Ford Motor said its new car sales rose 10 percent in the three months from April to June thanks to robust demand for trucks.
The automaker sold 531,662 vehicles, up from 483,688 in the second quarter of the year, as sales of pickups, vans and heavy trucks rose 26 percent. Growth in truck sales more than offset a nearly 3 percent decline in electric vehicles.
Ford sold 14,843 battery-powered cars and trucks in the quarter, down from 15,273 in the same period last year. The company had to slow production to modernize assembly lines and increase its ability to make more vehicles later that year.
The upgrade work primarily affected the Mustang Mach-E, sales of which fell 21 percent in the second quarter. Ford also sold 4,466 F-150 Lightning electric pickups during the quarter. That’s more than double the total compared to the same period last year and the second-highest quarterly total since the truck was sold.
General Motors, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai and Kia reported gains of 14 percent and more on Wednesday. According to Cox Automotive, a market research firm, automakers combined sold more than four million cars and trucks in the second quarter, up 15 percent from a year ago. New car sales remain below pre-pandemic levels as parts shortages have largely forced automakers to produce fewer vehicles over the past three years.
