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USA Today, "in a move that sometimes spells sales trouble, Ford has started offering discounts of up to $10,479 its most important vehicle, the F-150 pickup."
"The discounting is unusual because the highly revised 2015 F-150 is relatively new in the market. The current version has an aluminum body to save weight, and thus fuel. Not only is the F-150 the nation's best-selling vehicle, but it is also considered one of the most profitable, at least compared to cars."
Taking a page right out of the AAPL playbook, Ford officials have blamed tight supplies for sales droop, but analysts aren't so sure. "The truck hasn’t sold up to expectations for the most part,” Akshay Anand, an analyst at auto researcher Kelley Blue Book, said in an e-mail. “This may be a hint that in certain parts of the country, the issue might just be more than supply."
..Bloomberg notes, "F-Series sales fell 2.4 percent in the first half and have dented Ford’s earnings.
"The discounting is unusual because the highly revised 2015 F-150 is relatively new in the market. The current version has an aluminum body to save weight, and thus fuel. Not only is the F-150 the nation's best-selling vehicle, but it is also considered one of the most profitable, at least compared to cars."
Taking a page right out of the AAPL playbook, Ford officials have blamed tight supplies for sales droop, but analysts aren't so sure. "The truck hasn’t sold up to expectations for the most part,” Akshay Anand, an analyst at auto researcher Kelley Blue Book, said in an e-mail. “This may be a hint that in certain parts of the country, the issue might just be more than supply."
..Bloomberg notes, "F-Series sales fell 2.4 percent in the first half and have dented Ford’s earnings.
This was indeed a bold move for Ford, but they had to know it was a gamble. I'm guessing real world fuel economy gains would have to be very significant to offset the negative attitudes towards aluminum panels.
