Daily Slideshow: Ford Mustangs Tops Camaro & Challenger in 2017 Sales

Through the Years

Since the inception of the Chevrolet Camaro in 1967, the Ford Mustang has had some significant competition in sales.  Car and Driver provided data from 1964 1/2 through 2014.  Through those years, the Camaro topped the Mustang in the following years:

1977: Z28 was brought back after a two-year hiatus.  This was the first year for Camaro to top Mustang. (Honestly, it wasn't a great period for the Mustang.)

1982: 3rd Gen Camaro shows its face and wins against the 5.0 HO Fox Bodies.

1983: Camaro tops Mustang despite the Ford Convertible coming back and a first for the Turbo GT.

1984: Ford brings out the first SVOs, but the Z28 was named best handling car and tops Mustang.

1985: IROC-Z introduced and beats out the Mustang.

2010: Camaro returns and sells a third more than the Mustang.

2011: Camaro Convertible returns and sells nearly double the Mustangs.

In 53 years of the Ford Mustang, it has been out on top for 46 years.  2015 and 2016 had the Mustang on top.  Again in 2017, the Ford Mustang has outsold the second-best seller, the Chevrolet Camaro.  That says a lot about the Ford Mustang.  

>>Join the conversation about the Mustang Overtaking the Competition here in The Mustang Source.

Overseas Crave of the Ford V-8

Even though domestic car sales slumped for a few years, overseas sales have been booming.  In 2015, the first year the Mustang was offered overseas, nearly 25 percent of all the Mustangs produced were exported.

Part of Ford's winning combination has been linked to the 2015 decision of selling the Mustang overseas...and as expected, they can't get enough of it!  Sports car sales in Germany have been higher for the Ford Mustang than for their home-grown BMW and Porsche. 

Surprisingly enough, it is the V8 that is topping the oversea's market with a 60 percent hold versus the turbocharged 4- and 6-cylinder engine varieties.  In Australia, 80 percent of the sales are for the V8. 

>>Join the conversation about the Mustang Overtaking the Competition here in The Mustang Source.

Stuck in Third

While the Ford Mustang is clearly the winner for annual sales, the Dodge Challenger has been nipping at the heels of the Chevrolet Camaro and the Ford Mustang.  In June of 2017, the Challenger came out on top for monthly sales, with the Mustang in second place.  However, the win was short lived as the Challenger moved back to it's home in third place.  Annual year-to-date sales for eleven months were tallied in early December 2017 with the Challenger being 4,109 units behind the Camaro and 14,123 units behind the Mustang. The Challenger is a great looking car, with some great performance options, but it appears to not have enough to beat out its American rivalry.  

>>Join the conversation about the Mustang Overtaking the Competition here in The Mustang Source.

What's Next?

Part of the reason the Dodge Challenger topped the Ford Mustang for a month was that the Mustang loyalists were waiting with bated breath for the new 2018 Mustang to debut.  With the option for a six or ten-speed transmission, all new LED exterior lights, and a stealth feature (quiet mode), I don't blame them for waiting.  

The U.S. sales for the sports car segment were down 12 percent for the first half of 2017.  Naturally, with the refresh of the 2018 model, sales picked up a little bit.  However, major redesigns are typically completed every six to ten years.  With four year-models since the last major Mustang update, buyers will most likely wait another 18 months in hopes of a major redesign.  This may cause the dip in sales.  Will it be enough to allow the Camaro to usurp Mustangs throne?

>>Join the conversation about the Mustang Overtaking the Competition here in The Mustang Source.

Return of the Classics?

With a greater demand for the classics (First Generation: 1964.5-1973), Ford did right in their design of the fifth and sixth generations.  These two generations of the Ford Mustang did a great job paying homage to the classic styles that people love.  However, seventh generation renderings have been leaked, and it leaves behind the classic look for something more edgy and futuristic.  As more press releases occur of the seventh generation Mustang, it is suspected that sales for the sixth generation will be steady as people secure their piece of Mustang history.  Nothing is wrong with the new style.  However, the connection to the past is lost.

>>Join the conversation about the Mustang Overtaking the Competition here in The Mustang Source.

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