Ford in July sales uptick
BELEAGUERED US carmaker Ford said last night it sold more cars in July than the same month last year, its first year-on-year sales rise since November 2007.
The group will today become the first major US automaker to report a sales rise since the financial crisis kicked off, thanks to a surge of orders under the US government’s “cash for clunkers” scrappage scheme.
The result is “important to Ford, but it is also a very good indication for the economy,” said Ford’s US sales chief Ken Czubay.
“It was a deep hole that the entire economy was in. We may not be out of the hole, but we are seeing very encouraging signs in July,” he added.
He said he wasn’t sure if the scheme benefited bankrupt rivals Chrysler and General Motors in July, but Ford has seen “a substantial increase in business and that kicked” in a welcome sales uptick.