Ford Motor Co.'s new-vehicle sales in the U.S. slumped nearly 32% in July compared to the same period last year, reflecting the toll of a global computer chip shortage that has thrown a major wrench into auto production.
The Dearborn automaker reported Wednesday that it sold 120,053 new vehicles in the U.S. last month. Total sales were down 31.8% from last July while retail sales were down 37.7%. Sales of trucks were off 27% while SUV sales fell 27.3%. And sales of nearly every Ford and Lincoln model were down compared to the same period last year.
Still, the Blue Oval highlighted the success of its first all-electric vehicle, the Mustang Mach-E, which launched at the end of last year. Ford said the Mach-E is, on average, turning on dealer lots in 12 days. Mach-E's July sales of 2,854 units grew 15.8% over June, and the vehicle is now the second best-selling battery-electric SUV.
Meanwhile, Mustang sales were down 16.1%. In terms of Ford SUVs, EcoSport was down 27.9%, Escape sales plummeted 71%, Edge sales fell 57.9%, Explorer was off 26.4% and Expedition sales dropped 6.8%.
But transaction pricing for Ford SUVs hit a record of $42,000 per unit in July, up $6,200 over last year.
July marked the second month that sales of the new Bronco SUV were reported. Ford sold 3,277 units of the highly-anticipated product.
Meanwhile, Ford recorded 2,306 sales of its new Bronco Sport SUV, a smaller version of the full-size Bronco. That's down from 8,355 sales in June, for a 72% decline.
On the truck side, sales of Ford's profit engine, the F-Series pickup truck franchise, were down 26.2% year-over-year. Sales of the Ranger, E-Series, Transit and Transit Connect also were down.
Ford's luxury Lincoln brand plummeted 50.9% year-over-year in July with total sales of 4,237 vehicles. Sales of every Lincoln model were down. The Nautilus SUV, for example, was down 24.5% and sales of the Aviator SUV were down 44.1%.
Still, the automaker said the Lincoln brand is seeing a record number of retail orders this year, with new orders more than doubling compared to last year. And rising average transaction prices for Lincoln vehicles — up by $11,500 over last July — are helping to bolster the brand.
"At $62,400 per vehicle, Lincoln transaction pricing grew at almost twice the rate of the overall luxury segment in July with transaction pricing now approximately $5,000 higher than the segment," Ford reported in a news release.
Year-to-date, Ford's sales are off 0.8% from the first seven months of 2020.
Despite the weak sales results, Ford last week posted better-than-expected second-quarter financial results. The automaker posted a $561 million profit and revised upward its outlook for the full year, projecting adjusted pretax earnings of between $9 billion and $10 billion.
Executives attributed the results in part to the increase in pricing, which has happened as supplies on dealer lots dwindle.
Ford reported Wednesday that its transaction prices are up approximately $8,400 to nearly $50,000 per vehicle, driven by new truck and SUV offerings and rising sales of high-series trim SUVs. The market dynamics also have prompted the automaker, as well as its competitors, to cut back on incentives.
Executives said the company is primed for growth as the chip shortage begins to ease and Ford capitalizes on a lineup of new products that already is seeing strong demand from consumers.
"The primary advantage we have right now is the strength of our product portfolio — and it's about to get a lot stronger," CEO Jim Farley said at the time. "After effectively managing through the first half, we are spring-loaded for growth in the second half and beyond because of those red-hot products."
The new Ford Maverick compact pickup truck, for example, already has gotten 80,000 non-binding reservations. And F-150 Lightning, the automaker's forthcoming battery-electric version of the best-selling pickup truck, has garnered more than 120,000 reservations.
