Mustang sales nosedive

The total for 2019 is down 38.4 per cent on 2018’s 6,412 total, which in turn was down 30 per cent on the high of 2017.

Ever-rising prices for the Mustang have been cited as one reason for the slump, as well as speculation that local demand has been met, while some potential buyers may be waiting for the arrival of the locally-developed supercharged R-Spec version, which is due for release shortly.

More pertinent is the depressed new car market overall, which saw sales for 2019 down 7.8 per cent on 2018 levels. All major brands, with the exception of Kia, saw fewer sales in 2019 and even the powerhouse models of the Australian market, like the HiLux and Ranger utes, failed to better 2018 sales numbers.

In the ‘Sports Cars Under $80K’ segment that the Mustang occupies, sales were down 35.6 per cent, but the Mustang’s 3,948 sales still dominate the segment, with the next best being the BMW 2 Series which saw 923 sales for the year.

Conversely, the ‘Sports Cars $80K - $200K’ segment (which the upcoming R-Spec Mustang will slot into) actually recorded a 10.8 per cent increase in 2019, with Mercedes-Benz the dominant brand in this category.

Regardless of the reasons, such a sharp fall is no doubt concerning for Ford, as the Mustang has been a success for them here, with Australia the best right-hand drive market for the pony car globally.

Even with its reduced numbers, the Mustang was Ford’s third-best-selling model for 2019, behind the Ranger and Everest.