Ford Selling More Fuel Efficient Cars

By Mike Thomas, FCN

As gas prices rise, customers are looking to smaller engines to save on fuel, a trend reflected in sales of the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan. From January through mid-May, sales of four-cylinder models nearly doubled, now accounting for more than 20 percent of all Ford vehicles.

"Along with the Fusion and Milan, the increase also includes Focus and Escape," said George Pipas, manager, Sales Analysis. "Clearly, higher gas prices are increasing consumer demand to look at more fuel-efficient vehicles and powertrains."

The growing popularity of four-cylinder engines extends beyond Ford to the industry as a whole. Autoweek Magazine reports that four-cylinder sales climbed from 30.1 percent of the market at the beginning of the year to 35.4 percent by the middle of May.

To get an idea of how the trend at Ford shifted from the Fusion's V-6 engine to the Inline4 cylinder (I4), Pipas points to the retail sales rate, which shows the percentage of engine types purchased.

"For February of this year, the Fusion's rate for the I4 was 41 percent, meaning that 59 percent of Fusion sales were for models with a V-6," Pipas said. "In March, the four-cylinder rate rose to 47 percent, and in April the rate jumped to 53 percent."

For the Milan a similar change occurred.

"Mercurys are a little different, since they always trend toward the V-6 engine," Pipas said. "Still, the February rate for the I4 was 31 percent and that grew to 42 percent in April."

The major variable during those months was the rise in gas prices. "I expect to see the demand for the four-cylinder models remaining strong," Pipas said.

Sales of Ford Escape models also reflect the desires of new-car buyers who are looking for more fuel efficiency. While the Escape Hybrid accounted for 8 percent of all Escape sales in February, the Hybrid model made up 20 percent of Escape sales in April.

In a related note, Pipas says sales of Ford's Focus increased during the same time period, again reflecting the shift to fuel-efficient vehicles. The Focus is primarily a four-cylinder model.

The third member of the successful mid-size trio, the Lincoln Zephyr, only comes in a V-6 model. However, that V-6 is 3.0-liter Duratec 30, which was refined for the new mid-size cars for an optimal balance between power and fuel efficiency.

Contributing to the V-6's fuel economy is the second-generation six-speed transmission used in the Zephyr, as well as the Fusion and Milan.

Six-speed automatic transmissions provide a wider ratio span between the highest and lowest gear ratios than their four-speed counterparts, making better use of engine power to deliver torque on demand and providing a four percent to eight percent improvement in fuel efficiency.

The V-6 engine itself was improved the variable intake cam timing, which allows an engine to operate more efficiently.

Ford is planning hybrid versions of the Fusion and Milan in 2008.