Ford Motor Co. U.S. sales were off 3.2% in 2019, reflecting a broader cooling of demand in the U.S. auto market after a record period of elevated results. The No. 2 U.S. auto maker by sales said Monday it sold about 2.41 million vehicles last year, down from around 2.49 million in 2018, as falling sport-utility vehicle and sedan sales outweighed gains in purchases of trucks. Ford was the final auto maker to post its 2019 sales, following results reported Friday from most of the industry.
Overall, U.S. vehicle sales fell 1.6% last year, to 17.1 million vehicles, research site Edmunds.com said Monday. It marked a fifth straight year the industry topped 17 million vehicles sold. The car business faces potential headwinds in the U.S. in 2020. Auto dealers grappled with unusually large stockpiles of unsold vehicles for much of last year and struggled to unload older models, forcing steeper discounts.
Auto makers are spending more to lure buyers, potentially heralding weaker demand and slower sales ahead, analysts say. The industry’s spending on sales incentives in recent months hovered around 11% of a car’s sticker price, the highest level since 2008, according to J.D. Power. Ford is shifting its U.S. lineup to almost exclusively SUVs and trucks, along with its Mustang sports car, part of Chief Executive Jim Hackett’s plan to revitalize the company and spark profit growth. Ford generates the most of its global profit from F-series pickup sales, analysts estimate.