Ford sales boomed to an 18% gain in April to 212,584, driven by its best April for pickup trucks since 2005.
Sales of the company's F-150 pickup were up 24% over a year ago to 59,030 on a continuing rebound as the economy picks up. Jenny Lin, Ford's senior U.S. economist, said on a conference call with analysts and media that pickups sales are "being supported by the housing sector and a boom in the energy sector."
The company noted that sales of full-size pickups have been picking up at the pace of the industry since 2010, but for the first four months of this year they have been outpacing it.
Ford's redesigned Fusion sedan and Escape small SUV also help lead the gain, up 24% and 52 % respectively to 26,722 and 25,826. It was Escape's best total since the model launched 13 years ago, the company said. Significantly for profits, the company said on the conference call that about half of Escape sales were the higher-level SEL and Titanium models.
Overall, the company's car sales rose 21%, SUVs were up 16% and trucks were up 16%.