What's Driving Ford Motor Company's Woes in Europe?

Most investors remember Ford Motor Company's (NYSE: F) dark days in Europe following the past recession, when the automaker burned through billions of dollars in profits. Fortunately for investors, those days are in the past, and the automaker has posted nine consecutive quarterly profits through the second quarter of 2017. Despite its recent financial success, Ford's sales dipped slightly last month in its traditional 20 European markets (the "Euro 20"). But what's driving the decline?

Before we get to some of the highlights and explanations, let's check the raw data. Starting from the top: Ford's total Euro 20 vehicle sales declined 2.4% to 73,100 units in August. That fueled a market-share decline of 50 basis points, to 7.1%. If you've been keeping track of Ford's trends in Europe, it's no surprise that the driving force behind the decline is its passenger-vehicle sales, which were down 6.1% to 50,600 units. Despite the August decline and summer softness in sales, Ford's year-to-date sales through August in its Euro 20 markets are up 2.2% compared to the prior year.

Ford's passenger-car sales declined in Europe. Image source: Ford Motor Company.

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Source: Fool.com