Ford Motor Company reported 190,014 new vehicle sales in May, up 11% year-over-year, and totaling 877,685 in the first five months of 2024—up 5.6% from the previous period. And despite Ford’s own recent remarks about slowing down on all-electric vehicles, sales of its EVs in the U.S. accelerated considerably.
Last month, Ford sold 8,966 EVs, which is 65% more than a year ago and the company’s third-best monthly result ever. The EV share out of the brand’s total volume improved to 4.9%, compared to 3.3% a year ago.
Ford EV sales noted a strong start to 2024
Ford was the No.2 brand in the U.S. EV segment after Tesla in Q1 2024. After the first five months, the company sold over 37,000 EVs and should be able to maintain its position.
Besides impressive deals, more buyers may now be enticed by Ford’s pivot to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) plug, and the fact that with an adapter, Ford EVs can now fully access Tesla’s Supercharger network. More automakers are adopting the same strategy, but Ford kicked it off and arrived to market first.
All three Ford EV models contributed to the growth, which started to be a pattern this year. The company sold 4,255 Mustang Mach-Es (up 46% year-over-year), 3,260 F-150 Lightning (up 91% year-over-year) and 1,451 E-Transit (up 77% year-over-year).
Ford BEV sales last month (YOY change):
- Ford Mustang Mach-E: 4,255 (up 46%)
- Ford F-150 Lightning: 3,260 (up 91%)
- Ford E-Transit: 1,451 (up 77%)
- Total: 8,966 (up 65%) and 4.9% share
So far this year, Ford has sold over 37,000 all-electric vehicles in the U.S., 88% more than a year ago. That’s now about 4.4% of the brand’s total volume.
Ford BEV sales year-to-date (YOY change):
- Ford Mustang Mach-E: 18,737 (up 89%)
- Ford F-150 Lightning: 13,093 (up 79%)
- Ford E-Transit: 5,378 (up 111%)
- Total: 37,208 (up 88%) and 4.4% share
For reference, in 2023, Ford sold more than 72,000 all-electric vehicles in the U.S., up 18% compared to 2022. This was about 3.8% of the brand’s total volume.
Ford F-150 Lightning
In May, Ford sold 3,260 F-150 Lightnings, almost twice the number sold a year ago and the highest number sold so far this year. Year-to-date sales exceeded 13,000, up 79%.
As we have said before, we expect nothing but growth from the Ford F-150 Lightning in 2024, especially since 2023 wasn’t a great year for the electric truck. However, the results might be lower than initially anticipated by the manufacturer, which slashed two-thirds of workers engaged in the F-150 Lightning production to achieve “the optimal balance of production, sales growth and profitability.”
Ford Mustang Mach-E
Ford Mustang Mach-E sales amounted to 4,255 units in May. That’s 46% more than a year ago and slightly above the monthly average for the model. After the first five months of the year, total sales stand at 18,737, up 89% year-over-year.
The “gross stock”—reported by Ford—increased in May to 17,600 units, compared to 15,600 a month ago.
Mach-E production in Mexico in May amounted to 6,714 units—the highest level this year but down 51% year-over-year. The total result year-to-date is 17,675, down 47% year-over-year.
We assume that Ford produced less because supply significantly outpaced demand. It seems that it will be a challenging year for the Mach-E. The cumulative production since 2020 exceeded 260,000. Perhaps demand for new production will pick up if sales continue to be strong.
Ford E-Transit
Sales of the Ford E-Transit van in May amounted to a near-record 1,451 units, up 77% year-over-year. The electric van will probably remain “America’s best-selling electric van,” as Ford likes to label it.
Unfortunately, Ford does not report sales of other plug-in models, like the Ford Escape PHEV. Lincoln’s PHEV sales were not revealed either.
