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2005 Mustang is Hottest Selling Car in the US
Author: 2005 Mustang (more...)
FORD TO INCREASE MUSTANG PRODUCTION TO MEET RUNAWAY CONSUMER DEMAND
* Ford will increase Mustang production to 192,000 in 2005 – 80,000
more than in 2004
* 2005 Mustang is the hottest-selling car in the industry
* Nearly one out of every two sports cars sold in U.S. is a Mustang
DEARBORN, Mich., March 17, 2005 – What’s an auto company to do when
demand for a hot model exceeds supply? Give the customers what they
want.
Ford today announced that it will take production of the hot new
Mustang to more than 192,000 units in 2005 – an increase of more than
70 percent, or 80,000 units, from the previous year.
"Ford Mustang is the hottest car in the industry, and its performance
on the street and in the showrooms is beating everyone’s
expectations," says Steve Lyons, Ford Division president. "Sales are
up more than 45 percent over last year, and V-8 GT and convertible
model demand is so strong that we haven’t been able to build enough.
We’re planning to increase production well beyond what was initially
planned. This will allow us to sell 160,000 – 165,000 Mustangs in the
U.S. this year."
Sales and Share Gains
Since its launch in the fall of 2004, the new model Mustang has been
an instant sensation with new car buyers. Sales of the 2005 model,
coupled with the sell-down of the prior model, have sent overall
Mustang sales to record levels every month since launch.
The higher-end Mustang GT V-8 models are in short supply, and the
much anticipated new convertible model is just beginning to arrive at
dealerships in time for spring. Traditionally, May and June are the
hottest selling months for convertible models.
In the key U.S. market, overall Mustang sales are up more than 45
percent on a retail basis over last year, a feat accomplished without
the support of the convertible model, which traditionally accounts
for one-third of overall Mustang volume. Based on the current sales
trajectory, Ford expects to sell about 160,000 – 165,000 Mustangs in
the U.S. for the 2005 calendar year. In Canada, where Mustang was
named 2005 Canadian Car of the Year, sales continue their triple-
digit month-after-month rise, topping records set more than a decade
ago.
Increasing sales gains have also been accompanied by share gains.
Since the 2005 launch, Mustang has garnered 44 percent of the small
specialty segment, featuring sports coupes such as the Pontiac GTO,
Nissan 350Z, Chrysler Sebring and Hyundai Tiburon among others.
Historical Anecdotes
Red-hot sales and resulting production increases of a new Mustang are
not unprecedented. When Mustang was first introduced in April 1964,
Ford had only expected to sell 100,000 the first year. But dealers
took 22,000 orders the first day. Ford shifted production mid-year
and Mustang went on to sell 618,812.
Mustang fever spread from showrooms to car-hops and Mustang legend
spread through barbershops, diners and service stations on "Main
Street USA" as Mustang became a part of Americana:
A Ford dealer in Chicago locked the doors of Mustangs in his showroom
because he feared for the safety of people trying to crowd into them.
In Garland, Texas, 15 customers bid on the same car and the
successful bidder insisted on sleeping overnight in the car until his
check cleared the bank in the morning.
In Pittsburgh, a restaurant advertised "Our hotcakes sell like
Mustangs."
Parents purchased 93,000 Mustang toy pedal cars during the 1964
Christmas season at a price of $12.95. Today, restored Mustang pedal
cars are extremely popular with collectors and some sell for more
than $1,000, nearly 100 times the original price.
Nearly 500 Mustang clubs formed in the first two-and-a-half years of
the car’s production.
More than 8 million Mustangs have been sold in the 41 years since its
introduction. The 1 millionth Mustang was sold by March 1966.
(Source: Ford Media)
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