August 2013 Mustang Sales and Production Figures (and vs. Camaro & Challenger)

[5.0GT]

So are you saying you're not a Mustang fan? Or that somehow Mustang sales being in the toilet is good for you?

No I'm not a fanboy of one brand only...I respect GM, Chrysler, Ford equally if they make something worth owning. Mustang sales are about to change for the + again once the new one is released I'm sure. Ford has a lot riding on it. What I meant to say is, I don't see many 13-14's on the streets so I get lots of looks and attention more so than my Camaro friends that drive their 5th gens (being that they are everywhere).

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[Diggitydog]

So are you saying you're not a Mustang fan? Or that somehow Mustang sales being in the toilet is good for you?

I think the statement "good for me and bad for Ford or Mustangs" is that the S197 platform is wheezing and sputtering in the sales department. Buyers like myself want the S550 ASAP. Either the 2014's will become epic'ly cheap or the S550 will be pushed to the sales floor as quickly as they can make it happen. Maybe both will happen, who knows.

Definitely understand that the appeal on the consumer side of the equation for Mustang sales hurting.

 

[StangFX]

That only makes sense if you're actually still in the market for one and hoping bad sales #'s will force them to discount heavily. 5.0GT has already bought one so there's no reason to gloat about poor sales.

Anyway in the long run poor Mustang sales hurt us all (and I mean "us" to include anyone that likes pony/muscle cars). Bigger picture it means less money to invest back into the brand and less incentive for Ford to do so. A strong Mustang also keeps the competition honest so it's good for all consumers.

 

[Diggitydog]

That only makes sense if you're actually still in the market for one and hoping bad sales #'s will force them to discount heavily. 5.0GT has already bought one so there's no reason to gloat about poor sales.

Anyway in the long run poor Mustang sales hurt us all (and I mean "us" to include anyone that likes pony/muscle cars). Bigger picture it means less money to invest back into the brand and less incentive for Ford to do so. A strong Mustang also keeps the competition honest so it's good for all consumers.

Right. Except it shows the competition increasing sales meaning that the market for pony/muscle car is still working but the product, in this case the S197 Mustang, is faltering. S197 needs a redesign, these numbers heap on the pile. Ford has been so tight lipped about the S550 and we want to know what's coming. Being tight lipped isn't helping S197 sales obviously so maybe they will blow it open. Discount the 2014's, move on into the next highly anticipated chapter.

 

[let me ride]

I'm with you on that.... if 14 sales were good I could see just continuing like this but I think it's time to "call it" with the S197 and open the floodgates on this b*tch.

I know regular people now who know that the 2015 is supposed to be all new and a big deal even if they aren't up to speed on all the rumours.

 

[f e r]

Yikes..... there goes all hopes of besting the Camaro in sales this year.

Was May just a total anomaly?

Not at all. If you noticed, May is an important month for Mustangs sales. Im thinking girls like Mustangs better as Mother's day is in May.

 

[MYs197]

Right. Except it shows the competition increasing sales meaning that the market for pony/muscle car is still working but the product, in this case the S197 Mustang, is faltering. S197 needs a redesign, these numbers heap on the pile. Ford has been so tight lipped about the S550 and we want to know what's coming. Being tight lipped isn't helping S197 sales obviously so maybe they will blow it open. Discount the 2014's, move on into the next highly anticipated chapter.

Sales can go from bad to worse. Who knows if being tight lipped as helped 2014 sales?

You have to think if this was a regular model year, meaning not the last year MY for S197, sales might look very different. At least part of the bad sales may be explained by the fact that many don't want to buy when they know a new redesign is coming the next year. It'll be more telling to see how S197 sales fare when the s550 design is shown.

 

[FStephenMasek]

It seems many of those Challengers are in southern California.

 

[DarkAgent10]

Enjoy it while it lasts Chevy.

2014 sales will look nothing like this.

 

[kirbster]

One thing about the North American market is there is a certain number of coupes that can be sold every year. When it was the only game in town, Mustang sold like 150K a year? No surprise Mustang sales have suffered ever since the Camaro and Challenger came back on the scene. With the Mustang about to go global it will no doubt increase sales. Ford needs this to happen.

I'm just curious how many sales of all three cars went to rental fleets. I see a lot of Challenger rent-a-cars.

 

[thePill]

It's going to be a bad winter at those August levels... Hopefully the '14 can sustain sales above 4000 (the '11 didn't).

Also, not good for the new Camaro counting the first full month plus fleet sales... 8000 should see the Camaro down to the 5000 range over the winter.

Looks like the Retro-Muscle car era is truly over....

Ford has spiked sales in Jan/Feb with incentives, they could push that up to Nov/Dec and finish strong. They may still sell better than last year though.

 

[Maestro5.0]

Doubtful it will stay above 4k just looking at the average (-%) every month. It looks like there will be some heavily discounted 14s to be had very soon.

When excluding Mustang sales I don't know you can say for sure that retro muscle car era is truly over, tho they are certainly losing some sales to lighter, sportier cars in general. Both Camaro and Challenger are up 33% year over year. Has anyone looked at the numbers for the pony car market as a whole? Is it down overall since the big 3 all got back in the game?

I really think Ford needs to shorten up their product life cycle. 10 year old platforms aren't going to do well in this day of fast evolving technology and fickle consumer preferences.

 

[Kingranch]

Discouraging to see. Ford sales were up 12% last month but the Mustang was down big. Definitely showing effects of current model being so long in the tooth IMO.

 

[thePill]

Discouraging to see. Ford sales were up 12% last month but the Mustang was down big. Definitely showing effects of current model being so long in the tooth IMO.

Almost 10 years of production... If you really think about it, there were a million S197's built, about 70% of those 1 million Mustang's have 2 owners. Probably 50% of those 700,000 are on their 3rd owner and maybe more still. In the end, your looking at close to 3 million S197 owners over the last 10 years. For a performance car today, at the current MSRP... that's insane.

At the 5th Gens current sales rate, it would take them until 2023-'26 to sell a million 5th Gen Camaro's... Also, initial sales projections were over 150,000 a year which means, the Camaro would have paid for itself within 3-4 years. Sales were half of that (and less). The 5th Gen may never be paid in full. According to a C5 member, profits are estimated to be around a billion dollars (at $3000 per sale). The 5th Gen program was well over 4 billion no doubt. Figure in the constant R&D from the 2010 Camaro, '11 Vert, '12 ZL1, '13 1LE and '14 z28 and refresh and... that billion dollars is gone...

Even if the 5th Gen continued until 2020 with NO updates, it may still finish in the red... The 5th Gen Camaro was a loss for Chevy financially, an attention getter sure but, I doubt we will see a huge 6th Gen based on roll-over profits.

 

[5.0GT]

Discouraging to see. Ford sales were up 12% last month but the Mustang was down big. Definitely showing effects of current model being so long in the tooth IMO.

Not long in the tooth, people are waiting for the S550 before making up their mind. Simple and smart really for the most part, but for me I bought a 13 at a ridiculous cheap price, couldn't have passed it up with the trade-in and the discounts plus I know the owner's brother. All cars get long in the tooth anyways (the Camaro is very outdated looking yet it sells!, it's about the $$$$ and great deals.)

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