Ford shuts Mustang factory for a week

[Express]

Ford shuts Mustang factory for a week




Sales decline in the US may be good news for local buyers.



11 October 2016




Ford has paused Mustang production in the wake of reduced demand in the US. Photo: Supplied

Ford is shutting its Mustang factory in Michigan for a week after the iconic sports car suffered a 32 per cent sales decline in the U.S. in September and was outsold by the Chevrolet Camaro for the first time in almost two years.

The second-largest U.S. automaker idled the factory in Flat Rock, south of Detroit, to match production capacity with demand, Kelli Felker, a company spokeswoman, said in an e-mailed statement.

The plant, which employs 3,702 workers and makes Mustangs and Lincoln Continentals, will resume production October 17, Felker said. Under the automaker's labor agreement, workers will be paid during the shutdown.

While it is bad news for US Mustang fans it may turn out to be good news for Australian buyers. Currently Ford Australia says the wait time for a new Mustang ordered now is between six and nine months for a GT and four months for the EcoBoost. That is a reduction from the initial 12-18 month delay but the local operation couldn't confirm if those times will be reduced further as demand in the U.S. drops.

The idling of the plant may be a sign of the growing weakness of the U.S. auto market, which had been a leading driver of economic growth. Automakers' monthly sales have been coming up short -- though they beat expectations in September -- and many analysts are now predicting the U.S. auto industry won't match last year's record of 17.5 million cars and light trucks.

Mustang, which is among Ford's most storied nameplates, received a racy redesign two years ago on the car's 50th anniversary. That new look helped propel the Mustang past the Camaro in 2015 to regain its title as the top-selling sports car in America, which it had held for decades before General Motors redesigned the Camaro in 2010.

Camaro overtook Mustang last month for the first time since October 2014 on the strength of incentives that more than tripled last month to $3,409 per car, compared with an average discount of $2,602 on the Ford pony car, according to data from researcher J.D. Power obtained by Bloomberg.

"In terms of incentives, we're always going to be disciplined, but we'll be competitive as well," Erich Merkle, Ford's sales analyst, said in an interview.

Ford has sold 87,258 Mustangs in the U.S. this year, down 9.3 per cent, while GM had Camaro sales of 54,535, off 11 per cent, according to researcher Autodata Corp. Ford chief executive officer Mark Fields has said the U.S. auto market has plateaued and that showroom sales are weakening.

Ford began selling Mustang globally last year, and the factory produces versions with the steering wheel on both sides of the dashboard for right-drive and left-drive markets, Merkle said.

With a slowing market for cars, Camaro's inventory rose to a 139-day supply at the end of August, said Jim Cain, a GM spokesman. The incentives, coming at the end of the 2016 model year, helped lower Camaro supply to 120 days, still twice what is consider an optimum inventory. Mustang supply rose to 89 days at the end of September from 71 days a month earlier.

The deals on the Camaro will cool off this month as GM rolls out the 2017 model, Cain said.

"We've been able to achieve some pretty significant increases in retail market share and transaction prices while keeping our incentives pretty disciplined for the calendar year," Cain said.

-- The Washington Post with staff.

.

http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/f...11-grzjxr.html

[Syndrome]

Not living up to the hype? Surprise, surprise.

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Not living up to the hype? Surprise, surprise.

No, according to the article, auto sales in the US are down across the board.

The idling of the plant may be a sign of the growing weakness of the U.S. auto market, which had been a leading driver of economic growth. Automakers' monthly sales have been coming up short -- though they beat expectations in September -- and many analysts are now predicting the U.S. auto industry won't match last year's record of 17.5 million cars and light trucks.

Ford has sold 87,258 Mustangs in the U.S. this year, down 9.3 per cent, while GM had Camaro sales of 54,535, off 11 per cent, according to researcher Autodata Corp. Ford chief executive officer Mark Fields has said the U.S. auto market has plateaued and that showroom sales are weakening.

[SumoDog68]

They could produce RHD Mustangs for Australia and get up to date with deliveries. Does anyone know if LHD and RHD cars are produced on the same line simultaneously ?

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Not living up to the hype? Surprise, surprise.

They've oversaturated the market. The percentage of current model mustangs on the road over there is astounding.

[XWGT]

What a counter intuitive statement.

Closing the plant for the week may be good for the Australian wait times.

Righto..................

[whitelion65]

Unless they mean the LHD line?
No, doesn't make sense, but there will be a business reason. I don't understand their logistics models.

[Express]

The Camaro isn’t a bad car and if you are a fence sitter and not stuck on a brand then the discounts on the runout model would be appealing.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Should have just built a weeks worth of LHDs and caught up with orders so dealers can get some saleable stock.

Our market will also die in the *** pretty soon once they catch up, there's only so many people who want a 2 door sports car.

[xr6turboford]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Not living up to the hype? Surprise, surprise.

Fishing are we or just sarcasm

[Bossxr8]

The problem will be they can't just say we will build more RHD's at a moments notice because the suppliers are working to a schedule, it would take a few months to get the schedule changed to bring in more RHD parts and less LHD. Hence the article mentions it will mean more RHD's will be built next year, after they have made the necessary adjustments to scheduling.

It's not something that can be turned on and off like a tap.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Not living up to the hype? Surprise, surprise.

Dumb comment Still hugely popular in export markets, it's sold out everywhere. But sales are slowing in the US after being essentially untouched for 3 years. There will be an updated MY18 version that they will be relying on to pick sales back up in the US. As well as rumoured versions like the Mach 1, GT500 etc, if they eventuate.

[eb2fairmont]

I don't see this as an issue. Shouldn't oversaturate rhd builds so everyone's got one as this will kill residuals if the demand drops

[lra]

Originally Posted by Smoke Pursuit

Our market will also die in the *** pretty soon once they catch up, there's only so many people who want a 2 door sports car.

Just like V2 – VZ Monaro sales did. Holden were pretty close when they estimated that Oz sales would decline by 50% per year, and they didn’t want a repeat of the previous Monaro and Falcon Coupe witherings.

[Sprintey]

And the Tojo 86

2 door sports cars...

[RANGEREST]

Originally Posted by Smoke Pursuit

Our market will also die in the *** pretty soon once they catch up, there's only so many people who want a 2 door sports car.

My thoughts exactly, every man and woman that has ever dreamt about a new Muzzy in Australia has had their dream come true, and ordered one.
Whilst plebs like me will have to wait till they've depreciated 50% or so in 4yrs and buy a used one.

[csv8]

I posted this yesterday in VFacts for September in answer to a question on Mustang availability.

[MAGPIE]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Not living up to the hype? Surprise, surprise.

Yep it's only sold 33,000 more units than the Camaro ytd

[roddy1960]

G'day all..Is Camaro or Corvette likely to be sold here ..not set in stone by any means I'd be thinking..and even if it was touted GM might 'Hold on ' for a while to see if the market recovers..I watched this Aussie YT vid a few months ago and as you'll see no dates or certainties are guaranteed..Maybe Mustangs results might have an influence to RHD markets too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tkWuJSrvhw Cheers Rod...

[Sabantien]

Originally Posted by roddy1960

G'day all..Is Camaro or Corvette likely to be sold here ..not set in stone by any means I'd be thinking..and even if it was touted GM might 'Hold on ' for a while to see if the market recovers..I watched this Aussie YT vid a few months ago and as you'll see no dates or certainties are guaranteed..Maybe Mustangs results might have an influence to RHD markets too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tkWuJSrvhw Cheers Rod...

From all I've read we'll be getting Opels and Daewoos, but with any luck they'll bring them in.

Dodge haven't quite committed to Challengers and Chargers, but if they do bring them in, i'd be going for a Challenger over a Mustang (not that I can afford either at the moment).

I doubt we'd get the 10 different options they have in the US though. :(


Seems strange to shut the factory down when there's still huge demand from outside the USA, I would have thought they'd see it as an opportunity to start catching up. That said, am unsure about the processes involved for RHD/LHD.

[Joe5619]

Lets talk about lead times for Australia only here.. They got as high as 18 months & are now between 6-9 months. Lead times have halved in the space of 7-8 months, which should be telling everyone Mustang is already slowing.. No need to flood the market now, just let it catch up & go from there... Right number will be around the 400-ish per month.

[MethodX]

Originally Posted by MAGPIE

Yep it's only sold 33,000 more units than the Camaro ytd

Ford got it perfect looks wise.
Older model Camaro looked better.... well to me.

Perhaps to Americani too.

[blk6t]

As noted, auto sales are down across the board, it's not just the Mustang. Don't forget there is an election in the coming weeks and the US economy (Like ours before an election) goes stagnant whilst everyone awaits to see who will become president and what impact that has on the economy.

Bit of a scary election, if I lived in the US I wouldn't be outlaying any large "want" expenses at the moment.

[RANGEREST]

Originally Posted by blk6t

As noted, auto sales are down across the board, it's not just the Mustang. Don't forget there is an election in the coming weeks and the US economy (Like ours before an election) goes stagnant whilst everyone awaits to see who will become president and what impact that has on the economy.

Bit of a scary election, if I lived in the US I wouldn't be outlaying any large "want" expenses at the moment.

Sales in the US have dropped .7%
http://m.wamu.org/#/news/16/10/03/se..._sales_plateau
Mustang sales have dropped 32%
https://www.carkeys.co.uk/news/ameri...r-sales-plunge
Gotta wonder why?

[DFB FGXR6]

[QUOTE=RANGEREST;5787866]Sales in the US have dropped .7%
http://m.wamu.org/#/news/16/10/03/se..._sales_plateau
Mustang sales have dropped 32%
https://www.carkeys.co.uk/news/ameri...r-sales-plunge
Gotta wonder why?[/QUOTE]

There is a updated / facelifted model not far away, I would assume private buyers in the US could be holding off for this.

[MAGPIE]

Originally Posted by RANGEREST

Sales in the US have dropped .7%
http://m.wamu.org/#/news/16/10/03/se..._sales_plateau
Mustang sales have dropped 32%
https://www.carkeys.co.uk/news/ameri...r-sales-plunge
Gotta wonder why?

Anyone can make something sound good or bad to suit their own agenda, like your quoted story above...

For the first time in nearly two years, the Chevrolet Camaro outsold the Mustang in America last month, making the Camaro the most popular sports car in the US.

or

Mustang sales dip below Camaro for first time in nearly two years, still leads YTD sales race by a significant margin

Everyone loves to sink the boot into the Mustang at the slightest opportunity, must be the price of success.

[MAGPIE]

Ford Mustang Pounds Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger in a Slow August 2016

The sales numbers are in for August 2016 and even though muscle car sales slumped a bit last month, the Ford Mustang continued its remarkable 22 month streak of leading the monthly sales race – beating both the Chevrolet Camaro and the Dodge Challenger by sizeable amounts once again.
The current Ford Mustang went on sale for the 2015 model year back in November of 2014. Since then, the Mustang has led the muscle car sales race every single month, and while August 2016 was one of the worst sales months thus far for the newest generation, the Mustang still crushed the Chevrolet Camaro and the Dodge Challenger.
Before getting into the individual August 2016 sales race details, here is a quick look at the muscle car segment as a whole. The Mustang, Challenger and Camaro combined for 19,165 units sold last month, making it the second-worst month of the year aside from January. Coming into August, the monthly average for 2016 muscle car sales sat at 22,159, so August was quite a bit below average and that dip was reflected most clearly in the Dodge Challenger and Ford Mustang – both of which also saw their second-worst sales month of the year.
However, as the overall sales slump for the new Chevrolet Camaro continued, August was actually a little better for GM’s muscle car…although Camaro sales are still very slow.

The Mustang Races Away
In August 2016, the Ford Mustang had one of its worst years since the introduction of the new generation back in 2014, with just 8,299 units sold. When you read that last sentence, you might think that things are looking bad for the Mustang, but with just under 8,300 units sold, the Mustang was still the bestselling sporty car and the bestselling 2-door car in America by a significant margin. The Mustang didn’t have a great month, but neither did any other sporty car in the USA.

The Chevrolet Camaro managed to climb into the second spot after trailing the Dodge Challenger for the three months prior, moving 5,604 units. This is up from the awful past two months for the Camaro, but it is still well behind August 2015 sales when only the 5th gen Camaro was available. The monthly trend continues, showing that the 6th gen Camaro is just not selling as well as the 6-year old 5th gen Camaro did just one year earlier.
The Dodge Challenger had its second worst month of 2016, moving just 5,262 units in August. The good news for Dodge is that while 5,262 is a slow month for 2016, that total would have ranked in the top half for 2015. In other words, the Challenger continues to see much stronger sales over the previous years, even though the world’s most powerful muscle car is likely to finish the year in the 3rd spot in the segment.

The Annual Race is Basically Wrapped Up
Although there are still four months left to sell cars in 2016, the odds are overwhelmingly strong that the Ford Mustang will win the annual muscle car sales race for the second year in a row. After August, Ford has sold 80,829 examples of the Mustang and with the current average of just over 10,000 units per month, the Mustang is on its way to another year where sales numbers will comfortably eclipse the 100,000 mark.

[CyberWasp]

I give Ford credit for making it RHD and bringing it here, and they are reaping the rewards.

Unlike Chevrolet and Dodge/Chrysler who in a world where they have unique vehicles that would have people lined up out the door of the local car dealer if sold here, are just ignoring us.

Pretty funny when they are the ones chasing the Mustang for sales.

[Ford Falcon XR6]

Originally Posted by SumoDog68

They could produce RHD Mustangs for Australia and get up to date with deliveries. Does anyone know if LHD and RHD cars are produced on the same line simultaneously ?

Since when has ford cared about Australia?

[neptune blue]

Build volume for Australia would be minuscule. Running the line for LHD vehicles only would have probably resulted in a loss . Hence why they have chosen to shut the plant for the week