American legacy automaker Ford successfully defended its position as the second electric vehicle brand in the US market after Tesla in 2023 with record sales in the fourth quarter, as per the press release.
Sales results
Ford’s overall automotive sales surged by a notable 7.1% to almost 2 million units in 2023. enabling it to defend its dominant position in the traditional gas-powered vehicle lines. However, its EV unit Model e was the one with the most impressive figures in the fourth quarter and the entire year. Without further ado, here is Ford’s sales performance in 2023.
Ford managed to maintain its top 2 spot in the US electric vehicle market with its sales of 25,937 units in the fourth quarter. Impressively, this figure indicates a 24% sales growth from the previous quarter.
The remarkable Q4 2023 sales performance boosted the whole year’s results to a total of 72,608 units. It represents an impressive year-on-year increase of 18%, marking a new sales record for the American legacy brand.
Best-sellers
Another good news for Ford is the advancement of its F-150 Lighting as the top-selling electric truck in 2023. The model reportedly reached a total sales of 11,905 units in the fourth quarter. As for the full year, the F-150 Lighting sold a whopping 24,165 units.
The Ford E-Transit also became the most popular electric van nameplate in 2023. Its sales surged 18% YoY to 7,672 units last year.
The Ford Mustang Mach-E also emerged as the second top-selling electric SUV in the US market with record sales of 40,771 units.
“In a year of challenges, from a labor strike to supply issues, our amazing lineup of gas, electric and hybrid vehicles and our fantastic dealers delivered solid growth and momentum. We have the products that customers want. I am especially proud Ford remained the No. 2 EV brand in America and our next-gen, digitally advanced new EVs are on the way.”
Ford President and CEO Jim Farley
Ford to step back from original EV plans
Despite the remarkable sales growth in Ford’s Model e unit last year, Electrek reported that the American company still plans to delay its electrification efforts.
As previously announced by CFO John Lawler, the automaker is “slowing down several investments,” such as the $12 billion investment in electric vehicles to change “the pace and flow” of capital and EV capacity.
In addition, Ford shifted its focus on hybrids after realizing that it sold more HEV models than all-electric vehicles with more than 37,000 unit sales in Q4 2023. Its HEV sales of 133,743 also delivered a nearly twofold advantage from EVs’ 61,575 sales last year.
However, Ford’s sudden scale-back on its EV plans and increased focus on HEVs can significantly hurt its competence in the long run, considering that other major players are now gradually shifting to all-electric vehicles to follow Tesla’s footsteps.
