Ford Motor's Sales Growth Slowed In October

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) on Monday announced U.S. sales metrics for the month of October.

Ford sold 188,654 vehicles in October, a decrease of 2 percent from a year ago. The company said in a press release the sales declines were “expected” due to a plant changeover for the introduction of the new 2015 F-150.

Sales of Ford-branded vehicles fell 2.7 percent to 179,771 while sales of Lincoln branded vehicles rose 24.6 percent to 8,883 vehicles.

Ford sold 53,542 cars in the quarter, a decrease of 11.5 percent from a year ago. Sales of Trucks dipped 2.6 percent to 75,204 while sales of utility vehicles rose 10.3 percent to 59,908.

Sales of Ford Fusion rose 5.1 percent from a year ago to 22,846, marking the sixth consecutive month of record sales. John Felice, Ford's Vice President of U.S. Market, Sales and Service stated that sales of the Fusion car is on pace to break the 300,000-vehicle mark for the first time ever.

Sales of Ford Escape vehicles rose 12 percent from a year ago to 24,919, marking the best-ever October performance. Sales of Explorer SUVs rose 6 percent from a year ago to 14,455, marking the best October performance since 2004.

Ford's top selling vehicle by unit, the F-Series saw its sales dip 0.6 percent to 63,410 units.

Shares of Ford recently traded at $12.98, down 0.8 percent.