Ford Motor Company (F): The Automaker Doesn’t Need The Ranger Anymore

There is no way to know for sure what buyers would have done if the Ford Ranger had been on the market. However, the evidence suggests that Ford’s strategy is working. The full-size pickup segment is rebounding nicely, while compact pickup sales are still on the decline. Some would-be Ranger buyers undoubtedly bought the Toyota Tacoma instead. However, F-Series sales growth of 60,000 units in 2012 was approximately double the growth of Tacoma sales. It seems quite likely that the step-up of some would-be Ranger buyers to the F-150 is partially responsible for the strong growth of F-Series sales recently.

Foolish conclusion
Managing a massive global company like Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) entails making tough decisions. Discontinuing the Ranger for the U.S. market was one of those tough decisions. However, so far it looks like the right move. The American pickup market is moving strongly toward the full-size segment, which offers automakers much higher volumes and profits. With gas prices trending lower, buyers have one less reason to trade down from a full-size pickup to a compact or mid-size truck. Lastly, if Ford’s Atlas concept dramatically improves F-Series fuel economy, it will push small trucks into an even smaller niche. Alan Mulally and his team at Ford have made a lot of good moves in the last few years, and there’s no reason to believe they slipped up now.

The article Ford Doesn’t Need the Ranger Anymore originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Adam Levine-Weinberg.

Fool contributor Adam Levine-Weinberg has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Ford and General Motors and owns shares of Ford.

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