Ford Motor Co. reported Thursday a decrease in U.S. sales for the final three months of 2022 and for the overall year, compared with 2021 — including F-Series truck sales.
Still, the Dearborn automaker maintained its truck dominance against the Chevy Silverado and Ram built by Stellantis, which is notable because massive truck profits fund a pivot to electric vehicles while at the same time retaining a vast customer base.
Ford also grew market share by 0.7 % to 13.1% and expanded its electric vehicle presence to No. 2 after Tesla.
More:Ford CEO Jim Farley emphasizes only 1 company is challenging Tesla right now
Fighting what industry analysts call “headwinds,” Ford and the rest of the auto industry have been impaired by continued supply chain disruptions that slow the build (and sale) process, as well as unpredictable production issues related to global conflict and continued infectious disease outbreaks.
Below are highlights of Ford’s performance in 2022.
Q4 sales
Ford said its fourth quarter new car sales in the U.S. dipped overall 4.8% to 483,970 vehicles.
SUV sales plummeted 11.2% to 202,914 while truck sales held steady with a 0.6% increase to 270,064.
A surge in F-Series sales in December to 75,076 allowed Ford to become the top truck seller for the 46th year in a row and best-selling vehicle for 41 years straight.
With F-Series sales up in December 20.1%, said Ford spokesman Said Deep, “it was our best month of the year, thanks to improved inventory flow.”
Trucks deliver the biggest profit margins for automakers.
The final three months saw other spikes in sales, according to Ford data:
- Ford Maverick grew 77% to 22,568 vehicles
- Transit Van grew 48.2% to 31,049 vehicles
- Lincoln Corsair/MKC increased 27.8% to 7,391 vehicles
- Lincoln Navigator increased 19.9% to 4,056 vehicles
- Ford Expedition grew 14.7% to 20,400 vehicles
2022 sales
According to Ford data, its 2022 new car sales in the U.S. dipped 2.2% to 1,864,464 vehicles.
In 2022, Ford sold 653,957 F-Series while General Motors sold 513,354 Chevy Silverados and Stellantis sold 468,344 Ram pickups. These are the three most popular trucks in the U.S.
F-series “outsold its second-place competitor Silverado by more than 140,000 trucks for the year,” Deep said.
GM spotlights its GMC trucks when illustrating its overall truck segment growth.
Ford saw SUV sales grow 4.1% while trucks dipped 5.5% and cars sunk dramatically as Ford exits the segment, ceding the traditional “car” market to other automakers including Toyota and Honda.
Most popular vehicles sold in 2022
The Bronco surged 234.2% to 117,057 vehicles as it continues to battle Jeep in the segment.
The all-electric Mustang Mach-E jumped 45.4% to 39,458 vehicles.
The Maverick small pickup continues to fill orders as fast as they come in as the top-selling small pickup in 2022, and the 2023 model year is essentially sold out online, Ford said. If someone wants to buy a Maverick, it is possible to search and buy from a dealer who has one in stock.
More:Ford’s Maverick pickup selling fast, delivering big for Ford in 3rd quarter
And when it comes to the Lincoln brand, the Corsair/MKC and Aviator carried the day with 21.4% and 5% gains.
Lightning and other EVs
Ford sold 61,575 electric vehicles in 2022, up 126% for the year. That includes:
How Ford compares with Detroit Three competitors
GM reported Wednesday it had sales gains in the fourth quarter and 2022, compared with a year ago. Its October through December sales surged 41% to 623,261 new vehicles. For the full year, GM inched up 3% to 2,274,088 vehicles sold compared with 2021. GM said it sold a total of 1.1 million full-size pickups, midsize pickups and full-size SUVs for the year.
Keep an eye on GM as it ramps up production of its all-electric Lyriq SUV and Hummer pickup truck.
Stellantis reported Wednesday that U.S. new vehicles sales in the fourth quarter declined 16% to 347,669 vehicles, making six consecutive quarters of sales dips, compared with the year-ago period. For 2022, sales dropped 13% compared with 2021 to 1,547,076 vehicles.
Psst, Tesla
Tesla releases sales data globally, not broken down by country.
In the final three months of 2022, Tesla reported deliveries of 405,278 vehicles. Tesla touted its production but deliveries are counted as sales. The Texas-based company delivered some 1.31 million vehicles globally in 2022.
Tesla reported 308,600 vehicle deliveries in the fourth quarter a year ago, and full-year deliveries of an estimated 936,172 vehicles, according to CNBC.
By comparison, in 2021, Ford delivered about 3.9 million vehicles globally.
Detroit Three automakers provide global data with earnings.
Super Duty backlog
Customer orders for the 2023 Super Duty now exceed 245,000 trucks, the company said Thursday.
“This is strong truck momentum going into the new year,” Deep said.
After Ford opened its order bank Oct. 27, buyers placed 52,518 new orders in five days.
These are not reservations, these are orders placed through Ford car dealerships on behalf of actual customers who have decided to purchase the vehicle. Technically, an order isn’t counted as a sale by Ford until it’s delivered but the factory is tooled up to build all these orders.
Unlike the Mach-E and F-150 Lightning pickup, these buyers had to place their orders through dealers rather than online directly.
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The Super Duty pickup truck has a base price of $43,970 (plus $1,795 in destination fees) that often climbs past $90,000 depending on amenities selected by the buyer. Options include type of engine, wheels, tires, cloth or leather interior, display screen size and massaging seats.
From January through November this year, Super Duty production averaged approximately 26,000 to 27,000 vehicles per month. So orders taken in just over one month represent five to six months of production.
“The demand is just insane,” Todd Dunn, president of UAW Local 862, whose members build the vehicle at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, told the Free Press last month.
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Staff writer Jamie LaReau contributed to this report.
Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid.
