Ford June US Sales Up 31%, YTD -8%

Ford Motor Company said today that it was better than the overall industry in June with sales up 31% on a good  mix of F-Series and SUV sales. The F-150 Lightning was the best-selling electric truck in June as EV Vehicle Sales increase 77% and Lincoln SUV sales rose 44%. However, both of those numbers reflect an extremely small base when compared year-over-year.

Thus far high gasoline prices, rising interest rates and declining to non-existent incentives have not had the expected negative effect on demand. Passenger cars sales at Ford dropped again by -43.3% at 26,302.

Click to Enlarge.

The year-over year comparison did not mention Ford Motor was among the most negatively affected automakers, as shortage-related plant shutdowns left its facilities running at just 55% of total capacity through May of 2021. Ford’s estimated volume loss in the first half of that year is more than 50% greater than production losses recorded by the next manufacturer on the list – the largest in North America – GM, according to consultancy LMC Automotive. (AutoInformed: Ford Leads NA Production Cuts from Semiconductor Shortage)

However, this year GM outsold Toyota year-to-date at 1,095,247 vehicles to Toyota’s 1,045,697. Ford is at 915,820 or -8.1%. Toyota is struggling with production because of chip shortages and COVID shut downs, particularly in China.

Ford said on Wednesday 30 June 2021 that its pickup truck factories in Michigan, Kentucky and Missouri would reduce or stop production for almost all of July of 2021. The Explorer plant in Chicago shut for the entire month. Production of several other models also were reduced or canceled, including the Escape SUV and Mustang sports car.

“If we dig a little deeper into the lost volume, there are clear disparities. When looking at volume lost in the high-profit Full-size Pickup and SUV segments – which include lucrative models like the Ford F-150, Ram 1500, Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Yukon and Ford Expedition – the impact on Ford’s output is far more alarming, with an estimated 37% of the volume losses stemming from those segments, compared with 13% for Stellantis and only 1% for GM,” according to Bill Rinna of LMC Automotive last June.

We will see how it plays out fore the balance of 2022. (AutoInformed: Ford Motor Blues – 2022 Q1 Loss of $3.1 Billion)