Ford’s electric sales for the month of May were as mixed as could be. On one side, there was an absolute collapse of sales of its previously popular electric Transit van and a similarly bad, though not catastrophic, plunge in sales of the F-150 Lightning. On the other side was the Ford Mustang Mach-E, which saw sales up for the month and the year, but despite that, has fallen behind the disappointing sales of the gas-powered Mustang coupe.
Hybrid sales, though, are way up. The automaker saw sales of vehicles with electric assist climb nearly one-third, following a trend that has been going on all year as buyers embrace a desire for cheaper fill-ups without going all-in on plugging in.
Hybrid Sales Jump One-Third Year To Date
In May, Ford moved 22,719 hybrid models, up 29 percent from a year ago. For the year, the figure is just shy of 100,000, up 31.2 percent. That’s despite Ford only selling a handful of hybrids, including the Escape, Maverick, and F-150. The figure also includes Lincoln hybrid models, the Nautilus, and the Corsair. No doubt adding AWD to the hybrid Maverick has helped boost that model.
But Ford sold just 6,723 EVs last month, a drop of a quarter from May 2024. The total for the year so far is 34,132, down 8 percent. Most of those missing sales have been the E-Transit van, which fell 93.3 percent. Ford only moved 97 units, down from 1,451. That’s a massive decrease from last year, made more unusual since sales of the van in the first four months of the year were flat.
While Ford did not comment directly on the drop, suggesting that sales in the big van and truck markets were down across the board, we were able to dig up one possible reason. A contract with the USPS announced in January 2024 saw the post office order more than 9,000 units of the electric van. While those were meant to be delivered by the end of 2024, they were, somewhat ironically, delivered late.
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A report from last December from The Washington Post claimed that deliveries by late 2024 had only hit a few thousand. If Ford managed to finish that contract, it could explain a lack of new sales this month.
A Ford Pro spokesperson did tell us that the majority of sales of Ford Pro F-150 Lightning models and the E-Transit van were fleet expansions – customers who were adding more EVs after an initial trial.
Lightning Likely To Stay Top Pickup; Gas Mustang and Mach-E Are Neck And Neck
Despite the drop in Lightning sales, Ford will likely remain on top for EV pickups. Ford’s 10,829 sales for the year should put it well ahead of the Tesla Cybertruck and GM’s two electric trucks, though sales of Ford’s rivals come out only quarterly.
The Mustang Mach-E, though, was a bright spot on the charts. The electric SUV saw sales climb 11 percent versus last May, and the EV is up 2.8 percent on the year.
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The electric Ford Mustang Mach-E showed its taillights to the gas model in 2024, beating it in sales by a huge amount.
Though the Mach-E has been selling strongly, the gas-powered Mustang has somehow pulled back ahead. At the end of Q1, the electric Mustang had outsold the gas one by 2,230 units. Last month, the Mustang outsold the Mach-E 5,010 to 4,724. Just enough to put the gas Mustang on top for the first five months of the year. Though the 51-unit margin makes this extremely close. If the gas Mustang continues to fall, and it is currently headed toward one of its worst years ever, the Mach-E will leave it in its electric dust.
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