Ford reported a 17.1% drop in total U.S. sales from a year ago to 432,132 vehicles, according to sales data released Monday. The automaker saw a 23.4% drop in truck sales and a 5.1% drop in SUV sales.
Ford exceeded the overall sales figures predicted by automotive site Edmunds.com for automaker Dearborn by 427,805.
The company saw a bigger percentage drop in sales than Stellantis and Toyota, but not as severe as General Motors. Overall, Ford sold more vehicles than Stellantis but less than General Motors and Toyota.
“The global shortage of semiconductor chips continues to create challenges for Ford and the industry. But keep in mind that the industry didn’t experience the same chip challenges last year as this. year,” said Erich Merkle, Ford’s U.S. sales analyst. the free press. “The F-Series had chip issues in the first quarter. However, we had a record 50,000 F-Series retail vehicle orders in March. These are people who go to dealerships and pass and order for the F-series.”
Sales highlights for the first quarter versus a year ago include:
- Bronco Sport grew 24.5% to 29,089
- Ford Edge grew 19.2% to 26,412
- All-electric Mustang Mach-E grew 1.8% to 6,734
The rest of the portfolio produced grim numbers:
- Series F down 31% to 140,701
- Ranger down 27% to 17,639
- Public transport down 37.3% to 17,211
- Ford Mustang down 19% to 13,986
- Explorer down 34.5% to 42,736
- Shipping down 56.3% to 9,718
- Breakout down 2.5% to 39,962
- EcoSport down 34.6% to 8,426
Maverick sold 8,695 vehicles in the first quarter and was not for sale in 2021.
Lincoln vehicles were down 24.6% overall to 19,148 vehicles from a year ago. Every model saw its numbers drop, led by Navigator with a 55.5% drop to 2,148 vehicles and Aviator 18.4% to 4,967 vehicles. Corsair/MKC recorded the smallest loss in sales with a drop of 2.4% to 6,944 vehicles.
GM and Stellantis
General Motors said on Friday that its first-quarter new car sales fell 20.1% in the United States, with 512,846 new vehicles in the first three months of this year, compared to the same period ago. a year. GM failed to meet Edmunds’ forecast of 513,849 vehicles sold.
Stellantis said Friday its first-quarter sales fell 14% from a year ago in the United States to 405,221 new vehicles. The company failed to meet Edmunds’ forecast of 420,705 vehicles sold.
Toyota said that while the automaker saw sales drop 15.8% to 514,592 vehicles from a year ago, it remained the industry sales leader in the United States in 2022. The company exceeded Edmunds’ forecast of 502,194 vehicles sold.
Edmunds.com predicts an average sales decline of 15.2% from 2021.
New cars vs used cars
Despite a drop in overall sales so far this year, the intense demand remains constant and a Ford dealership said on Monday he felt like a therapist at times.
While production has been disrupted by supply chain issues, access to semiconductor chips, pandemic fallout and complicated foreign affairs, business remains strong despite tight inventories. The prices of new and used cars continue to climb.
“We’re seeing a wide variety of models in high demand, but electric and hybrid models, in particular, seem to be the hottest,” said Thad Szott, co-owner of Szott Auto Group, which includes Szott Ford at Holly.
“If we didn’t have the supply chain issues or the inventory constraints that we’re seeing right now, we’d be doing more volume,” he said. “Many customers choose to order a new vehicle and others who need something sooner are much more flexible. We always find a solution.”
Auto dealerships continue to see heavy online traffic from car shoppers as well as walk-in dealership activity, said Jeff King, vice president and general manager of Bozard Ford Lincoln in St. Augustine. , Florida, to the Free Press throughout the first quarter. .
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“It’s crazy,” Szott said Monday. “A lot of people are looking for advice.”
He often receives text messages, Facebook messenger requests and phone calls until midnight and 1 a.m.
Shoppers watch and read the news about tight inventory, high prices and car buying challenges, and they feel they need to talk about it, he said.
“A lot of people are looking for advice. They hear all of this…and they want to verify that it’s true,” Szott said. “It’s constant. It’s like Groundhog Day. ‘What should I do? Is it true?’ Yes, I explain the huge shortage of inventory. And I tell people to consider used vehicles too.
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Ongoing production shutdowns related to parts shortages and COVID-19 have resulted in a reduced supply of vehicles worldwide.
Every car has a name on it
Mark Douglas, president of Avis Ford in Southfield, said the biggest demand remains the Ford F-150 pickup truck, Bronco SUV and “obviously any electric vehicle”.
The appeal of electric vehicles continues to grow, he said. “Manufacturers don’t have enough to meet the demand or the number of orders that have been placed.”
At this point, Douglas said, 70% of vehicles sold have been pre-ordered because stock is too thin.
“I probably have two Explorers that I could potentially sell. It’s to that extent,” Douglas said. “Demand will remain high as every car sold now has a name.”
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Contact Phoebe Wall Howard:313-618-1034 Where[email protected].Follow her on Twitter@phoebesaid. Learn more about Ford and subscribe to our automotive newsletter.
