Ford Expedition Sales Increase 62 Percent To 21,773 Units In Q1 2019

Ford Expedition sales increased in the United States and decreased in Mexico in the first quarter of 2019.

Ford Expedition Sales - Q1 2019 - United States

Ford Expedition Sales - Q1 2019 - Mexico

Competitive Sales Comparison

The increase in Expedition sales volume during the first quarter allowed it to become the best-selling nameplate in its competitive set. However, when combining sales of the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, which are analogous to the Expedition and Expedition Max, the Expedition’s 21,773 units sold become a distant second to the combined 31,882 units sold by the Tahoe and Suburban. Additionally, the Expedition increased its market share by 10 percent during the quarter to 27 percent.

Although the Expedition individually outsold its crosstown rivals – the GMC Yukon (see running GMC Yukon sales), Chevy Tahoe (see running Chevy Tahoe sales) and Chevy Suburban (see running Chevy Suburban sales) – FoMoCo still fell short to The General in terms of total segment share, as the three aforementioned models make up 58 percent of the mainstream full-size SUV market to the Expedition’s 27 percent.

• Note that for Q4 2018, GMC Yukon and GMC Yukon XL sales are reported on the same line, resulting in the Yukon XL line showing zero deliveries. This isn’t the case, as Yukon XL deliveries have simply been folded into the Yukon line item.

Sales Numbers - Mainstream Full-Size SUVs - Q1 2019 - United States

The rest of the competition – the Nissan Armada and Toyota Sequoia – trailed the segment by quite a wide margin, with the Armada selling half as many units and the Sequoia selling roughly one-tenth as many units as the Expedition.

The full-size mainstream SUV segment expanded nearly 3 percent to 80,813 units in Q1 2019.

The Ford Authority Take

After growing 5 percent through 2018, Ford Expedition sales have finally shot up to lead the segment on a nameplate basis. However, as previously noted, Ford is still trailing Chevrolet’s and GM’s dominant positions in the segment. Even so, it’s pleasing to see The Blue Oval finally taking share away from GM in the highly-lucrative full-size SUV space, though it’s also worth noting that GM will soon answer Ford’s all-new Expedition. Ford’s cross-town rival is prepping all-new versions of the Tahoe, Suburban and Yukon, all of which will launch later this year as 2021 model year vehicles.

Going forward, we expect Ford Expedition sales to continue growing thanks to the following factors:

1. An ongoing shift in consumer behavior that favors utility vehicles like CUVs and SUVs
2. A competitive and desirable product offering that is the Ford Expedition
3. Ford’s ability to meet increased demand thanks to recently expanding capacity at its Kentucky truck plant

About The Numbers

• All percent change figures compared to Ford Expedition Q1 2018 sales
• In the United States, there were 76 selling days in Q1 2019 and 76 selling days in Q1 2018
• Ford Expedition sales figures include sales for regular-length Expedition and extended-length Expedition MAX
• Starting in the second quarter of 2018, GM ceased breaking out sales for the GMC Yukon and Yukon XL. Because of this, the line in the comparison table that reads “Yukon” contains sales of both the Yukon and Yukon XL, while the line for Yukon XL shows 0 units sold for the first quarter.