Ford Motor Co.’s U.S. sales rose 4% year-over-year in April, bolstered by strong results in the truck segment.
The Dearborn automaker sold 184,002 vehicles in the United States last month. Sales of internal combustion engine vehicles were up 5.6%, while hybrid vehicle sales slipped 6.9% and electric-vehicle sales fell 25% as the automaker continued to feel the impact of production downtime at two of its key EV plants.
Ford reported the results Wednesday after its quarterly earnings report Tuesday. The automaker posted $1.8 billion in profits on $41.5 billion in the first quarter. Executives said the solid financial results were bolstered by higher sales and volumes in the first three months of the year.
The Blue Oval’s April sales results were consistent with industrywide gains recorded in April. Industry data provider Cox Automotive reported Wednesday that new-vehicle sales likely finished higher than its analysts’ forecast of an annual sales pace of 15.1 million sales, “fed by higher inventory levels and a healthy dose of fleet deliveries.” Initial estimates, according to Cox, indicate the pace was close to 15.9 million sales. Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Subaru all reported gains.
The estimated pace far outstrips the seasonally adjusted annual rate of 14.3 million sales recorded last April, and March’s 14.8 million-unit pace.
“Pent-up fleet demand is being strategically delivered by some automakers looking to offset any decline in retail demand,” Cox analysts wrote. “But the initial April estimates suggest there is little evidence of waning demand in the overall market. In fact, with inventory at the highest level in nearly two years and transaction prices trending downward through the first quarter, new-vehicle sales in the U.S. continue to surprise on the upside.”
In Ford’s SUV segment, sales were down 11.3% from April 2022. For the Ford brand, sales of the EcoSport, Bronco Sport, Bronco, Mustang Mach-E, Edge and Explorer all were down compared to a year ago. The Escape, a compact SUV that just got a redesign, saw sales rise 10.5%, while the full-size Expedition was up more than 200%.
Mach-E sales have been down as the plant in Mexico where it’s assembled has gone through upgrades to support a boost in production. Ford aims to increase production to 130,000 units this year from 78,000 last year. It announced an across-the-board price cut on the Mach-E lineup Tuesday as it reopened orders for the EV.
Truck and van sales, meanwhile, were up 21%, boosted by a 35.1% year-over-year gain for the F-Series franchise, Ford’s profit pillar. The automaker sold 69,595 F-Series trucks last month compared to 51,517 a year ago, representing the franchise’s best sales performance since before the coronavirus pandemic and related supply-chain issues. Those results were underpinned by the recent launch of the 2023 Super Duty, which Ford says is turning on dealer lots in about nine days.
Ford reported 1,335 sales of the electric F-150 Lightning, which launched last April. The plant in Dearborn where the Lightning is assembled went through a five-week production shutdown earlier this year to resolve a battery issue; deliveries have since resumed.
Sales of the Ford Ranger, Maverick, E-Transit and Transit Connect were down, while E-Series, Transit and heavy truck sales were up.
Mustang sales were up 17.5%. Ford’s luxury Lincoln brand saw sales drop off 27.8% from last April.
Year-to-date, the automaker’s U.S. results are up 8.3% from the first four months of 2022. Ford ended the month with nearly 377,000 vehicles in gross stock.
jgrzelewski@detroitnews.com