F - Ford's European Sales Can't Make Up For Chinese Market Collapse
Recently plunging Chinese sales of Ford Motor Company's (NYSE: F) vehicles have slammed the brakes on the iconic carmaker's expansion into this huge overseas market. Far away in Europe, Ford's total 2019 vehicle sales rose above a million, with Germany showing particularly strong sales growth. While these two major international markets might seem to counterbalance each other, a closer look shows all is not quite as it seems in Europe, either.
With 1.27 million Ford cars and trucks sold in China in 2016, rapid double-digit declines in purchases more recently sends up a signal of potential trouble to those investing in car stocks. The slide began fairly modestly in 2017. However, in 2018 and 2019, Ford's sales in the eastern country turned into something resembling a half-million-car pileup, with 37% and 26% nose-dives respectively. Just 567,854 Fords left Chinese showrooms last year, according to Reuters.
Intertwined Chinese economic troubles and ongoing trade wrangles between the USA and China are among the major factors driving this decline. The entire Chinese car market, not just Ford, is suffering the downturn's effects. 2019 witnessed an 8.2% year-over-year fall in total auto sales from 2018.