Ford has nailed the formula for being leader in pickup truck sales: Here’s how
The key to dominance in pickup trucks requires giving buyers choices as the industry rapidly evolves and that means offering F-Series in classic gas, hybrid and electric options, Ford CEO Jim Farley told investors in recent days.
Based on October sales totals, and year-to-date totals, the formula is working as hoped.
Farley has promised the public that F-Series trucks with gas-powered engines aren't going away anytime soon and anxious consumers need to relax. The Ford strategy is to offer the hybrid F-150 and Maverick, which use gasoline and battery power, to bridge the gap for people who are hesitant about making the big leap to full battery electric.
Yet electric trucks are selling, too.
Highlights and lowlights
According to Ford sales numbers obtained from the automaker on Thursday:
For the first 10 months of the year, Ford leads the industry as the top-selling brand with total sales of 1,591,695 vehicles, outselling second highest Toyota by 18,571 vehicles and up 8.4% from a year ago.
Ford is the top-selling truck manufacturer. Ford truck sales outsold General Motors by more than 66,000 trucks through October of this year with 903,204 trucks — up 16.9% year-to-date from last year. Ford builds the F-Series, Super Duty, Ranger, Maverick and Transit van lineup.
Hybrid vehicle sales, led by Maverick and F-150, hit a new monthly sales record of 13,155 vehicles, up 37.9% from a year ago. Maverick hybrid sales had a record month in October with 6,230 trucks sold, up 42.6% over last year. Year to date, the Maverick saw a 50.2% sales increase to 42,669 trucks. Maverick hybrid now accounts for 56% of all Mavericks sold. F-150 hybrid trucks sales grew to 3,930 for the month of October, contributing to total sales this year of 40,636, up 42.6%.
In October, the all-electric F-150 Lightning had the best sales month since Lightning launched in 2022 with a record 3,712 trucks sold. This, despite the fact that it had a quality check disruption with dealer orders. Year to date, Lightning is up 42.7% with 15,972 trucks sold.
While F-Series sales dipped 5.1% in October to 53,509 vehicles, it still outsold the Chevrolet Silverado by 11,876 vehicles. F-Series year-to-date is up 19.7% to 626,879 trucks. F-Series remains America’s bestselling truck this year, leading its closest competitor Silverado by 181,825 trucks.
Year to date, Ford has sold 53,502 electric vehicles, up 12.6% from 2022; 109,669 hybrid vehicles, up 18.8% from 2022; 1,494,839 internal combustion vehicles, up 6.8%. Total Ford Motor Co. sales, including Lincoln vehicles, climbed 7.7% to 1,658,010.
Sales of Lincoln Corsair and the Aviator SUV dropped, with year to date sales down 13.3% to 19,836 and 37.9% to 11,587 respectively. Yet sales of the Nautilus and Navigator are up 11.5% to 20,215 and 40.4% to 14,677 respectively. Overall, Lincoln sales are down 5.4% compared with this period a year ago.
Trucks remain the path to profitability for Ford, with truck sales growing 16.9% to 903,204 compared with the same period in 2022. SUV sales dipped 1.4% to 715,190, and car sales dropped 2.3% to 39,616 as the company pares down its offerings.
What's happening with Explorer, Mustang Mach-E?
Meanwhile, despite Explorer selling 16,634 in October, the year-to-date sales are down 10.1% to 154,766. The SUV production was down in September and October because of the UAW strike at the Chicago Assembly Plant, according to remarks in late October from Ford executives about the strike impact during quarterly earnings.
Chicago Assembly joined the strike on Sept. 29 and the tentative agreement was announced on Oct. 25. Ford announced Monday that all striking UAW workers had returned to work.
The all-electric Mustang Mach-E sales dipped to 2,732 SUVs in October but Mach-E is up 1.5% over this time period a year ago with to 31,614 vehicles sold. The all-new Mustang is up with 4,270 cars sold in October while Mustang has dipped 2.1% to 39,585 compared with a year ago, according to Ford.
Strong sales expected in November, December
Building the top two bestselling hybrid trucks, with Maverick and the F-150 respectively, positions Ford well as it heads into the fourth quarter, when sales are expected to grow more, said Erich Merkle, Ford U.S. sales analyst. "Lightning did very well. Our inventory has been touch and go. You'll see the impact in fourth quarter there, too."
Super Duty production was hit hard by the UAW strike at the Kentucky Truck Plant that began Oct. 11 and ended Oct. 25, UAW leaders said during the strike. That one factory generates $25 billion a year in revenue, Ford said. And the UAW Local 862 President Todd Dunn, whose members work at the plant, told the Louisville Courier-Journal that Ford stood to lose roughly $30 million per day in profit with the strike.
"The plant is beginning to focus on fulfilling orders again," Merkle said.
"We continue to have orders to fill," Merkle said. "The strike at Kentucky Truck was a bit of a drag on October sales."
Maverick inventory remains tight, he said. "Maverick is very hot for us right now. It's been hot since its launch. People say that's a lot of truck for the price."
More: How discontinued Maverick sedan evolved into Ford's newest thing in little pickups
Ford continues to see steady demand with Lightning, Merkle said. "Buyers are out there. The rate at which it's growing is different than the industry mapped out, but it is indeed growing."
In July, Ford said the hybrid pickups play a key role in its strategy for 2024.
Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter @phoebesaid.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford dominates truck sales with hybrid pickups playing key role
