Sales Rivalries

GM vs. Ford and the latest sales rivalries

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Five months into the year, 2015 is on pace to be one of the U.S. auto industry’s best years ever. And Detroit’s two biggest automakers are finding themselves locked in a number of close races, even switching places in a few important segments.

General Motors may not be the world’s largest automaker anymore, but it still can get plenty of satisfaction from a resounding victory over Ford (and vice versa, as shown by Ford executive Jim Farley’s desire to “beat Chevrolet on the head with a bat”).

Here’s where the two rivals stand in a couple of battles for cross-town bragging rights:

Large pickups

The biggest story in the pickup segment this year has been Ford’s switch to an aluminum body on its best-selling nameplate, the F-150.

But through May, GM’s duo of full-size pickups, the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, are outselling Ford’s F-series 306,506 to 302,009. It’s the first time GM has been in the lead this late in the year since 2009. Add in 47,502 of the midsize Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon -- compared to zero Ford Rangers -- and GM’s edge grows even larger.

Of course, Ford has been slowed by the lengthy process of ramping up 2015 F-150 production, and there’s a very good chance it will climb back into first place once F-150 inventories get up to more-normal levels. Still, GM has to be feeling good at the moment, and it will be worth watching how much cash Chevy and GMC throw on the hood in the months ahead to keep it a close race.

Pony cars

After five consecutive years in second place, the Ford Mustang has pulled so far ahead of the Chevy Camaro in 2015 that it could probably take a few months off and still finish in first place.

Through May, sales of the redesigned Mustang have surged 55 percent, to 56,571, while Camaro sales have dropped 13 percent to 33,982. The Mustang is all but a lock to win this race already, and the bigger concern for Chevy is whether it can hold off the Dodge Challenger to avoid a humiliating third-place finish. Sales of the Challenger have risen 38 percent to 30,186.

Chevy’s answer: The all-new Camaro, unveiled last month, is due in the fourth quarter.

Small crossovers

In the industry’s hottest segment, a 25 percent sales increase has given the aging Chevy Equinox a slim 1,635-unit lead over the Ford Escape for second place behind the Honda CR-V. In 2014, the Escape crushed the Equinox by nearly 64,000.

Escape sales have fallen 4.3 percent this year, which Ford officials have blamed on production constraints now that the vehicle is being exported to more markets. The Equinox, about to enter its seventh model year since its last full redesign, is being aided by the demise of the fleet-only Chevy Captiva.

(It also may be worth pointing out that Ford has recalled the Escape 15 times since its redesign three years ago, while the Equinox has had just one recall since 2011.)

Small cars

Chevy’s still beating Ford in compact and subcompact cars year to date. But in May, Ford squeaked out small victories in both segments, as the Fiesta beat the Sonic by 359 and the Focus topped the Cruze by 182.

The Cruze’s lead over the Focus has been cut by more than half compared with this time last year, and the Sonic’s edge over the Fiesta has narrowed by nearly 90 percent.

Low gasoline prices have hindered both segments, but the Focus has been rejuvenated somewhat by a mid-cycle refresh that included new styling and a new engine, and GM is unveiling the redesigned 2016 Cruze later this month.

Luxury cars

Cadillac still has a solid lead over Lincoln, but that’s not really much to brag about these days. Both brands are in the throes of major transformation efforts and have new products on the way, but their sales this year are relatively flat. From January through May, Cadillac is down 1.2 percent to 67,384 and Lincoln is up 4.1 percent to 38,786.

Unfortunately, “sixth-best selling luxury brand” doesn’t carry a lot of cachet in ads, so both brands still have a lot of work to do before this head-to-head matchup is worth watching again.

Top brand

Ford is going to win this one again easily, mostly because GM divides its sales among twice as many brands. Through May, the tally is 1,024,852 for Ford to 872,363 for Chevy. But Toyota is lurking close behind in third place, at 867,708, and it beat Chevy in May by 132 units, which is about 12 minutes’ worth of their sales.

Automotive News

No mention by AN of full size SUV's.  Yet we get a top "brand" breakdown.  Brand top total is about as worthless a metric as the US dollar these days.

Market share by manufacturer and product group.  Market Share

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