Ford manages Q2 sales increase on trucks, EVs and hybrids
Breana NobleFord Motor Co.'s U.S. sales rose less than 1% year-over-year in the second quarter, propelled by growth in sales of trucks as well as vehicles with alternative powertrains even as cyberattacks disrupted dealership operations at the tail end of the quarter.
Sales increased 0.8% to 536,050 in the April-to-June period, the Dearborn automaker said Wednesday. A 4.5% increase in truck sales reflects a lineup that includes the refreshed F-150 and new Ranger midsize pickup. Meanwhile, electric vehicle sales rose 61% and hybrid sales were up almost 56% to a quarterly record, while the bulk — 85% — of Ford's sales that are in gas- and diesel-powered vehicles fell 5%.
Even as vehicle pricing somewhat retreats and automakers up incentives, high interest rates have made financing a new vehicle a challenge for some customers, and political uncertainty heading into the presidential election also may be contributing to hesitancy.
Meanwhile, two cyberattacks on digital management system provider CDK Global Inc., which supports thousands of dealers across the country — including some of Ford's — disrupted operations. Some dealers took to doing sales on pen and paper, ran documents to the secretary of state by hand and were unable to access vehicle service histories and appointment logs. CDK says its management system should be back up for dealers by Thursday.
Expected to boost Ford sales in the latter half of the year is the refreshed Ford Explorer SUV that will begin shipping to dealers soon. That'll be followed by the new Lincoln Aviator SUV, Mustang Mach-E Rally SUV and extended-range E-Transit commercial van.
F-Series truck sales were down 6.1% in the second quarter from last year. The all-electric F-150 Lightning was up 77%, representing 4% of F-Series sales. Hybrid models had their best quarter and represented 20% of the non-EV deliveries.
Ranger sales rose 5.1%. Maverick compact truck sales were up 81%; its hybrid model had its best quarter yet.
Transit commercial van sales rose 32%, contributing to a first-half sales record. E-Transit sales represented 8% of those sales and gained 96%, the vehicle's best quarter since debuting in 2022. Ford also highlighted consumer adoption of its Ford Pro Intelligence software platform with 600,000 subscribers at the end of the quarter, up about 33% from last year.
SUV sales fell 5.3%, though with sales in the segment up 5.3% in the first half of 2024, it still makes a best first half for them. In the second quarter, sales of the Expedition rose 8.7%, the Explorer and Bronco were flat, the Bronco Sport fell 15% and the Escape dropped by 13%.
Mustang Mach-E SUV sales increased 46%. Ford has been looking at ways to encourage EV sales. Last week, it notified employees and retirees under its management lease program that it was offering for model year 2025 the opportunity for participants to lease an additional vehicle from the base program if it's a Mach-E or Lightning.
Sales of the Mustang coupe were up 27%.
Luxury brand Lincoln SUV deliveries rose 19% in the second quarter. Aviator sales grew by 90%. The new Nautilus captured a 20% increase. Corsair was up 17%, though Navigator fell 27%.
Despite the disruptions at dealers on the service side because of the cyberattacks, Ford emphasized there was a 175% increase in remote service jobs by dealers during the first half of the year.
Ford's sales trend was better than those of its crosstown rivals. General Motors Co.'s saw a 0.6% increase in deliveries. Stellantis NV's fell by a whopping 21%. Foreign automakers Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Hyundai Motor Corp., Subaru Corp., Mazda Motor Corp., BMW AG and Volkswagen AG all reported quarterly U.S. sales increases. Kia Corp., Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. posted slight declines, as did Texas-based Tesla Inc. for its global sales.
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