Ford April sales decline, while hybrid sales peak

Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales declined 2.4% in April, though hybrid deliveries hit a new all-time monthly sales peak, the automaker said Thursday.

The drop from 184,002 vehicles to 179,588 came from declines for F-Series trucks, Broncos and other SUVs. Auto prices are declining, and automakers, including Ford, said they are increasing incentives, but rising interest rates still have kept monthly payments high. April also had one less selling day than the same month in 2023.

"With the impact of tax refund season effectively over, the vehicle market is seeing declining sales momentum," Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for auto information services firm Cox Automotive Inc., wrote in response to the Federal Reserve's decision to keep monetary policy and interest rates unchanged this week. "The next few weeks and months could be challenging if consumers en masse believe they are better off waiting to purchase."

General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV only post sales on a quarterly basis. Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s U.S. sales were flat, Hyundai Motor Co Ltd. was down 3% and Subaru Corp. was up 9.5%

Meanwhile, Ford has emphasized hybrids and committed to a full lineup of them by the end of the decade, as electric vehicles haven't kept with sales expectations, are experiencing a price war and consumers remain wary of their cost and the limited access to charging stations. Still, Ford EV sales rose 129% year-over-year.

Ford hybrid vehicle sales hit 17,997, up nearly 60% from last year. F-150 and Maverick hybrid trucks drove those sales, rising almost 94% and 64%, respectively. Hybrids represented 22% of F-150 sales.

In general, Ford truck and van sales rose 2% in April, though F-Series trucks were down 7.2%, including a nearly 57% increase in the all-electric Lightning version. The automaker started shipping refreshed 2024 F-150s at the end of February and lifted on April 16 a stop-shipment that had been in place since Feb. 9 on the Lightning. The automaker at the start of April also cut a second shift at the Dearborn Electric Vehicle Center that assembles the Lightning.

Super Duty sales rose 2.9% year-over-year. Ranger sales increased 3% as the automaker increases production of the all-new model. Maverick compact pickups were up nearly 84%. Transit commercial van vehicles rose 32%, including an almost 86% increase in sales of the electric E-Transit. Heavy trucks fell 28%.

SUV sales dropped 9.8% in April from the same month a year ago. Bronco sales declined 12%, the Bronco Sport fell by 33%, Escape dropped by 28% and Edge declined by 29%. Explorer and Expedition were up 5.3% and 26%, respectively. The electric Mustang Mach-E rose 205%. As Mustang celebrates its 60th anniversary, sales of the coupe fell 9.4%.

Sales of the Lincoln luxury brand rose 24% from a year ago. The refreshed Nautilus' sales increase by almost 16%, the Corsair rose 163% and the Aviator was up 6.8%. Navigator sales declined by 20%.