Ford: U.S. car, truck sales up 32 percent in December

DETROIT — Ford Motor
said Tuesday that U.S. sales of its cars and trucks increased 32.8
percent in December compared with the like month last year, but the
automaker still ended the year with a 15.4 percent sales decline
compared with 2008.

Ford sold a total of 184,655 Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo cars and trucks in the United States during December, and a total of 1.68 million for the year.

“Ford’s plan is working,” Ken Czubay, Ford’s vice president of U.S. marketing sales and service, said in a statement.

Compared with last December, Ford said sales of its
cars increased 42 percent, crossovers 51 percent, SUVs 33 percent, and
trucks and van sales increased 18 percent.

For Ford and for the industry, December sales
provided relief from a dismal year that is expected to be the worst on
record since 1983.

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