Ford U.S. May sales rise thanks to EVs, hybrids

DETROIT – Ford Motor’s U.S. new vehicle sales rose 11.2% last month compared to May of last year, boosted by strong sales growth for all-electric and hybrid models.

The Detroit automaker on Tuesday reported roughly 65% increases in sales of both hybrid and all-electric vehicles. That’s compared to a 5.6% increase in sales of Ford’s traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines.

Despite the notable increases in hybrids and EVs, the sales in those segments totaled about 26,600 vehicles combined. That’s only 14% of the automaker’s more than 190,000 total sales last month.

The boost to EV sales is a conundrum for investors. Ford wants to grow EV sales to build scale and assist in offsetting tightening fuel economy standards and emissions, but the company’s Model E electric vehicle unit reports massive losses.

Ford reported in April the division lost $1.32 billion on 10,000 vehicles wholesaled from January through March. While the unit also includes EV-related business such as software, those losses equate to a loss of $132,000 for each vehicles the unit sells.

In May, Ford nearly doubled sales of its all-electric F-150 Lightning pickups, compared to May 2023. Sales of the Mustang Mach-E EV also jumped, up 46% year over year.

The spike in hybrid sales is part of Ford’s plan to double down on the technology. The automaker earlier this year said it would delay production of new all-electric vehicles to instead focus on offering hybrid options across its entire North American lineup by 2030.

Ford reported total year-to-date U.S. sales through May of 877,685 units, up 5.6% compared to the same time period in 2023. The sales have been led by a roughly 10% increase in SUV sales and 2.5% uptick in truck and van sales.