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The F-Series pickup truck continues to be the lifeblood of Ford Motor Co., holding its sales lead in the industry and driving the third quarter, the automaker announced Wednesday.
Ford reported a 7.7% sales gain Wednesday for the months of July, August and September in the U.S., with 1,508,072 vehicles sold overall this year and 500,504 in the third quarter. Ford has seen an overall sales gain of 9.2% year-to-date from a year ago, said Erich Merkle, Ford U.S. sales analyst.
The increase reflects strong sales of traditional gas trucks and F-Series while also recording solid sales of the hybrid F-150 and Maverick trucks. The Mustang Mach-E is driving electric vehicle sales for Ford.
On Tuesday, General Motors reported a third-quarter sales gain of 21% from a year ago, and Stellantis reported a 1% dip in sales.
While the UAW strike on the Detroit Three began in mid-September during the final two weeks of the quarter, Ford did not mention any sales disruption Wednesday in its report. The UAW initially targeted Michigan Assembly, which builds the Ford Bronco and Ranger, and then Friday targeted Chicago Assembly, which builds the Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator. None of those vehicles has been a primary sales driver.
Which Ford vehicles sold well
All-new Super Duty pickups delivered in a big way, up 17.6% in the quarter from a year ago. The small Maverick pickup, a key driver in sales a year ago, continued to attract buyers, with sales up 83.4%. And while the Transit van rarely makes headlines, it continues to be a go-to product for small business owners, with sales up 28.3%.
Ford pointed to these highlights:
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Ford F-Series sales rose 13.4% in the quarter over last year on sales of 190,477 trucks. Year-to-date, F-Series sales totaled 573,370 trucks, outselling the second-place Chevrolet Silverado by 169,949 trucks.
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Ford's overall third-quarter truck sales, including pickups and vans, are up 15.3% over last year on sales of 275,554 vehicles.
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Bronco and Bronco Sport saw a 24.8% sales increase with sales of 66,120 SUVs, with the Bronco Sport selling a few more more at 33,232.
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Ford’s overall full-size van segment share grew to 42.1% — up 3.4 points from a year ago.
Ford often compares its sales data in the U.S. to crosstown rival GM, and noted that the company sold 825,179 pickups and vans through September of this year, leading GM in that category by about 64,000 vehicles.
Trucks and vans generate big profits for the automakers, and sales are essential to help fund the transition to electric vehicles.
Solid hybrid sales
Ford CEO Jim Farley has said full-size truck owners may be more comfortable moving to hybrid vehicles more quickly than to the all-electric F-150 Lightning. And that's key to Ford's future sales strategy of the F-150.