Ford Motor announced on Friday that it had accomplished CEO Jim Farley’s aim of being the second largest U.S. seller of electric vehicles.
Citing third-party industry data, the Detroit manufacturer narrowly surpassed Hyundai/Kia to reach the target. Tesla remains by a significant margin the industry leader, but has been losing market share as other EVs enter the market.
In November, Ford’s share of the electric vehicle market was 7.4%, up from 5.8% a year earlier.
Through November, Ford recorded sales of 53,752 all-electric vehicles in the United States. Through the end of the third quarter, Tesla recorded global deliveries of more than 908,000 electric vehicles.
Not included in Hyundai’s sales is the Nexo hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. According to the corporation, it has sold slightly more battery- and fuel-cell-powered vehicles than Ford through November.
In August, the South Korean automaker lost incentives that provided customers of its electric vehicles with tax credits of up to $7,500 under the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. Produced in North America, vehicles such as Ford’s EVs are still eligible for the credit.
In an exclusive interview with CNBC, Hyundai Motor CEO Jaehoon “Jay” Chang highlighted the loss of incentives as a “very hard situation.”
Tesla has dominated U.S. EV sales for years. S&P Global Mobility estimated that its market share of newly registered electric vehicles in the United States stood at 65% through the third quarter, down from 71% in 2017 and 78% in 2020.
Holding onto the No. 2 position, which Farley had previously stated Ford will accomplish by 2023, may prove difficult. General Motors CEO Mary Barra stated that the business intends to surpass Tesla in EV sales by mid-decade, as the largest carmaker in the United States expects to greatly increase EV production in the coming years.
GM does not report sales monthly. Through the third quarter of this year, it had sold fewer than 23,000 electric vehicles.
Ford revealed its EV sales as part of its November results, which were altogether 7.8% lower than the previous year. The business reported 146,364 vehicle sales in the United States last month, its second-worst number since June. The company’s EV sales increased over the previous year, when they were extremely limited.
Ford stated that demand for its vehicles remains robust, citing retail orders. It did not provide an explanation for the sales declines in November, but the business and other automakers continue to struggle with supply chain issues.
In November, only 55,169 of Ford’s profitable F-Series pickups were sold, a decrease of 8.7% from the previous year. As a result of reported faults with car components, their year-to-date decline is now 12.8%.
Through November, sales of all Ford vehicles, including its luxury Lincoln brand, reached less than 1,700,000 units, a 2.7% year-over-year decline.
