GM Tops Ford in EV Sales During First Quarter

General Motors Co.’ delivered more battery-electric vehicles than Ford Motor Co. during the first quarter, according to sales numbers released by both companies this week.

Ford reported Tuesday its EV sales increased 41% in the first quarter to 10,866 units. Ford’s total includes deliveries of the F-150 Lightning. Production of the Lightning was halted during the first quarter as Ford engineers worked on a problem with the vehicles batter. Sales of the Ford E-Transit increased 62.7% but sales of the Mustang Mach-E dropped in the face of price cuts by Tesla.

GM, however, reported deliveries of more than 20,000 EVs in the first quarter. The total included sale of 19,700 Bolt EVs and Bolt EUVs, which are among the least expensive battery-electric vehicles sold in the U.S. GM also reported selling 978 of the Cadillac Lyriq BEVs, and said it expected to deliver 50,000 EVs by the middle of the year.

Tesla, the leader in EV sales, does not breakout U.S. sales, but it reported its total deliveries increased 36% year-over-year and by 5% from the fourth quarter of 2022 after it cut prices across the board.

Ford on the rise

Overall, however, Ford had plenty to cheer about as its sales climbed 10.1% in the first quarter, making Ford the best-selling brand in the U.S., surpassing Toyota.

Sales increased across Ford’s areas of strength, including trucks, which grew 19.6%; three-row SUVs, which grew 47%, and Bronco, which increased by 18.3%.

Ford also outsold GM’s trucks and vans by approximately 27,000 vehicles. Sales of Ford’s overall trucks increased on the strength of F-Series, which increased by 21% and Ford Pro’s Transit van, which increased by 86%.

Ford also announced to bolster its sales, it planned to boost its production by adding a third crew at the company’s Kansas City Assembly Plant in April to build more Transit and E-Transit vans. 

Ford also is increasing production at manufacturing plants across North America to meet strong customer demand for vehicles including Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, Bronco Sport and Maverick, the company said.

“Ford is off to a fast start to the year.  Ford’s sales growth and investments are a direct result of strong customer demand across our truck, SUV, and electric vehicle segments. And this year’s highly anticipated new product launches with Super Duty, Escape, Mustang and Ranger, will only add to this momentum,” said Andrew Frick, vice president, sales distribution, and trucks.

Sales of new vehicles generally surpassed analysts’ expectations as the SAAR hit 15.5 million units as pent-up demand brought in buyers despite higher interest rates and economic uncertainty around the prospects for a recession.

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• Source: https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2023/04/gm-tops-ford-in-ev-sales-during-first-quarter/