Ford Idles Mustang Plant Following Poor September Sales

PT KONTAK PERKASA FUTURES BANDUNG - The Ford Mustang was once a hot seller, but interest in the two-door cooled off significantly in September. The pony car saw a 32 percent decrease last month compared to the same period last year, and that has caused Ford to idle the Flat Rock, Mich., plant in order to match output to demand.

For the first time in nearly two years, the Mustang was outsold by its bitter rival, the Chevrolet Camaro. The Alpha-platform car has made significant improvements over the last generation, which has likely increased its appeal. However, Bloomberg reports incentives on the Camaro were also stronger for September, more than tripling to an average discount of $3,409 per car. Incentives for the Mustang averaged $2,602. Before the Mustang was redesigned for 2015, the Camaro was consistently the best-selling two-door sporty car in the U.S.

A Ford spokeswoman confirmed the idling of the Mustang plant to Bloomberg, and said that the facility that employs 3,702 workers will resume production on October 17. Workers will still be paid during the shutdown per union agreements.
So far in 2016 Ford has sold 87,258 Mustangs in the U.S., which is down 9.3 percent from last year. Meanwhile, the Camaro has sold 54,535 units, a drop of 11 percent. Though these two cars occupy a niche segment, the drops could be a sign that the U.S. auto market is weakening. Last year broke records for the U.S. auto industry, but analysts predict 2016 sales will fall short of the 17.5 million cars sold in 2015. Ford CEO Mark Fields has said previously that the U.S. market has plateaued.

Source : automobilemag.com