Ford's Overall Sales Climb While EV Numbers Drop

Chris Teague
by Chris Teague

Ford has invested billions in its electrification efforts, but the automaker might not see a return on that money for quite some time. Though it reported a significant jump in sales in the second quarter of this year, the company’s EV sales have fallen slightly.


Ford reported second-quarter sales growth of 9.9 percent from a year before and noted that year-to-date sales were up 10 percent. At the same time, Ford’s EV sales declined by 2.8 percent, driven by a more than 21 percent decline in Mustang Mach-E sales and a 3.8 percent drop in E-Transit numbers.


If EVs aren’t driving Ford sales, what is? If you guessed trucks, you’d be right. The Blue Oval’s truck sales jumped 34 percent in the second quarter and almost 25 percent from the first quarter of the year. Ford moved 246,155 trucks in the second quarter, outselling all of its rivals and helping it retain the title of the best-selling truck maker in the United States.


Though Ford truck sales jumped 26.2 percent, the company’s SUVs also saw double-digit increases. The automaker said that the supply of the Mustang Mach-E is improving and noted that F-150 Lightning inventory is on the rebound following a battery fire issue that temporarily halted production.


Ford’s sales report isn’t that surprising, given the state of EV infrastructure in this country and the additional costs of buying electric. The F-150 Lightning is an impressive electric truck, but it’s significantly more expensive than a comparable gas-powered F-150, making it a tough sell in many parts of the country. General Motors is in a similar boat, though it also reported a strong sales gain of 19 percent during the same time. 


[Image: Ford]


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Chris Teague
Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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4 of 27 comments
  • Carlson Fan Carlson Fan on Jul 10, 2023

    "The F-150 Lightning is an impressive electric truck,"


    Really? Explain that one. There isn't one thing in that whole truck that I find innovative which explains the dismal performance. They basically took and F150 chassis and stuck some electric motors and a big heavy battery on it. Have you looked at the pictures of what's underneath some of the pretty plastic covers. Looks like a hot mess of engineering to me. The word "ugly" comes to mind.


    They will never sell these over-priced under performing road disasters in any numbers. Start over with a clean slate and build an EV PU aimed at the WT market. With current battery tech,. & charging infrastructure that is the only market worth pursuing right now.

    • VoGhost VoGhost on Jul 11, 2023

      Ford is doing exactly that. The Lightening is just a stopgap until they've finished engineering the new model.


  • Doug brockman Doug brockman on Jul 10, 2023

    I have no clue

    but if its EV like Tesla reflect that stacked against the sales of cumulative ICE vehicles its a meaningless drop in the bucket

    • VoGhost VoGhost on Jul 11, 2023

      The past is in the past. Today, the best selling vehicle in the world is the Tesla Model Y. America is back, baby!


  • NJRide So this is an average age of car to be junked now and of course this is a lower end (and now semi-orphaned) product. But street examples seem to still be worth 2500? So are cars getting junked only coming in because of a traumatic repair? If not it seems a lot of cars being junked that would still possibly worth more than scrap.Also Murilee I remember your Taurus article way back what is the king of the junkyard in 2024?
  • AMcA I applaud Toyota for getting away from the TRD performance name. TuRD. This is another great example of "if they'd just thought to preview the name with a 13 year old boy."
  • Jeff Does this really surprise anyone? How about the shoes and the clothes you wear. Anything you can think of that is either directly made in China or has components made in China likely has some slave labor involved. The very smart phone, tablet, and laptop you are using probably has some component in it that is either mined or made by slave labor. Not endorsing slave labor just trying to be real.
  • Jeff Self-driving is still a far ways from being perfected. I would say at the present time if my car took over if I had a bad day I would have a much worse day. Would be better to get an Uber
  • 2manyvettes Time for me to take my 79 Corvette coupe out of the garage and drive if to foil the forces of evil. As long as I can get the 8 track player working...
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