Ford targets 13% U.S. retail share

NEW ORLEANS -- Ford Motor Co. wants to grow its U.S. retail market in 2017, telling dealers Saturday it aims to break the 13 percent barrier.Last year’s retail share information is not yet complete, but total U.S. market share for the Ford and Lincoln brands including fleet sales totaled 14.6 percent, according to IHS Markit data.Ford’s plans to grow retail share rests largely on its most profitable vehicles, and could gain a boost from its recently redesigned Super Duty pickup. Unlike crosstown rival Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which is adding 400 dealerships in a bid to chase share, Ford executives say they don’t plan to add to the automaker’s roughly 3,000 U.S. showrooms.“We’re very comfortable with the amount of dealers we have,” Mark LaNeve, Ford’s head of U.S. marketing, sales and service, said after the meeting.He noted that some markets will see growth, such as a new dealership coming to Dallas, but said “those instances are far and few between.”Dealers who attended the meeting described it as positive and upbeat.Company officials discussed Ford’s addition of an Omnicraft brand of aftermarket parts to serve non-Ford and non-Lincoln vehicles. The company has sold $2 million in those parts, dealers were told.Executives also laid out Ford’s product strategy, emphasizing the 13 electrified vehicles it plans to introduce in the next five years. Ford also told dealers about its Ranger midsize pickup coming in 2019, and the Bronco SUV coming in 2020, but no photos or prototypes were shown.On the marketing end, Ford will advertise in the Super Bowl for the first time in three years on Feb. 5. Dealers saw a preview its 90-second spot during the make meeting, according to sources in the room. Ford would not officially confirm the ad Saturday, but a spokeswoman said the automaker would have “more to say next week.”Jim Seavitt, president of Village Ford in Dearborn, Mich., said it was the most laid-back meeting he’s attended. “There’s no drama right now at Ford,” he said. “It’s refreshing to see dealers and the company in sync.”

Ford targets 13% U.S. retail share

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