Ford's November Sales in the United States Decline Slightly, Electric Vehicle Sales Plummet 61%

According to foreign media reports, on December 2, Ford Motor Company announced that its vehicle sales in the U.S. declined slightly by 1% in November, dropping to 164,925 units, influenced by the cooling sales of electric vehicle models following the expiration of the federal electric vehicle tax credit policy. The company's electric vehicle models (such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning) saw a year-on-year sales plummet of approximately 61%, with only 4,247 units sold.

In terms of specific electric vehicle models, in November this year, the Ford Mustang Mach-E saw a year-on-year sales decline of 49%, with only 3,014 units sold; the sales of the F-150 Lightning dropped even more significantly, plummeting 72% year-on-year, with only 1,006 units delivered; the performance of the Ford electric van E-Transit was similarly dismal, with sales crashing 82% year-on-year, selling only 227 units. The Wall Street Journal reported in November that Ford executives are considering halting production of the F-150 Lightning electric pickup.

F-150 Lightning; Image Source: Ford

In addition, Ford has to deal with the impact of a fire at its core aluminum supplier Novelis' factory in New York, which has affected the production of the F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck.

Ford previously announced in its third-quarter financial report that the production of its electric pickup truck, the F-150 Lightning, will continue to be suspended due to the disruption in aluminum supply caused by a fire at the Novelis plant in New York. The company also stated that it will subsequently shift its focus to more profitable fuel vehicles and hybrid models that require less aluminum.

Ford's electric vehicle business unit, Model e, reported a loss of $1.4 billion in the third quarter of this year, bringing the cumulative loss for the unit to $3.6 billion as of the end of September. Ford stated that approximately $3 billion of the losses came from the current electric vehicle models, such as the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning. The remaining approximately $600 million was invested in the development of the next generation of electric vehicles. Ford claims that the new generation of models will achieve significant improvements in efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Currently, Ford is shifting from larger pickup trucks and SUVs that require more battery materials to smaller, more profitable models. The company stated that the core of this move is the new Ford Universal EV Platform, which will serve as the foundation for the development of Ford's future mid-size electric vehicles.

Ford's first model based on this platform will be a mid-sized electric pickup truck, positioned similarly to the Ford Ranger or Maverick models, and is planned to be launched in 2027 with a starting price of approximately $30,000. Ford CEO Jim Farley previously stated during the company's third-quarter earnings call that an affordable electric vehicle with a starting price around $30,000 is "not a distant plan." He also added that the launch of such models is "close at hand."