January 2015 Mustang Sales (and vs. Camaro & Challenger)

[thePill]

I specifically remember C5 saying that Camaro sales would never reach the Challenger levels... Oh yeah??

Hmmm...

Just like a refresh wouldn't be needed after the 3rd year...

Hmmm...

Now the Gen 5.2 is coming and they expect sales to take off again? They should have actually redesigned the Camaro and not just updated the car. What an awful business plan.

Don't mess with success but what about failure? Because 4000 cars a month is getting pretty low considering the units left on lots.

Some 21,000 5th Gen Camaro still left unsold.... and they are still producing these porkers.

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[1320']

This is a serious question...at this rate it's not looking like the 6th Gen Camaro will be hitting dealer lots until the late fall at the earliest...unless something changes is there a reason for Camaro sales to tick up again? That is unless they start doing serious fire-sales to get rid of the 5th gens

 

[FATTBoss]

I specifically remember C5 saying that Camaro sales would never reach the Challenger levels... Oh yeah??

Hmmm...

Just like a refresh wouldn't be needed after the 3rd year...

Hmmm...

Now the Gen 5.2 is coming and they expect sales to take off again? They should have actually redesigned the Camaro and not just updated the car. What an awful business plan.

Don't mess with success but what about failure? Because 4000 cars a month is getting pretty low considering the units left on lots.

Some 21,000 5th Gen Camaro still left unsold.... and they are still producing these porkers.

Looking at the charts, 4,000 or so a month seems to be the trend for Camaro sales in January over the last few years, and as I pointed out earlier, they are slightly up over last year. I am not saying they will match month to month for the year in sales what they did last year, but it is hardly a bad month. Sales of both Mustang and Challenger are up way over last year, making the Camaro numbers look bad, but in fact they are not as bad as glancing at them would make it appear.

On a lighter note, it appears this news has shut down the Camaro5 site, as I just tried to check what they were saying about this and was given a "technical difficulties" message!

 

[thePill]

Under 5000 cars in any month for both Mustang and Camaro is bad... Real bad.

Sub-6000 unit months are what cause both Mustang and Camaro refreshes. The Chally produces only 1/2 of what the other two did.

It is bad... especially on an 8000-10,000 production month, which is pretty much 10 months outta 12 for Chevy. Ford's production numbers were at 7000 at the end of 2013.

Another 20% cut is probably incoming in Spring.

 

[c3po]

I think we all have to keep into perspective the number of Mustangs that are starting to be sold overseas, too. Even with a new generation of Camaro coming, I find it difficult to believe they'll really be able to compete in total sales. Anyone remember seeing any forecasts from Ford on what they expect to sell abroad in 2015?

 

[thePill]

I think we all have to keep into perspective the number of Mustangs that are starting to be sold overseas, too. Even with a new generation of Camaro coming, I find it difficult to believe they'll really be able to compete in total sales. Anyone remember seeing any forecasts from Ford on what they expect to sell abroad in 2015?

That is a good point and I do keep it in mind. I believe the initial stock is just shipping over as we speak. There is absolutely no data on Mustang sales abroad nor could we really use another local model as a template. The only exception would be Falcon sales in AU, 35,000 last year I think. If sales reach that number, on top of the US's 80,000, it will be difficult to compete with Mustang sales. China, EU and where ever else it's heading may put a sales title out of reach...

...especially if the 6th Gen looks like a 5th Gen and nobody cares. People are not buying 5th Gen's because the 6th Gen is coming. People just aren't buying Camaro's anymore. We're they thinking that the Camaro product life was indefinite?

Only on Camaro5...

 

[1320']

I really do not want the Camaro to go away..but at the same time I hope Chevy is serious about the 6th Gen and keeping it fresh.

Remember when they said the new Mustang would basically look like the S197 with a body kit? Well that didn't turn out to be true..but it seems like it might be closer to truth for the new Camaro.

 

[SuperC]

Wow so Challenger sales this January are significantly higher than Mustang sales were this time last year. Looks like that 24/7 ad campaign from Dodge is really paying off. Now if they would just put that thing on a serious diet...

Even Camaro sales are up over last year.

I'm sure having a mild winter doesn't hurt but overall this is encouraging news for the auto market as a whole.

 

[J12]

canada

The thing to keep in mind is that only one of these cars is being exported out of the U.S. and two of them are being imported to the U.S.! For the sake of America stop buying junk and get a Mustang!
:ford:

 

[Reverend Kill Joy]

Pump your Brakes

While one data point being Shown has an almost 5x uptick, remember that certain data Isn't being shown.

- Not just a new refresh, the 15' Mustang is a new Nomenclature. That means dealerships have only One Year to get all of their old 14's off the lot, and Fast! In the past, they could afford to keep cars like the Boss and GT500 for a few years, but now, with GT350(&Rs) announced and on the way (much earlier than anticipated), rebates for All 14's are coming faster than virgins on prom night.

- This display/data point of # of Mustangs sold in Jan is a great way to show early success of a redesign or overall brand loyalty, but really it's just a ton front-end rebates on old models: the typical cyclical rotation of redesigned cars under 50k.

- The Reverend :amen:

 

[Mustangchief]

While one data point being Shown has an almost 5x uptick, remember that certain data Isn't being shown.

- Not just a new refresh, the 15' Mustang is a new Nomenclature. That means dealerships have only One Year to get all of their old 14's off the lot, and Fast! In the past, they could afford to keep cars like the Boss and GT500 for a few years, but now, with GT350(&Rs) announced and on the way (much earlier than anticipated), rebates for All 14's are coming faster than virgins on prom night.

- This display/data point of # of Mustangs sold in Jan is a great way to show early success of a redesign or overall brand loyalty, but really it's just a ton front-end rebates on old models: the typical cyclical rotation of redesigned cars under 50k.

- The Reverend :amen:

- Maybe you missed the 14 MY sell off last year, but out of over 3500 dealerships, only sightly more than 900 new are left on lots, those that are still sitting are mostly Rousch, and hideous exterior interior options that will take more than rebates to sell. Based on MY sales, 14 MY account for less than 5 percent of Mustang sales.

What you have to factor in is the millions of previous Mustang owners are just discovering a whole new Mustang, one that competes with current cars on features and handling, and blows previous year models (sans 13/14) completely away. Come spring, empty nesters will look twice at this new two seater. I haven't heard this many WOWs since Bill testified oral sex was not really sex and got re-elected.

 

[IndustryLeech]

The thing to keep in mind is that only one of these cars is being exported out of the U.S. and two of them are being imported to the U.S.! For the sake of America stop buying junk and get a Mustang!
:ford:

I thought I read that Chevy is moving Camaro gen 6 production to the US. They certainly should have been taken to task more for building Camaros in Canada, however. Somehow they totally got a pass for that.

 

[Farmundeh]

I thought I read that Chevy is moving Camaro gen 6 production to the US. They certainly should have been taken to task more for building Camaros in Canada, however. Somehow they totally got a pass for that.

Out of genuine curiosity, what's the problem with GM opting to build the Camaro in Canada?

 

[IndustryLeech]

Out of genuine curiosity, what's the problem with GM opting to build the Camaro in Canada?

I feel that muscle cars being the quintessential American vehicle (outside of pick-ups I guess), they should be built in the US. I admit to this being an irrational point of view. Obviously there were financial reasons Chevy brought production to Canada, but it leaves a sour taste in my mouth, as it does with Dodge making Challengers in Canada.

 

[Farmundeh]

I feel that muscle cars being the quintessential American vehicle (outside of pick-ups I guess), they should be built in the US. I admit to this being an irrational point of view. Obviously there were financial reasons Chevy brought production to Canada, but it leaves a sour taste in my mouth, as it does with Dodge making Challengers in Canada.

(Full Disclosure: I grew up in Canada and am a proud Canadian)


Fair enough. I guess the only thing I'd say in response is that with respect to the "big three", I'm sure a fair number of Canadians feel the same sense of pride/loyalty that many Americans do. Ford, GM, and Chrysler each have a substantial presence in Canada and while they're all technically U.S. companies that own/operate their respective Canadian subsidiaries, they're not really considered to be "imports" or foreign. I also believe GM and Chrysler received financial assistance from the Canadian government in 2008-2009, FWIW.

With the utmost respect to the U.S. of A, I'm usually all for making the distinction between the neighboring countries as they are in fact very different from one another. But when it comes to the automotive industry I feel like the lines gets blurred. Where I grew up, muscle car loyalties ran deep and the rivalries were just as heated as in any small American town.

Just my .02.:cheers::ford::ford:

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