It’s no secret that 2018 wasn’t the best year for Ford, and the American automaker is pulling out all the stops in order to maintain relevance. From releasing a promotional video showing that the 2020 F-150 can tow one million pounds to hiring Idris Elba to help boost sales, Ford is striving to branch out and regain lost ground.

Part of this may be refocusing its attention to where the biggest sales are happening, and right now trucks are Ford’s biggest moneymakers.

Crunching Ford’s sales numbers

Things were looking up for Ford in 2017, especially in the truck department. We recently reported that the F-series was selling at a rate so fast, Ford could barely keep up in 2017. In fact, Ford was selling approximately 2,452 trucks a day. That may be why Ford is putting more focus on selling trucks rather than cars and SUVs. 

In 2018, things may not be looking up in general, but the truck sales certainly are. Ford reports that it sold 1,139,079 trucks in 2018. Crunch the numbers, and that’s 3,120 trucks a day, which is a huge jump from 2017.

Unfortunately, car and SUV sales weren’t quite so great.

The SUV division sold 872,215, which comes out to 2,389 vehicles a day. The car division suffered even worse. In spite of having such amazing cars like the Ford Mustang and Fusion, there were only 486,024 sold. That’s 1,331 cars sold per day in 2018. 

Crunch the numbers even further, and we see that 45% of Ford’s sales came from trucks. That’s almost half of all sales.

Focusing on trucks

When you have a good thing going for you, it only makes sense to put more emphasis on it, and Ford is doing exactly that. 

The F-Series has always been a moneymaker for Ford, and the F-150 is the biggest moneymaker of all. In fact, CNN reports that the F-150 is the second most important truck Ford has ever produced, second only to the legendary Model T which put Ford on the map.

The F-150 racks up rewards faster than the Flash chasing down a villain, has a loyal fan club, and can tow more than any other truck in its division. And that’s just one of Ford’s trucks. 

The Ford Ranger was retired back in 2011, at least in the U.S., according to the Motley Fool. Many consumers weren’t pleased with the decision, especially not when the Ranger was getting such rave reviews for its off-road capabilities in Australia.

Whether they had nostalgic memories of fishing with loved ones or were interested in buying one new, the Ranger definitely left a hole in the hearts of many American drivers.

In an effort to take advantage of the huge windfall that is coming from truck sales, Ford brought back the Ranger, and things have been looking up.

Motor Trend reports that the Ranger was the most fuel-efficient truck in its category, with a gas mileage rating of 21/26/23 city/highway/combined. For consumers who are trying to save money at the pump, there was a big pull towards the Ranger, and it showed in sales.

While it got off to a slow start, sales picked up for the Ranger, according to Trucks.com. Only time will tell if the Ranger continues to boost Ford’s sales figures, but right now, things are looking good. 

Is Ford done with SUVs and cars?

Thankfully, no. Ford has some great new ideas for the car and SUV division. Fox News reports that Ford is working on a Mustang-inspired SUV.

Since the Mustang has always been a big seller and SUVs are gaining popularity, it seems to be a great idea. Add in the fact that it’s also going to be electric, and this may be just what Ford needs to begin boosting sales again.