Ford Mustang posts lowest sales since it arrived in Australia

[Express]

06 Jan 2020

Ford Mustang posts lowest sales since it arrived in Australia

Ford Mustang sales no longer galloping


The reins have been pulled on the Ford Mustang after an initial sprint in the sales charts.

Sales of the Ford Mustang muscle car have halved in three years and dropped by a third last year, proving that even icons can lose some of their lustre.

Industry analysts believe there are several reasons behind the decline: Ford has raised prices three times since the vehicle launched in 2015, the safety score was lifted from a low two stars to a poor three-star rating mid-way through the model’s lifecycle, but dealers believe there is a simpler explanation.

“Everyone who wants one has got one,” said a veteran Ford dealer, who asked not to be named.

“They’re a great car and some people have come back to buy a second one when the update came out, but sports cars and icon cars tend to have a short shelf life unless you do something like special editions.”

Ford imported a batch of 700 Bullitt Mustangs last year and is about to ramp up production of the locally-developed supercharged V8 Mustang R-Spec, of which 500 will be built.

Limited editions are intended to breathe new life into the Mustang as it approaches the end of its model cycle. An all-new model is due within two to three years and is on-track for Australia.

While there was a waiting list for Mustang of up to 12 months in its first full year on sale in 2016, there is ready supply of Mustangs at Ford dealerships across Australia.

Ford initially thought it would sell only 1000 Mustangs a year in Australia but almost 10,000 were delivered in 2017 after orders placed in 2016 began to come through.

Ford wasn’t able to increase production overnight because there are 105 unique parts to build the right-hand-drive models, and each of those suppliers had to ramp up production.

Despite the recent sales slump, the Mustang was still Ford’s third best selling model last year behind the Ranger ute and Everest SUV – and ahead of Focus and Escape.

However, historical data shows Ford’s 2019 sales result of 63,303 vehicles is its lowest result since 1968 – less than half its annual tally of 20 years ago. And the Ford Ranger ute now accounts for 64 per cent of the brand’s sales.


Ford Mustang sales in Australia:


2015: 121 (one month of sales only)
2016: 6208 (first full year of sales)
2017: 9165, up 47.6 per cent
2018: 6412, down 30 per cent
2019: 3948, down 38.4 per cent

Source: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

Joshua Dowling

https://www.drive.com.au/news/ford-m...ampaign=tile-4




.

[lra]

“Everyone who wants one has got one,” said a veteran Ford dealer, who asked not to be named.

No surprise, this was always going to happen.
Holden expected and predicted the V2 Monaro would only last 3-4 years with sales halving each year. They were correct.
I think they sold about 12,000 Monaros in that time frame, with an unexpected bonus of about 30,000 Pontiac GTOs and Chev Lumina coupes.

[Citroënbender]

I’d argue that despite the low aggregate sales, the “new” Monaro boosted the public image of Holden.

[XRtowcar]

There have been over 25000 Mustangs sold since 2015.
Not a bad number for a two door sports car.
Also Joshua Dowling reporting the Ford glass of water is half empty again.

[Rob 351]

Yet comfortably still the number one sports car in Australia and their numbers were up for December.

[au2000]

This is no real suprise to anyone I would have thought, mustang sales were always going to slow right down at some point once all the fans brought them, I'm sure when ford offer a substantially different model than the current one there will be some who will choose to move up from the previous model which will bolster sales numbers.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by au2000

This is no real suprise to anyone I would have thought, mustang sales were always going to slow right down at some point once all the fans brought them, I'm sure when ford offer a substantially different model than the current one there will be some who will choose to move up from the previous model which will bolster sales numbers.

correct. not exactly rocket science.

its a niche vehicle. unless a new model offers a substantial difference, buyers are unlikely to upgrade every couple of years. cars purchased on lease type deals may get replaced with another car the same, although there will always be those that want to try something else.

it was never the type of car that would continue to sell consistently at 'release' type numbers.

[Syndrome]

All they now need is to ^%$ up the Ranger and Ford are toast like Holden.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

All they now need is to ^%$ up the Ranger and Ford are toast like Holden.

image

Every month the same people keep saying that,
almost wishing it could happen just to be right.
Gen 1 T6 Ranger is now inside its final two years.

Plain and simple Ranger is good design that jives with Aussie buyers but sure, they can do much better by adding in a few missing niches. They ask top dollar and yet buyers still embraced it so there’s something good going on there.

I think it’s a mistake to ignore the 2.5 petrol tradie Ute at the bottom, this isn’t about maximise profit, it’s about more dealer traffic which I know Ford ignores. At this point, the profit off about 1500 tradie 2WDs would probably eclipse any profit coming from Focus, Escape and Endura.
Well, that would get my vote anyway....
(that and a 2WD row rider crew cab petrol ute could replace Ford's other cars...)

On Mustang,
I wonder if those lower GT numbers are now because the Camaro is available
or if that's just a coincidence.
the other coincidence is that the decline in sales steepened once Ranger Raptor arrived..

[lra]

Originally Posted by jpd80

On Mustang, I wonder if those lower GT numbers are now because the Camaro is available
.

......…. HSV wishes.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by lra

......…. HSV wishes.

Test the will of GM buyers asking what, $20K more, it better be brilliant because
it's gonna loose money quicker than burning $100 notes in the shower..

[TER2BO]

In todays Herald Sun in Melbourne - Lowest overall car sales for years , not just Mustangs !!!!
My theory is that lots of buyers brought the last of the 'Aussie Made" cars and have tended to keep them longer as there has been a lack of direct replacement.
Example - No V8's ,No 6cyl Turbos etc. I think the buying delay plus the SUV + small car trend killed the 'Commodore'.
This won't change in the near future and even the Mustang might not have a V8 in the future, maybe the 4 and the great V6 they have got in USA.

[Express]

Originally Posted by TER2BO

My theory is that lots of buyers brought the last of the 'Aussie Made" cars and have tended to keep them longer as there has been a lack of direct replacement.

Not many were buying the Aussie made Fords and Holdens away, the bulk of their customer base had long since moved on.

Just those looking for affordable performance cars stuck around and they only make up a small percentage of the market.





.

[jpd80]

Whoops wrong thread...

[Syndrome]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Every month the same people keep saying that,
almost wishing it could happen just to be right.
Gen 1 T6 Ranger is now inside its final two years.

It means they are a one trick pony. You know the saying about eggs and baskets?

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

It means they are a one trick pony. You know the saying about eggs and baskets?

And that didn't save Holden.

Eggs and baskets is no marketing strategy, make a good product and double down on it.
Ford and Holden have survived on one trick ponies for decades,
Ranger is second only to F Series in term of profit percentage per vehicle.

[hayseed]

Originally Posted by jpd80

I think it’s a mistake to ignore the 2.5 petrol tradie Ute at the bottom, this isn’t about maximise profit, it’s about more dealer traffic which I know Ford ignores. At this point, the profit off about 1500 tradie 2WDs would probably eclipse any profit coming from Focus, Escape and Endura.
Well, that would get my vote anyway....
(that and a 2WD row rider crew cab petrol ute could replace Ford's other cars...)

.

^^^^ Yep^^^^ My thoughts Too......

[GO FURTHER]

I think one thing that also needs to be taken into consideration, is that when a lot of a particular "new category/model series" of a car has been sold over a number of years... So too, does the number of second hand cars of that model become available or increase.

When the 2015+ Mustang came to our shores, if you wanted one, you had no choice but to buy a new one, that coupled to pent-up initial demand from enthusiasts created a high sales volume.

As the novelty of owning a 2 door sports coupe wore off with many people and it's impracticalities, many are starting to appear on the used car lots, and with very low kilometres for their age, (quite a few being toys used for the weekends of course).

I think quite a few people who cannot afford upwards of $70K for a new fully optioned out GT, are instead opting for a low kilometre 2017 model GT, which can be had any day of the week for circa $45 ~ 50K.

That's quite a saving, for what is still a very much a new car with the balance of new car warranty (In May 2018, Ford went 5 year warranty and unlimited kilometres, as we all know).
Many MY17 built models were first registered in the second half of 2018, so that warranty applies.

This has had to affect the volume of new Mustangs sold.

To put the sales of new 2015+ Mustangs into perspective....

According to the ABS Motor Vehicle Census of 2019, there are 19,500,000 currently registered cars in Australia.
Assume circa 25,000 Mustangs have been sold.
Then that represents 0.00128% of cars currently registered.
Or to put it another way, 1 in every 780 cars still registered is a 2015+ Mustang.

That is a fair number for a 2 door sports coupe, compared to any other brand/model coupe sold in Australia.

[jpd80]

LOL @ Ford originally expecting only 1,000 sales.....

could the analysts at Ford be any further west of wrong..
yes men telling the FOA CEO what he wants to hear?

[roKWiz]

I guess there are only so many guys and gals having a mid life crisis.

[roddy1960]

I think slow downs happen with most cars , not just Mustang . Not sure whether it's the end of the Honeymoon Period or whether it's just that it's just settling down to a more normal set of numbers .

Does anybody know what resale trading is like ? I wonder are some people waiting for a pre-loved Mustang rather than going the extra dosh for a new one off the showroom floor .

Even if sales stay lower I'm guessing the love affair with Mustang will always remain while they keep building them . I hope so anyway .

[jpd80]

At least FoA doesn't have to find the money for a whole new product cycle,
that was the real kicker for Falcon needing to self fund everything.

There's a 5.0 V8 Hybrid being released in the USA later this year,
I wonder if we get a version here as a more fuel efficient power adder
than the conventional supercharger route...

[Dr Terry]

Originally Posted by Express

Not many were buying the Aussie made Fords and Holdens away, the bulk of their customer base had long since moved on.
.

That's not quite true. While the Falcon sales slipped in the last couple of years, the Aussie Commodore was always in the top 3 sales figures until the factory closed.

Dr Terry

[Dr Terry]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Ford and Holden have survived on one trick ponies for decades,

I don't believe that is quite correct.

When Holden & Ford were number 1 in sales they always needed & 2nd & 3rd tier car to back up the numbers.

In the 80s when Ford finally beat to become to become No.1 they had the Laser & Telstar selling well. They wouldn't have been No. 1 with Falcon/Fairmont/Fairlane alone.

When Holden got back on top they had Astra & Rodeo to back up the Commodore, the Commodore range alone wouldn't have been enough.

Look at Toyota, it is their wide range that makes them No. 1, not Hi-Lux or Corolla alone.

Dr Terry

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Dr Terry

I don't believe that is quite correct.

When Holden & Ford were number 1 in sales they always needed & 2nd & 3rd tier car to back up the numbers.

In the 80s when Ford finally beat to become to become No.1 they had the Laser & Telstar selling well. They wouldn't have been No. 1 with Falcon/Fairmont/Fairlane alone.

When Holden got back on top they had Astra & Rodeo to back up the Commodore, the Commodore range alone wouldn't have been enough.

Look at Toyota, it is their wide range that makes them No. 1, not Hi-Lux or Corolla alone.

Dr Terry

I think you missed the context of my answer
as in, survived not lead the sales chart.

The reason local manufacturing existed for so long
was the revenue generated justified continued operations.
(without Territory replacing Fairlane, Falcon would have died much earlier)

Sales of second and third tier/ import vehicles barely covered their costs.
Vehicles like Mustang carry a lot more profit and don't rely on
local sales to fund the next product cycle, that's the difference.

This Mustang generation is now in its seventh year in the USA
so it's getting harder to jump the shark every year, even the
yanks are down to about 5,000/mth and they have nearly 20 x people.

And it really narks me that people keep putting Ford in the same bin with
Holden simply on dumb bunny sales numbers when the prices / profits on
Ranger, Everest and Mustang are just so much higher.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

All they now need is to ^%$ up the Ranger and Ford are toast like Holden.

image

Why does it sound as if you were the head of devolopmet for the Ranger you would make sure they did screw up the next one...

[Work Horse]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

I guess there are only so many guys and gals having a mid life crisis.

I wish I was young enough to have a mid life crisis!

# OK Boomer!

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

Why does it sound as if you were the head of devolopmet for the Ranger you would make sure they did screw up the next one...

Yeah that and the Holden fans' favorite game, let's pretend Ranger doesn't exist.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

All they now need is to ^%$ up the Ranger and Ford are toast like Holden.

image

Ranger derangement syndrome?

And don't worry, there is a lot of good stuff in the pipeline that will only boost Rangers appeal.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Ranger derangement syndrome?

And don't worry, there is a lot of good stuff in the pipeline that will only boost Rangers appeal.

Ford does that, GM/Holden not so much......