Ever since Ford discontinued the Crown Victoria, and the Panther platform altogether, they have been billing their Taurus and Explorer Interceptors as their new workhorse offings for police fleets across the country. However, while both of these vehicles were introduced in 2012, the Explorer Interceptor Utility has been selling far better than Taurus Interceptors. And that trend is still continuing in 2016.
According to GoodCarBadCar.com, since they became available in March of 2012, 64 percent of Interceptors sold in the U.S. have been Explorers. Sales of this vehicle climbed 21 percent in 2014, jumped another six percent in 2015, and are up another 27 percent through the first quarter of this year.
Meanwhile, the site also says that Taurus Interceptor sales declined six percent in 2014, then dropped another five percent in 2015, and are down another two percent as of this past March.
Just as with civilian vehicles, it appears that SUVs are more popular than sedans today in fleet, as well. Retail sales of passenger cars have dropped five percent from the first three months of last year. At the same time, sales of pickup trucks were up seven percent in the first thee months of 2015. Sales of SUVs and crossovers were also up during that same period. With gas prices low, it's not all that surprising that bigger vehicles like these are gaining popularity again.
Perhaps to capitalize on this trend even further, Ford recently announced it will make an F-150 Special Service Vehicle available to police fleets in the near future.
Good Car Bad Car says that the Explorer Interceptor Utility makes up about 12 percent of total Explorer sales in the U.S., while the Taurus Interceptor makes up about 17 percent of total Taurus sales.
NAFA Fleet Management Association
http://www.nafa.org/