Ford Motor Co.’s U.S. new-vehicle sales fell 27 percent in June, led by another decline in F-Series volume, as the global semiconductor shortage continued to cripple production.
And there’s more pain coming: Ford this week announced another wave of plant closures as it waits on sorely needed microchips.
The automaker’s June deliveries dropped across the board, save for a few nameplates: The Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs and the Transit Connect van. Ford, however, noted that the sale of its electrified vehicles rose 117 percent in June, driven by the Mustang Mach-E electric crossover.
The Mach-E hit a significant milestone last month, surpassing for the first time sales of the gasoline-powered Mustang pony car by 225 vehicles. Production exceeded that of the gas Mustang for the first time in May.
Despite the down month, Ford’s sales in the first half of 2021 rose 4.9 percent compared with the first six months of 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Brands: Ford, down 26%; Lincoln, down 43%
Notable nameplates: F-Series, down 30%; Explorer, down 38%; Mustang, down 51%; Escape, down 40%; Expedition, up 43%; Transit, down 46%; Lincoln Navigator, up 16%; Aviator, down 37%
Incentives: $2,158 per vehicle, down 49.9% from a year earlier, ALG says
Average transaction price: $45,195, up 4.2% from a year earlier, according to ALG
Inventory: About 162,000 vehicles, compared with 187,000 a month ago and 475,000 a year ago.
Quote: “Through June of this year, Ford retail sales were up 10.7 percent. With constrained inventories and record turn rates in the second quarter, we have been working closely with our dealers gathering retail orders, which are up 16-fold over last year. Reservations for F-150 Lightning have now surpassed 100,000 since the truck was first shown in May, while Ford’s sales of electrified vehicles produced a new all-time first-half sales record with 56,570 vehicle sold – up 117 percent over year ago,” Andrew Frick, Ford’s vice president of U.S. and Canada sales, said in a statement.
Did you know? To manage the 16-fold increase in orders, Ford is prioritizing them by offering customers $1,000 off a vehicle to place an order, allowing the company to deliver at a later date once semiconductors are procured.