Go back to 2007 when gas prices shot up, the first thing that happened was that large truck sales
slowed right up as the buyers fled the lifestyle truck and Utility market, commercial sales then
began to follow approximately six months after as the full financial crisis worsened..
At that time, F Series came down to around 30K/month and Ford was thinking that was permanent die back
which was also the reason why Expedition and Navigator didn't get significant upgrades in 2010 with F150.
So before the GFC hit, the Retail market for large trucks and Utes was already in steep decline
as people stayed out of the market instead of downsizing as most companies expected.
FWIW, we're not in the same situation as then but also, as fuel prices begin to come back up
buyers may not necessarily flee the large truck and Ute market as before due to today's vehicles
having much better fuel economy. While it's prudent to have a downsizing contingency plan,
it may be that the market makes those predictions look hasty and rash.
Let's see if Ford is true to its word of daily rentals being seasonal by reducing those sales in
the second half of the year and bringing those annual percentages back to acceptable levels.
The main reason I see Ford entertaining that much rental business in the first half of the year
is to keep plant production constant without the need to idle plants or rebalance production.
ED was right when he said that,
"Diversify your portfolio" on one hand it guarantees some damage,
on the other hand it minimizes it............
I think daily rentals are something that Ford does because it suits their end purposes
with buffering production and suppliers not just the ROI those sales may or may not bring in....