In Asia and Africa, guerrillas rely on the Toyota Hilux, known to Americans as the Tacoma, to get around. In Mexico, the drug cartels rely on the Ford Lobo, known to Americans as the F-150. Now Mexican sales of the Ford Lobo have dipped — because it’s so popular with the cartels:
Mexican sales of Ford’s Lobo pick-up, popular with drug cartel hitmen, are falling along with those of similar vehicles because motorists fear being mistaken for gangsters by soldiers and police, the head of the U.S. automaker’s local subsidiary said on Thursday.
“It’s a vehicle that is in high demand for committing crimes,” said Gabriel Lopez, the new president of Ford in Mexico. “There’s plenty of space in the pick-up’s cabin for more weapons.”
A slump in sales of the Lobo, part of the F-Series pick-ups made by Ford Motor Co, has helped pushed the company’s total market share in Mexico down to 10.7 percent from 16 percent a few years ago, Lopez told a news conference.
Heavily armed members of drug cartels are known to steal pick-up trucks when they launch attacks on rivals or security forces as part of Mexico’s increasingly bloody war on drugs.