Ford’s top-selling model, the F-Series truck, achieved the highest sales for any quarter (286,936) in its 57-year history, but September sales were 69,643, down 30 percent from last year's record sales (99,720). Overall truck sales were down 27%.
Year to date, the F-Series is down 0.5%, with sales of 694,690 compared to 697,938 a year ago.
Sales of crossover utilities (Ford Escape, Ford Freestyle, Mercury Mariner, and Volvo XC70 and XC90) climbed 39% in September. The Ford Escape Hybrid set a new monthly sales record (1,808) in September. Almost 15,000 Escapes equipped with hybrid engine technology have been sold so far.
Traditional sport utilities experienced the largest declines. Sales in this category were off 51% compared with last September. A strong showing last year, when the company offered 0 percent financing for 72 months, exacerbated the magnitude of the decline. Still, sales of these models have experienced declines in 2005 as gas prices have risen.