The Mustang has been a pretty popular muscle car in the U.S. for a long time. However with some brilliant competition around, the Mustang has taken a hit. So much so that Ford has shut down the factory after the iconic pony car suffered a 32 percent sales decline in the U.S. last month and was outsold by its direct competitor, the Chevrolet Camaro for the first time in two years.
The plant, which employs 3,702 workers and makes Mustangs and Lincoln Continentals, will resume production Oct. 17. Under the automaker’s labor agreement, workers will be paid during the shutdown. Mustang, which is among Ford’s most storied nameplates, received a racy redesign two years ago on the car’s 50th anniversary. That new look helped propel the Mustang past the Camaro in 2015 to regain its title as the top-selling sports car in America, which it had held for decades before General Motors Co. redesigned the Camaro in 2010.
Ford has sold 87,258 Mustangs in the U.S. this year, down 9.3 percent, while GM had Camaro sales of 54,535, off 11 percent, according to researcher Autodata Corp. Ford Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields has said the U.S. auto market has plateaued and that showroom sales are weakening.
This should not be of any consequence in the Indian market though where the car was launched just recently. Sold as CBU units, the car is readily available in the showrooms.
