I'm not sure I buy it, but a recent Washington Post article claims Ford is hard pressed to keep up with demand for it's Ford Escape Hybrid (and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid). Ford peeked in sales back in May with 3,214 units sold combined.
While those numbers are respectable for a hybrid, they aren't all that high for a production vehicle. So, I think the article is looking to create a controversy where there is none. Ford is quoted as saying there are no production issues limiting supply.
"We've noticed that California represents nearly 40 percent of hybrid sales," said a Ford spokesman, Said Deep. "As a result, that state gets the largest share of hybrid production. We are looking at whether we can make adjustments to satisfy demand in all parts of the country."
My guess is some dealerships are running out fast, while others still have a few on the lot. The demand may be higher now than it was at the beginning of the year (note how incentives went from $3,000 to about $500), but days supply for the Escape (not broken out for hybrids) is up from 32 to 34 days as of August 1st (from July 1st).
I don't believe Ford is running into production issues.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Ford is Hard Pressed to Keep Up With the Demand
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