By Michael Elkins
Ford (NYSE:F) reported Tuesday that the automaker sold 456,972 vehicles in the 1Q, an increase of 10.7% compared to the same time last year.
Sales surged across Ford's areas of strength, with EVs growing 41.0% in the first quarter on sales of 10,866 electric vehicles. F-150 Lightning sales totaled 4,291 pickups with production capacity actions on track to hit an annual production run rate of 150,000 this year. Sales by Ford Pro of the E-Transit, America's best-selling electric van last year, climbed 62.7%. Mustang Mach-E sales were down, reflecting downtime at the plant for changes to increase production.
Ford is America's No. 1 selling truck manufacturer, outselling GM's trucks and vans by approximately 27,000 vehicles. Sales of Ford's overall trucks, including pickups and vans, were up 19.6 percent on the strength of F-Series pickups (up 21.1%) and Ford Pro's Transit van (up 86.0%).
"Ford is off to a fast start to the year. Ford's sales growth and investments are a direct result of strong customer demand across our truck, SUV, and electric vehicle segments. And this year's highly anticipated new product launches with Super Duty, Escape, Mustang and Ranger, will only add to this momentum," said Andrew Frick, vice president, sales distribution, and trucks.
To support the company's momentum, Ford announced that its Kansas City Assembly Plant will add a third crew in April to increase production of the best-selling Transit and E-Transit vans. Ford is also increasing production at manufacturing plants across North America to meet strong customer demand for vehicles including the Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, Bronco Sport, and Maverick.
Shares of F are down 1.30% in mid-day trading on Tuesday.