Sales of Ford Fusion Hybrid, Fusion Energi jump in LA in June; up 35% and 40% y-o-y respectively
26 July 2016
Ford Fusion electrified vehicle retail sales spiked in the Los Angeles market during the month of June, the first month of availability for the new 2017 model. Based on Ford June sales figures, Fusion Energi (the plug-in hybrid variant) sales jumped nearly 40% in LA compared to June 2015. During the same time period, Fusion Hybrid sales jumped 35%. Both of these numbers are retail sales and do not include fleet sales.
By comparison, the total midsize sedan segment is down nearly 5% in LA through May, according to IHS Automotive data. Consumer demand for trucks and SUVs continues to rise in Los Angeles and across the country, but sales of the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Ford Fusion Energi plug-in are moving ahead.
This significant growth for Ford’s midsize sedan should not be underestimated as Los Angeles is the largest car market in the United States.
—Wade Jackson, Ford Fusion marketing manage
Nationally, the Fusion Energi sold 1,700 units in June, more than doubling the June 2015 sales of 727 units. The Fusion Hybrid sold 2,542 units in June 2016, up 50% from 1,691 units in June 2015.
In 2011, Fusion Hybrid represented 10% of new Fusion retail registrations in LA. Through May of 2016, the most current data available, Fusion Hybrid and Fusion Energi plug-in represent 42% of new Fusion retail registrations in LA, according to Ford analysis of new vehicle registration data from IHS Automotive, despite gasoline prices falling over the same period.
Through June 2016, the combined take rate for the Fusion Hybrid and Fusion Energi among all Fusion models nationally is 12.8% (18,722 units out of 146,833).
Overall sales of Fusion in LA are also bucking the trend in the midsize car segment, with sales up 20% in June and 12% year-to-date.
The LA region was the only region in America to hold consistent in midsize sedan sales last year. Almost one out of every 10 midsize sedans are sold in the LA region and since 2012, the Ford Fusion has doubled its sales and share there.
After F-series, the Fusion is the best-selling vehicle to millennial buyers in Ford’s overall vehicle lineup and remains Ford’s best-selling car.
Fusion registrations to women are up 20% in California through May, compared to the same period in 2015, according to IHS Automotive personal new vehicle registration data.
To build on its success, Ford launched a new marketing campaign for Fusion earlier this month targeting key markets nationwide.
The 2017 Ford Fusion Energi has an EPA-estimated rating of 43 city/41 hwy/42 combined MPG, a 14 gallon tank and 21 miles of all-electric range. Range calculation is based on www.fueleconomy.gov. The 2017 Ford Fusion Hybrid has an EPA-estimated rating of 43 city/41 hwy/42 combined and a 13.5 gallon tank. Actual mileage and range will vary.
Problem is that nearly nobody wants to buy the current plug-ins. They are less than 1% of total sales. Only the Tesla Model S and Model X are in demand with over 20% of total sales in their market segment at the places they are for sale and can be serviced. All other plug-ins currently sucks when compared to similar priced gassers and that is why they don’t sell.
Everybody should copy Tesla’s Master Plan especially the piece about making long-range fully autonomous BEVs that the owners can rent out to others using a Smartphone app when not using the vehicles themselves. That will make it easy to get 100,000 miles per year on your BEV and benefit fully from the BEV’s very low marginal cost per mile driven. Long-range BEVs are expensive to buy but cheap to drive in terms of fuel and maintenance and they last much longer than gassers. So you need to get as many miles on a BEV as possible to minimize the total cost per mile driven. This is why full autonomy tech is needed before BEVs can become mass market. It is the only way to get enough miles on the BEV to make it hugely economical versus the gassers.
Posted by: Account Deleted | 26 July 2016 at 07:18 AM
Except you're obviously wrong.
I can't afford a Tesla right now, but I have owned a Fusion Energi for 3 years. It has its issues (many involving Microsoft, damn Bill Gates to hell) but the car is great. I talked to a possible buyer a month or so ago. He's much like myself and, also finding Teslas unaffordable at the moment, looks likely to go Energi.
The future is all-electric but in a battery-constrained world the path goes through hybrid and PHEV.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 28 July 2016 at 10:42 PM