Industryweek 5897 Ford Mustang 1
Industryweek 5897 Ford Mustang 1
Industryweek 5897 Ford Mustang 1
Industryweek 5897 Ford Mustang 1
Industryweek 5897 Ford Mustang 1

Ford, Chrysler Close 2013 with Gains in US Sales

Jan. 3, 2014
Total industry sales in the United States are expected to rise 8% in 2013 to 15.6 million vehicles while December sales are forecast to grow 5%. 

CHICAGO -- Ford (IW 500/8) and Chrysler showed  strong sales gains Friday as the booming U.S. auto industry was expected to rack up its best performance in years.

Ford -- which sold some 2.5 million vehicles in the United States last year -- posted its best sales since 2006 with an 11% jump compared with 2012. December sales rose a more modest 2% compared with the same period a year ago, to 218,058.

"December was a strong close to an even better year for Ford," sales chief John Felice said. "We saw strong growth across the entire Ford lineup and made significant gains in the import-dominated coastal markets."

Chrysler reported its 45th consecutive month of gains as December U.S. sales rose 6% to 161,007 while 2013 sales were up 9% at 1.8 million.

Volkswagen bucked the upward trend by posting a seven percent drop in annual U.S. sales to 407,704 vehicles in 2013 while December sales were down 23% at 34,015.

But the German automaker celebrated the fact that -- for the first time in 40 years -- it managed to sell more than 400,000 vehicles in back-to-back years and nonetheless posted its second best U.S. December performance since 1972.

"Volkswagen is now operating at a new plateau," Mark McNabb, chief operating officer of Volkswagen of America, said.

"We are well positioned for our next phase of growth to come over the next few years."

Total industry sales in the United States are expected to rise 8% in 2013 to 15.6 million vehicles while December sales are forecast to grow 5%, according to automotive site Edmunds.com and vehicle valuation service Kelley Blue Book.

The last time annual U.S. auto sales topped 15 million vehicles was in 2007. They reached 14.8 million in 2012 after crashing to a low of 10.6 million in 2009 after the financial crisis pushed the industry into a deep downturn.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

Empowering the Modern Workforce: The Power of Connected Worker Technologies

March 1, 2024
Explore real-world strategies to boost worker safety, collaboration, training, and productivity in manufacturing. Emphasizing Industry 4.0, we'll discuss digitalization and automation...

3 Best Practices to Create a Product-Centric Competitive Advantage with PRO.FILE PLM

Jan. 25, 2024
Gain insight on best practices and strategies you need to accelerate engineering change management and reduce time to market. Register now for your opportunity to accelerate your...

How Manufacturers Can Optimize Operations with Weather Intelligence

Nov. 2, 2023
The bad news? Severe weather has emerged as one of the biggest threats to continuity and safety in manufacturing. The good news? The intelligence solutions that build weather ...

Transformative Capabilities for XaaS Models in Manufacturing

Feb. 14, 2024
The manufacturing sector is undergoing a pivotal shift toward "servitization," or enhancing product offerings with services and embracing a subscription model. This transition...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of IndustryWeek, create an account today!