Ford EV Sales Drop Over 8% In October As Demand For F-150 Lightning Slows Down

Ford Motor Co.’s F electric vehicle sales in the U.S. dropped 8.3% in October following a drop in demand for its F-150 Lightning EV pickup truck.

What Happened: Ford sold 6,264 electric vehicles in October, with its Mustang Mach-E SUV accounting for a majority of sales.

The company delivered 3,313 units of the electric SUV, marking a surge of about 21% from the corresponding month last year. F-150 Lightning sales, however, dropped by about 50% to 1,863 units, dragging overall EV sales lower.

Sales of the E-Transit electric van, meanwhile, jumped 181%.

Model	U.S. Sales In October
Mustang Mach-E	3,313
F-150 Lightning	1,863
E-Transit	1,088
Total	6,264

Despite the drop in EV sales, Ford’s overall vehicle sales soared over 15% last month to 172,756 units, owing to the rise in sales for both hybrid and internal combustion engine vehicles. Combustion engine vehicles accounted for about 86% of the company’s overall vehicle sales during the month.

Why It Matters: Last week, Ford said that it would halt production of the F-150 Lightning for six weeks from Nov. 18 to Jan. 6 at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Plant.

“We continue to adjust production for an optimal mix of sales growth and profitability," a company spokesperson told Benzinga about the decision.

The Lightning pickup truck is up against Tesla's Cybertruck in the U.S. While Tesla sold 16,692 Cybertrucks in the third quarter, Ford sold only 7,162 units of the Lightning, according to data from Kelley Blue Book.

In August, Ford said that it is killing its plans to build a three-row electric SUV, initially slated for production in 2025. The company also postponed its plans for a new electric version of its F-150 pickup to 2027 and said it will start making a new electric commercial van in 2026.

For the third quarter, Ford’s EV segment called “Model e” reported an EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) loss of $1.2 billion after cost improvements were offset by industrywide pricing pressure, taking its loss this year through the end of September to $3.7 billion. The company now expects a full-year EBIT loss of $5 billion from the segment.

Price Action: Ford shares closed up by about 1.4% on Monday at $10.36. The stock is down by about 14.8% year-to-date, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.

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