- Ford sold a record number of hybrid vehicles in 2025.
- Its EV sales slumped by 14.1%.
- The F-150 Hybrid and Maverick Hybrid alone made up nearly three-quarters of Ford's hybrid sales.
2025 was a tough year for Ford's electric vehicle business. But its hybrids are booming, signaling strong demand for at least partial electrification even as the EV market hits a rough patch.
The automaker on Tuesday announced that it sold a record 228,072 hybrids (including both conventional and plug-in hybrids) in the U.S. last year, a 21.7% gain over 2024. Two of Ford's hybrid heroes were its trucks. It sold over 81,000 compact Maverick Hybrids and nearly 85,000 F-150 Hybrids.
Stepping into a hybrid is a lot easier than transitioning to an EV—they bring better fuel economy with zero lifestyle change and minimal upfront cost. Just look at how handily the F-150 Hybrid trounces its electric cousin; in the all-electric F-150 Lightning's best year ever in 2024, Ford sold around 33,000 trucks. But, importantly, hybrids still emit far more CO2 than full EVs. So climate experts say they can't be a long-term solution to blunting the worst effects of climate change.
Meanwhile, the automaker's EV sales took a tumble as the U.S. yanked support for EV buyers and as the automaker stopped selling the F-150 Lightning pickup.
Ford sold 84,113 EVs in 2025, a 14% drop from the nearly 98,000 units it shipped the previous year. E-Transit van sales crumbled, declining by 58.9%. F-150 Lightning sales fell by 18.5%—an expected outcome since Ford officially canceled it late last year. The Mustang Mach-E was a bright spot, holding steady as one of the top-selling EVs in the country with 51,620 units sold last year.
The whole auto industry is facing a reset moment around EVs. The untimely expiration of the $7,500 EV tax credit on September 30 had two seismic impacts on the market: pushing people who would've otherwise bought later to accelerate their purchases, and also instantly making many electric options more expensive. The Trump administration's rollback of other clean-car rules removed the urgency for automakers to rapidly electrify their fleets.
Ford is taking advantage by canceling the Lightning and some other upcoming EVs and betting on its next-generation Universal EV Platform, which debuts in 2027 in a $30,000 pickup. But slowing down is a big gamble too: Ford's rivals already have several EVs on the road and are actively rolling out more.
Ford says its success on the hybrid front proves that it can navigate a choppy environment for EVs better than competitors. It's true that while GM doesn't sell any hybrids, it also has a far deeper EV lineup than Ford does.
"Ford's powertrain diversification enabled it to outsell the combined electrified sales (hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric) from GM and Stellantis, demonstrating Ford's ability to achieve record hybrid volumes even when conditions for electric vehicles shift," the company said in a press release.
Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com
