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Mulally wanted to kill Lincoln as late as last year, Fields vows to turn it around

Lincoln fans might want to give incoming Ford CEO Mark Fields a pat on the back for having a hand in saving the brand from the chopping block last year. He's among the people spearheading the rejuvenation of the division away from its stodgy image to appeal to younger customers.
According to two unnamed sources speaking to Bloomberg, CEO Alan Mulally was ready to kill Lincoln last year. Following the slow production ramp-up of the MKZ combined a with a costly ad campaign, Mulally was frustrated and openly suggested dropping the brand. However, Fields and Jim Farley, Ford's marketing boss, convinced the CEO that the brand was worth saving. They also created a plan to prevent similar problems for new models in the future.
It seems that one part of the strategy may involve waiting until new models are at dealers before starting a big ad campaign for them. Lincoln global director, Matt VanDyke, recently told Autoblog that the division is holding off on a full marketing push behind the new MKC crossover to prevent the supply problems that plagued the MKZ last year. Its big offensive begins in the fall when the CUVs are at all of the dealers and consumers are at home watching more TV. VanDyke also told Bloomberg that Fields, Farley and Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of the Americas, have more direct oversight over new product launches now.

Ford Transit is America's new best-selling van

The Ford Motor Company's sales in December ticked up 1.2 percent in the US, and the automaker was down 0.5 percent for 2014. But the Blue Oval looks like it might have a real winner on its hands when it comes to its new Transit van. The recently introduced line nearly doubled its numbers during the month by delivering 10,030 units for an annual total of 20,488 examples sold. It also gave the fullsize model the title of America's bestselling van for December. Those 10,000 sales put the Transit head and shoulders above all of its competitors in the crowded commercial van market. Second place went to the Chevrolet Express with 5,611 sales in December, and the ancient Ford E-Series was third with 5,256 moved. The rest of the segment was somewhat lower, with the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter at 3,288 units for the month, Ram ProMaster at 3,036, GMC Savana with 1,725 and Nissan NV at 1,554. December also marked the second month in a row for the Transit to beat out the E-Series in sales. However, its predecessor still won overall for the year with 103,263 units moved in 2014, but it enjoyed a full calendar year of sales. According to Ford spokesperson Mike Levine, the smaller Transit Connect had its best sales month ever for December too, and the automaker has been among the sales leaders in the van segment for the last 36 years. "Clearly, sales show we're best at meeting our customers' needs," said Levine to Autoblog, who touted the model's results on Twitter and cited the Transit's numerous configurations as its biggest selling point. Ford's latest van has other plusses, too, say analysts. "The one thing the Transit has going for it is a low base price relative to the competition. Compare the base price of the Sprinter to the Transit and it is hands-down a Transit win," said Dave Sullivan, auto industry analyst at AutoPacific, to Autoblog. Purely by model name, the Transit was also the bestselling van in November, with 4,851 deliveries. However, the Chevy Express had 4,478 sales, plus 716 more from the GMC Savana. Since these two are the same model beneath the skin, as a platform, they arguably took the title for that month. With a new year already here, the Transit has a new challenge to face. "2015 will be the year that the Transit has to leave the nest, because E-Series inventories will be close to zero and Transit will have to carry all the weight," said Sullivan.

Major automakers post mixed US June sales figures

General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV posted declines in US new vehicle sales for June on Monday, while major Japanese automakers reported stronger figures. Once again, demand for pickup trucks and crossovers offset a decline in sedan sales. Automakers' shares rose as overall industry sales still came in above Wall Street expectations. The US auto industry is bracing for a downturn after hitting a record 17.55 million new vehicles sold in 2016. Analysts had predicted that overall, US vehicle sales would fall in June for the fourth consecutive month. As the market has shown signs of cooling, automakers have hiked discounts and loosened lending terms. Car shopping website Edmunds said on Monday the average length of a car loan reached an all-time high of 69.3 months in June. "It's financially risky, leaving borrowers exposed to being upside down on their vehicles for a large chunk of their loans," said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds' executive director of industry analysis. GM said its sales fell about 5 percent versus June 2016, but that the industry would see stronger sales in the second half of 2017 versus the first half. "Under the current economic conditions, we anticipate US retail vehicle sales will remain strong for the foreseeable future." GM shares were up 2.4 percent in morning trading, while Ford rose 3.3 percent and FCA shares jumped 6 percent. "US total sales are moderating due to an industry-wide pullback in daily rental sales, but key US economic fundamentals clearly remain positive," said GM chief economist Mustafa Mohatarem. "Under the current economic conditions, we anticipate US retail vehicle sales will remain strong for the foreseeable future." Ford said its sales for June were hit by lower fleet sales to rental agencies, businesses, and government entities, which fell 13.9 percent, while sales to consumers were flat. But it sold a record 406,464 SUVs in the first half of the year, with Explorer sales increasing 23 percent in June. And sales of the F-150 had their strongest June since 2001. On a media call, Ford executives said an initial read of automakers' sales figures indicated a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of around 17 million new vehicles for the month, which would be better than 16.6 million units analysts had predicted. FCA said June sales decreased 7 percent versus the same month a year earlier.