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Ford Stops Mustang Production While Chevrolet Camaro Sales Surge

It is sold in more than 140 countries, it’s available in right-hand drive for the UK and Aussie markets, it’s got independent rear suspension and tremendous global appeal. Despite all its good points, Ford decided to stop Mustang production for a week at the only plant where it’s made - Flat Rock Assembly, due to slow sales.
Ford Mustang 11 photos
Photo: Ford
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This information comes courtesy of The Detroit News, which confirmed the intel with a FoMoCo spokesperson. “We continue to match production with demand,” Ford’s Kelli Felker explained in an email. “Mustang remains the top seller in its segment in total and retail sales.” Except that's only half true, dearest Kelli, as explained in a recent story on the Camaro’s sales lead.

For the first time in 22 months, September 2016 saw the Camaro beat the Mustang in terms of U.S. sales. More to the point, 6,577 Camaros versus 6,429 Mustangs. The Dodge Challenger is still at the bottom, having sold 5,698 units last month. When it comes down to year-to-date U.S. sales, the Mustang edges ahead of the Camaro by a great margin: 87,258 cars vs. 54,535. This sales discrepancy is also be attributed to the fact that the 2.0-liter turbo entry-level engine on the Chevy arrived a little late to the party.

Regarding percentage, sales for the Mustang took a dive last month. As per the cited publication, the Ford Mustang is down 32 percent compared to the month of September in 2015. By comparison, Chevrolet Camaro sales surged by 25.4 percent compared to the same period las year. Incentives also played a big role in this life-and-death battle between arch rivals. According to data from J.D. Power, incentives for the averaged at $2,700 last month, while Chevrolet Camaro incentives one-upped to $3,300 or thereabout.

The bottom line, however, is that the Camaro and Mustang are sold in very different ways by very different people employing polar opposite strategies. According to GM North America President Alan Batey, approximately 90 percent of Camaro vehicles are sold to retail customers, whereas “Ford is transacting rent-a-car fleet business, base level trims.” On that note, the model year 2018 will see the Blue Oval refresh the Mustang and - fingers crossed, give it the 10-speed automatic tranny co-developed with GM.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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