Ford F-150 Lightning U.S. Sales Hit New Record In October 2023

In October, the total sales of Ford and Lincoln vehicles in the United States decreased by five percent year-over-year to 149,938, which in part might be related to the UAW strikes. After the first ten months of the year, the total result amounted to 1,658,010 (up eight percent year-over-year).

Results last month and year-to-date:

• Ford sales: 143,064 (down 5%) and 1,591,695 (up 8%)
• Lincoln sales: 6,874 (down 4%) and 66,315 (down 5%)
• Total sales: 149,938 (down 5%) and 1,658,010 (up 8%)

Sales of battery-electric vehicles (BEV) increased last month, but only slightly, reaching 6,831 units (up 9 percent year-over-year) and 4.8 percent of Ford’s total volume.

The model results are also a bit mixed. The Ford F-150 Lightning pickup sales surged to a new record of 3,172 units (up 52 percent year-over-year), while the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Ford E-Transit were both down year-over-year.

That’s definitely not a good situation, especially since Ford announced EV investment cuts after disappointing sales results and noticeable losses related to EVs.

Ford BEV sales last month (YOY change):

• Ford Mustang Mach-E: 2,732 (down 11%)
• Ford F-150 Lightning: 3,712 (up 52%)
• Ford E-Transit: 387 (down 50%)
• Total: 6,831 (up 9%) and 4.8% share

Ford BEV sales in the US – October 2023

So far this year, Ford sold more than 53,000 all-electric vehicles in the U.S. (13 percent more than a year ago). That’s about 3.4 percent of the brand’s total volume.

Ford BEV sales year-to-date (YOY change):

• Ford Mustang Mach-E: 31,614 (up 2%)
• Ford F-150 Lightning: 15,972 (up 43%)
• Ford E-Transit: 5,916 (up 15%)
• Total: 53,502 (up 13%) and 3.4% share

For reference, in 2022, Ford more than doubled its BEV sales to 61,575 units and 3.5 percent of Ford’s total volume (excluding the Lincoln brand).

The numbers clearly show that there are strong headwinds that prevent Ford from ramping up electric vehicle sales as it originally anticipated.

Ford F-150 Lightning

Record sales of the Ford F-150 Lightning are October is the main positive element of the report. The company sold 3,712 units, which really stands out from what we saw previously.

We guess that in the case of the Ford F-150 Lightning, sales will continue to be positive in the following months, because the production was promised to increase and there were several thousand vehicles waiting for a green light (quality checks).

However, the target production rate of 150,000 units per year (12,500 per month), by the end of 2023, probably won’t happen in the near term.

Ford Mustang Mach-E

Ford Mustang Mach-E sales were down by 11 percent year-over-year to 2,732 units in October. Because of that, the year-to-date result is only slightly higher than a year ago at 31,614 (up 2 percent year-over-year).

This is a bit worrying for the Mach-E because the “gross stock” – reported by Ford – increased significantly to 26,100 units (compared to 20,400 a month ago).

Let’s recall that the Ford Mustang Mach-E competes with the Tesla Model Y and multiple other models in the highly competitive all-electric crossover/SUV segment.

Ford Mustang Mach-E production

The production of the Ford Mustang Mach-E in Mexico this time decreased, after a period of noticeable growth, which is also very interesting. In October, 7,895 units were produced (down almost 8 percent year-over-year).

So far this year, production for global markets increased by almost 34 percent year-over-year to almost 85,000.

The original plan was to increase the production rate to 210,000 units annually by the end of 2023, but today we don’t even know whether such a level will be possible in 2024.

Ford E-Transit

Sales of the Ford E-Transit van in October amounted to 387 units (down 50 percent year-over-year). That’s a strange result, especially after a new monthly record set in September. The year-to-date volume amounted to 5,916 (up 15 percent year-over-year).

Other plug-ins

Unfortunately, Ford does not report sales of other plug-in models, like the Ford Escape PHEV. Lincoln’s PHEV sales were not revealed either.

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