Exhibit 20
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
NEWS
Contact: George Pipas
313-323-9216
gpipas@ford.com
Go to http://media.ford.com for news releases and high-resolution photographs.
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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FORD MOTOR COMPANY REPORTS MAY U.S. SALES
o Ford's O'Connor encouraged by higher retail demand and recent economic news
o Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator pace company's record-setting SUV sales
o Volvo and Land Rover set new May sales records
o Ford sets second quarter North American production plan at 1 million units and
third quarter plan at 810,000 units
DEARBORN, Mich., June 3 - U.S. customers purchased or leased 327,666 cars and
trucks from Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Jaguar, Volvo, and Land Rover dealers in
May, down 0.7 percent compared with a year ago. Truck sales were 7.5 percent
higher, while car sales were down 13.3 percent. Sales to individual retail
customers were up 6.9 percent, while sales to fleet customers declined 18.5
percent.
Year-to-date, the company's sales were 1.44 million, down 1.9 percent compared
with the same period a year ago.
"We're encouraged by the level of consumer demand in the month of May as well as
incoming economic data," said Jim O'Connor, Ford group vice president, North
America Marketing, Sales, and Service. "Although the U.S. economy is still in a
period of slow growth, we believe the tax cut package and higher consumer
spending will help to accelerate economic growth before the year is over."
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"May sales were stronger than most forecasts," said O'Connor. "About 1.6 million
customers purchased a new car or truck in May - the highest for any month since
August 2002. After that, you have to go back to October 2001 to find a higher
sales month."
The all-new Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, which debuted in June 2002,
paced the company to a new May SUV sales record. Expedition sales were 19,182
(up 46 percent compared with a year ago) and Navigator posted record sales of
4,087 (up 169 percent). Two more new SUVs, Lincoln Aviator and Volvo XC90,
helped increase the company's total SUV sales to 92,540, eclipsing the previous
May record (81,259) set in 2001. Aviator sales were the highest since the
all-new mid-size SUV was introduced.
Ford, the best-selling brand of cars and trucks in America, reported May sales
of 272,960, essentially equal to a year ago. Ford dealers reported higher sales
for the entire range of "No Boundaries" sport utility vehicles, including record
May sales for the Ford Escape. Sales for the Ford F-Series, America's
best-selling vehicle, were 1.4 percent higher than a year ago. Ford Mustang
sales were 16,266, up 14 percent from a year ago.
Lincoln sales rose 17 percent from a year ago on the strength of record SUV
sales. Aviator and Navigator combined for May sales of 6,880, four times higher
than last year's sales for Navigator alone and the highest SUV sales ever
delivered by the Lincoln franchise in a single month. Mercury sales were 31
percent lower than a year ago reflecting lower fleet deliveries and the impact
of discontinued models (Cougar and Villager).
Volvo dealers reported record May sales of 13,120, up 64 percent from a year
ago. May was the seventh month in a row of higher sales at Volvo - a streak that
started with the introduction of the XC90. In May, XC90 sales were 3,792 - the
highest sales month so far for Volvo's award-winning sport utility vehicle.
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Land Rover dealers also reported record May sales of 3,190, up 6 percent from a
year ago, reflecting higher sales of the all-new Range Rover, the flagship of
Land Rover's fleet. May was the third month in a row of record Land Rover sales.
The company revised its second quarter North American production plan upward by
10,000 units. The company now plans to produce 1 million vehicles in the second
quarter compared with 1.175 million in the second quarter 2002. In the third
quarter, the company plans to produce 810,000 vehicles compared with 951,000 in
the third quarter 2002.
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