Whether or not Ford cares, there appears to be little doubt that the 2011 Ford Explorer is eating away at sales of the Ford Edge. One reason Ford won’t care: the Edge was still America’s seventh-best-selling utility vehicle in May. Another reason not to care: altogether, Ford SUV sales totalled 51,982 last month, up 12.7% from May 2010’s total when the Explorer was all but all-new.
By themselves, Ford’s five utility vehicles – the three you see below plus the Flex and Expedition – owned 4.9% of the overall new vehicle market in the United States in May. Pair Ford’s dominance with the effects of March 11th’s disasters in Japan – now being firmly felt by Honda, Toyota, Nissan and others – and there are barely enough SUV buyers to go around for Ford’s foreign rivals. These points have been made on GoodCarBadCar.net before, so rather than belabour them any longer, consider a couple of other facts stemming from the list of the Top 10 Best-Selling SUVs in America you’ll scroll through in a moment.
The Jeep Wrangler, one of the planet’s most old-fashioned new vehicles, posted a 3.9% year-over-year increase in May. “That’s nothing special,” you say, “After all, Kia Sorento sales rose 45.8%.” True, but it’s recently been revealed that the Wrangler will soon feature the powerful Pentastar V6 and a 5-speed automatic. This basically means that America’s favourite off-roader could be even more popular come this time next year. Moreover, the Wrangler was the best-selling Jeep in May, ahead of the civilized Grand Cherokee. And while the 3.9% gain seems small, any increase in a market which shrunk 4% can be celebrated. The Jeep Wrangler, by the way, is a member of GoodCarBadCar.net’s The Good 12.
Rank
|
SUV
|
Status
|
May 2011
|
Last Month
|
May 2010
|
#1
|
Ford Escape
|
↑
|
23,140
|
21,240
|
19,203
|
#2
|
Chevrolet Equinox
|
↑
|
17,587
|
17,067
|
13,134
|
#3
|
Honda CR-V
|
↓
|
16,307
|
21,683
|
17,820
|
#4
|
Ford Explorer
|
↑
|
13,318
|
12,593
|
5677
|
#5
|
Kia Sorento
|
↑
|
11,936
|
12,001
|
8189
|
#6
|
Jeep Wrangler
|
↑
|
10,008
|
9051
|
9634
|
#7
|
Ford Edge
|
↑
|
9486
|
9361
|
13,660
|
#8
|
Jeep Grand Cherokee
|
↓
|
9484
|
9802
|
3246
|
#9
|
Toyota RAV4
|
↓
|
8624
|
15,586
|
13,102
|
#10
|
Honda Pilot
|
↓
|
8560
|
9488
|
9834
|
Source: Manufacturers And Automotive News Data Center
Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Top 10 Best-Selling SUVs In America – May 2012
Top 10 Best-Selling SUVs In America – June 2011
Top 10 Best-Selling SUVs In America – April 2011
Top 10 Best-Selling SUVs In America – May 2010
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America – May 2011
U.S. Auto Sales By Brand – May 2011
Top 5 Best-Selling Trucks In America – May 2011