Ford moves into 2nd place in EV sales on GM recalls
Ford moved up to second in U.S. electric vehicle sales behind Tesla last year on the strength of its Mustang Mach-e, overtaking rival General Motors, whose Chevrolet Bolt EV has been hobbled by a recall.
Ford sold 27,140 Mach-es in 2021, its first full year on the market, according to a statement Wednesday that detailed its December and full-year 2021 sales results. The automaker recently said it is tripling production at the Mexican plant that builds the plug-in pony car. On Tuesday, Ford said it is doubling production of the battery-powered F-150 Lightning pickup going on sale this spring, which sent its stock to a 20-year high.
In December, Ford’s light-vehicle sales fell 17.2 percent as sales of F-series trucks, its biggest moneymaker, tumbled 15.7 percent.
For the year, Ford sold 1.9 million vehicles, falling to third place in the U.S. race behind GM and the new leader Toyota. But Ford noted it had the highest sales among U.S. automakers in the fourth quarter, as it debuted the Maverick small pickup, which sold 13,258 in its first months on the market.
“Ford finished the year strong as the only U.S. automaker hitting the half-million sales mark in the fourth quarter,” Andrew Frick, Ford’s U.S. sales chief, said in a statement. “Last year was a foundational year for Ford in the electrified vehicle segment.”
GM halted production of the Bolt for the final two months of the year as it worked on a fix for a defect that could cause battery fires. Forecaster LMC Automotive sees GM recapturing its second-place spot, though Ford Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley contends his company will pull away with the F-150 Light- ning that received nearly 200,000 nonbinding reservations.