million units for the year. We are really the first brand to break through the 2-million unit barrier, that's has been in place since 2007." :19 sec.
	Merkle says small car, utilities and truck sales drove Ford's marketplace performance in 2011. Small car sales were up 25 percent in 2011 with 244,291 cars sold.
"We had about a 25% increase last year in small car sales, which would encompass things like the Focus and Fiesta, in fact our share percentage in the segment was up a full percentage point that is a share we haven't seen since 2003, so we're certainly doing very well in the small car segment with our new product offerings." :23 sec.
	Ford Fusion had a record year with 248,067 vehicles sold.
"Ford Fusion continues to set records, if we take a look at the year for the Fusion. We ended the year a little over 248-thousand vehicles. That is up 13 percent from last year which was a record year." :15 sec.
	Merkle talked about the future and what to expect in 2012.
"When we take a look at sales in December and November and we also look at the retail component of sales, it's very encouraging, we've probably had some of the strongest months of the year as we finished out 2011, so that bodes very well, actually, as we go into 2012 and certainly as we go into the first quarter of the year." :23 sec.
	Merkle says Ford F-series pick-ups, totaled 585-thousand units in 2011. It is the only name plate to exceed the 500 thousand unit mark in 2011 and it has been the best-selling truck for 35 years straight, it's been the best-selling vehicle in America for 30 years. Merkle says the EcoBoost powertrain has proven to be a big hit with consumers.
"We've sold almost 110-thousand F-150 pickup trucks equipped with EcoBoost this year. We're very pleased as the customer seems to be really gravitating towards better fuel economy, whether that be in pickup trucks, whether that be in utilities or in small cars, regardless of the segment, people are looking for fuel economy." :20 sec.