Ford Drops U.S. Ads for Sedans

Ford Motor Co. is canceling all national advertising for its sedans and redirecting its spending on such models as the Mustang sports car and EcoSport small crossover vehicles.

Mark LeNeve, who heads U.S. marketing, tells Automotive News that Ford has dropped all its so-call tier 1 marketing for the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion and Taurus sedans. The company also is reducing its regional spending on those models, all of which are being phased out in North America.

LeNeve says Ford will continue to help dealers with the Fusion sedan, which will remain for at least two more years, with sales incentives to help them control inventories.

Ford announced in April that it would drop sedan body styles in North America. The company plans to replace many of those models with more popular pickup trucks and crossover-style variants.

So far this year, Ford’s car sales in the U.S. are down 16%, compared with gains of 2% for SUVs and 5% for trucks. Last month, the company’s car sales plummeted 21%, as demand for SUVs soared 20%.