Ford sales have been rising consistently, thanks to a slate of impressive products. For 2013 the new model launches are continuing, pointing to continued growth this year and next. One tough sales act to follow will be the 2012 Ford Escape, which has set a very quick sales pace.
Over the past few years, sales of the Escape have grown consistently despite it aging and a lack of concerted investment by Ford. Different reasons for its rise have bandied about. For one, Ford has overall been successful. Also though, the 2012 Escape is one of the most traditional-looking SUVS out there. Some people really like it for that, others buy it in spite of that.
Most of the time you don’t see manufacturers trumpeting preorders for a new mainstream product, given most Americans just buy new cars off the lots. However, The Detroit Free Press reports that Ford has 8,000 orders for the Escape in hand. That doesn’t seem like a very high figure to us, but since preordering isn’t huge in the auto market, that could be an encouraging sign. Ford says the orders so far are skewing towards the upper trim levels, rather than being primarily at the base end. The 2013 Escape starts at $23,295 – less than the current model. Profit margins should be increasing in 2013 significantly, given models like the Titanium can take the price all the way up to around $37,000. Ouch.
With all the sales that it rakes in, Escape is clearly is a pivotal model for Ford. That’s why the company went all-out with the 2013 Escape, which debuted in Los Angeles last year. It will be interesting to see via the sales results what has motivated purchases of the Escape, because the 2013 ditches the traditional SUV styling. Instead it follows the mainstream market, becoming a Focus on stilts, if you will. Ford has polled customers and done their research, and they say the 2013 is the result of buyer feedback. Given market trends, Escape’s sales streak should continue unabated.
