Ford's Dealerships Now Outnumber Chevrolet's

Last year, Ford outsold Chevrolet by 160,000 cars, but that's not the only area where the Blue Oval managed an overtake. According to WardAuto, despite the fact that a total of 62 dealerships were cut, Ford stores stood at 3,131 at the end of 2010. Meanwhile its main competitor on the US market stood at 3,084 Chevrolet sales points, down 372.

“That’s really new. It’s the first time I can remember that happening,” said John Frith, vice president of Urban Science, an automotive consultancy.

GM’s extensive dealership cutting is mainly to blame for the loss of Chevy showrooms that have steadily declined in number ever since the auto giant, along with Chrysler, declared bankruptcy in 2009. However, it is questionable if Ford really needs this many representatives across the nation. “I wouldn’t say Ford has too many,” Frith stated, also saying that the US carmaker continues to assess dealership numbers on sales per store basis.

“We are seeing throughput rising dramatically since the low point of 2009. We’re getting close to the levels we were seeing in 16 million and 17 million sales years when there were more dealers,” said Randy Berlin, Urban Science’s director-global account.

Berlin claims that sales were up between 38 and 129 percent per store last year. These figures depend on the brand, he said, declining to specify which ones are lowest or highest. But given the atrocious 2009 sales year carmakers endured, 2010 could be considered a dream come true.

The Ford-Chevrolet rivalry has dominated the landscape since the early 20th century. Back in 1912, the US had a staggering 12,000 Ford dealerships, with many small-town stores pumping gas on the side.